Gaming on the iPad - RaychelSnr's Blog

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RaychelSnr's Blog

Gaming on the iPad Stuck

Posted on March 19, 2010 at 01:31 PM.

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Within a couple of weeks, the iPad will hit consumers hands and yet another Apple product frenzy will ensue. With the surprising success of the iPhone as a gaming platform, it is no surprise many companies will have their eyes set on the highly profitable realm of developing on the iPad.

While initially, the platform won't be a gold rush, over time it will almost certainly become a highly profitable platform much like the iPhone has become. Let's face it: despite many obvious shortcomings on the hardware and OS side, the iPad is going to sell and sell well.

So what can we expect from sports games on the iPad? A lot of the same stuff we got from the iPhone would be my first answer with a addendum quickly following to include: better graphics, better controls, and perhaps a more immersive gaming experience. I think as an original games platform, the iPad holds serious potential. Text-sim creators should take serious note of existing attempts on the iPhone.

Where the picture is a bit more fuzzy, but where the iPad can really become a force, is with the extension of existing gaming experiences onto the device. I can see something like the Madden Online Franchise App becoming commonplace for many sports games, along with perhaps extending the on-field experience onto the device. I'm not sure if such a move would be feasible, but the possibilities are intriguing.

So yes, there are some serious drawbacks to the platform. And yes, there are some glaring oversights which Apple probably will have to correct within a hardware generation. But yes, the iPad will almost certainly become a commercial success given Apple's uncanny ability to make products that consumers figure out they really want. I'm interested to see how gaming, especially sports gaming, develops on the platform.

Are you planning on getting an iPad and if so, will you be gaming on it?

Comments

# 1 Valdarez @ Mar 19

I have bought my fair share of games on the iPhone, but to this day I don't enjoy gaming on it, in fact I use it to read eBooks via Kindle more than I do to play games. The problem with the iPhone that will carry over to the iPad is that the game is pretty much limited to touch gaming, which basically equates to a single or two touch approach to gaming. This greatly limits how the users interact with the game. I can't believe no one ever came up with a button / analog stick attachment for the iPhone. I definitely would have bought it and then been able to enjoy games on the iPhone. Not sure what the gaming future holds for the iPad, but IMHO it's going to be just as limited as that of it's predecessor.

# 2 grahunt @ Mar 20

Apple products in recent years have set the pace and the trend is expected to continue

http://grahunt.posterous.com/

# 3 LucianoJJ @ Mar 20

I am itching to get an iPad. I think this could be the pc-killer. In 10-15 years people will look at a mouse like they look at a rotary dial phone. What's that relic? You used that?

Gaming will be a factor, but more for the casual gaming crowd. The consoles will go on for a while. At some point, there will be a hot iPad game, that everyone will be talking about, and become as successful as the Sims, or World of Warcraft. Maybe the iPad is a "wii killer?" I think the best type of game for iPad is a text based sim like Strat-O-Matic. In any case, software development for the iPad is going to be the next gold rush.

# 4 RaychelSnr @ Mar 20

Yeah, the perfect game IMO for the iPad will end up being something Like Civilization or even a RTS. One of those will appear on it and will become a huge hit I'm sure. EA already put out Sim City 3 (for a lack of a better term) for the iPhone and I thought it was very well done.