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[- J - D -]

I've been thinking about this, and it's not really talked about on the boards here (though admittedly I don't scour them 24 hours a day, so maybe I'm wrong), but doesn't the iPad & iPhone's annual hardware upgrade fracture their gaming market? With the announcement of the new iPad today, I thought I'd bring up the question.

If a game is developed for 'The New iPad' aka iPad 3, it would be developed primarily for that (beautiful) 2048x1536 display, which would take considerable GPU and CPU power for graphically intensive games.

That would leave owners of previous versions of the hardware in the dust, no? People who barely had their 1-year old devices won't be able to play the newest games. It's already happened with Machinarium and a few other games that are iPad 2 exclusive. Some games, such as Infinity Blade II, use reduced-quality assets in order to run the game properly on iPad 1 or iPhone 4, and even then, it doesn't run particularly well.

Also, how will older, standard-res (older retina) games look on such a high-res screen? Pretty poor, no?

I've always thought that this was ios gaming's biggest weakness when compared to dedicated gaming handhelds, which are designed with a long-term life span in mind.

 

[Zoramon089]

edit: Misread the topic but changed my response
That's why normal systems don't have yearly upgrades.

Is PC gaming hardware annual upgrade cycle and bad thing for gaming? Cause that's how I treat it.

There's hardly iPad 2 exclusive games anyway. Maybe 1 or 2, if even that.

Uhh, not comparable at all. You can upgrade your EXISTING PC by buying new components. You don't have to buy an entirely new machine every time

 

[Wario64]

Is PC gaming hardware annual upgrade cycle and bad thing for gaming? Cause that's how I treat it.

There's hardly iPad 2 exclusive games anyway. Maybe 1 or 2, if even that.

 

[- J - D -]

It has almost no bearing on traditional games systems in any way

I should've better worded the thread title. Maybe instead of 'gaming', a more specific phrase 'their gaming market'.

 

[captmcblack]

Are there even any relevant games that depend on iOS/iDevice-specific functionality?

 

[see5harp]

Which games are iPad 2 exclusive? The iOS app marketplace is actually pretty good in this regard.

 

[Noogy]

Is PC gaming hardware annual upgrade cycle and bad thing for gaming? Cause that's how I treat it.

There's hardly iPad 2 exclusive games anyway. Maybe 1 or 2, if even that.

The thing is, you can occasionally do a pretty nice upgrade on your PC for WAY less than a new iOS device. And you almost never have a PC games that simply won't run because you don't meet the min requirement.

Either way, I think both are bad for gaming. I like investing into a device that I can rely on for the next 4 or so years.

 

[thekonamicode]

I see no problem with it ... as long as real games aren't affected, which so far they haven't been.

The only exception is Shadow Complex 2. The is the only real game that I know of which is being affected by ios development.

 

[Wario64]

Which games are iPad 2 exclusive? The iOS app marketplace is actually pretty good in this regard.

Machinarium....and....yeah that's all I can think of.

 

[erpg]

Is PC gaming hardware annual upgrade cycle and bad thing for gaming? Cause that's how I treat it.

There's hardly iPad 2 exclusive games anyway. Maybe 1 or 2, if even that.

Do iOS games have settings other than Music on/off?

I can see this is a bad thing, unless the iPad remains the baseline for an extended period, and additional downloads can increase texture resolution or whatever. Some games already do this.

 

[commish]

Is PC gaming hardware annual upgrade cycle and bad thing for gaming? Cause that's how I treat it.

There's hardly iPad 2 exclusive games anyway. Maybe 1 or 2, if even that.

It's really not the same. Ipad games aren't configurable as PC games are.

 

[Dicer]

Apple in general is bad for gaming

 

[alterno69]

It's bad only for those who upgrade every year. Most games are developed to run on every version of the hardware, or at least several versions instead of aiming for the most powerful one.

 

[Orayn]

Not at all, it gives developers access to greater hardware power at a rate comparable or faster than on PC. Granted, they're starting from much lower baseline, but the capabilities are getting way up there as we've seen from Epic and EA's recent offerings.

 

[- J - D -]

It's bad only for those who upgrade every year. Most games are developed to run on every version of the hardware, or at least several versions instead of aiming for the most powerful one.

But the iPad 3 screen is now 2048x1536. Doesn't that cause a big rift in development for all versions of iPad hardware?

 

[Takao]

Apple in general is bad for gaming

omae wa mo shindeiru

 

[Pyrrhus]

The utter disposability of the iPad and iPhone have always scared me off as a consumer. Maybe it has a similar effect on developers?

 

[alterno69]

But the iPad 3 screen is now 2048x1536. Doesn't that cause a big rift in development for all versions of iPad hardware?

Isn't that like iphone and ipad versions of games? Ipad versions were the HD versions lol i guess they call the HD HD or something now.

 

[- J - D -]

Isn't that like iphone and ipad versions of games? Ipad versions were the HD versions lol i guess they call the HD HD or something now.

The difference between the iPhone 4s and iPad 2's resolutions isn't that great: 960x640 compared to 1024x768.

Machinarium....and....yeah that's all I can think of.

Can you play the new Mass Effect ios game on an ipad 1?

 

[alterno69]

The utter disposability of the iPad and iPhone have always scared me off as a consumer. Maybe it has a similar effect on developers?

My wife is still rocking here 3g iphone, i have an original ipad and a two year old macbook pro. No need to have every model, i'm not made of money lol. If it wasn't for my recent vita purchase i'd have probably bought an ipad hd lol.

 

[EternalGamer]

I don't think most people upgrade every year.

I bought an Ipad 1 on release and I've been able to play every game I've wanted.

I am upgrading this time though because it is the best electronic device I've ever owned and I'm ready.

 

[Shining Sunshine]

Where's that comic where the guy sells his family for a new iPad?

 

[Nibel]

Is PC gaming hardware annual upgrade cycle and bad thing for gaming? Cause that's how I treat it.

There's hardly iPad 2 exclusive games anyway. Maybe 1 or 2, if even that.

It's not the same, for the price of an iPad you can buy components which last much longer than a year.

 

[panama chief]

its only bad for this guy

 

[Zoramon089]

My wife is still rocking here 3g iphone, i have an original ipad and a two year old macbook pro. No need to have every model, i'm not made of money lol. If it wasn't for my recent vita purchase i'd have probably bought an ipad hd lol.

That type of mentality doesn't work for games. It'd be like if the majority of gamers simply kept playing HW from last gen instead of moving on to new systems. Gamers want access to the latest games, without having to pay a couple hundred dollars yearly ON TOP of paying for said games

 

[Skilletor]

It's not the same, for the price of an iPad you can buy components which last much longer than a year.

I didn't realize my OG iPad exploded last year when the iPad 2 came out.

 

[Nibel]

I didn't realize my OG iPad exploded last year when the iPad 2 came out.

Spin that shit, DJ!

You know exactly what I meant with my post. Gosh.

 

[wwm0nkey]

If it wasnt for the fact I know a new ipad is coming out next year I would get the new one, the same thing will prevent me from getting the next one as well.


Now if this new ipad were the iPad 2 then I would consider getting it because its a HUGE upgrade and if they keep the same cycle I dont have to worry about needing to upgrade next year.

Yearly revisions keep me away from Apple.

 

[Syril]

I didn't realize my OG iPad exploded last year when the iPad 2 came out.

The iPad was pretty fortunate about it. I have an iPhone 3GS, and I've noticed that a lot of games with 3D graphics that say they support it are borderline unplayable.

 

[Skilletor]

Spin that shit, DJ!

You know exactly what I meant with my post. Gosh.

I really don't. Sounds like you're saying the previous iPad is obsolete once the new one comes out.

 

[Alexios]

It's only bad if you can use it as hyperbole to bash PC gaming, when Apple does it for real it's awesome. Anyway, it serves Apple and its audience well apparently, and it's also among the reasons they occupy a different market to traditional handhelds and consoles. So, not really bad, I guess. I'm definitely done with Apple devices though, especially if they force some firmware update for my iPad2 designed for the higher capabilities of the new one making it crawl like I heard has happened for previous models.

it's definitely not as bad as PC gaming.

Holy shit, lol. See what I meant with dat hyperbole?

 

[test_account]

If there are hardly any exclusive iPad 2 (and now iPad 3) content, what reasons is there to upgrade? Honest question. Besides the obvious improvement in hardware of course, but i've tried a friend's iPad 2 and it seemed very quick to me when browsing the OS and opening programs. There really isnt much time left to improve on (if something takes 0.5 seconds, an improvement to 0.3 second wont really be noticeable).

 

[Omikaru]

I was burned with the iPhone 3G. It was pretty much made obsolete before the iPhone 4 had even come out. It took less than two years before developers were turning around and saying my phone wasn't good enough for games. By time the 4 had come out, the vast majority of games didn't support my 3G, and if they did, they ran like dogshit on it.

Though from what I can see, the iPhone 3GS has fared a lot better, and I think developers are more reluctant to abandon it than they were the 3G. I feel the same will happen with the 4S, which is why I was happy to buy one.

A complete update every 3-4 years is about the same as what I do with my PC (though I do update a few components every 18 months or so), so I'm pretty comfortable with that kind of lifespan, and happy to pay for it.

Though I can totally sympathise with people who want more. These things aren't cheap, and closed platforms like iDevices and games consoles should probably be made to last a few years longer than you'd keep a PC, for example. 4 years at a minimum.

Though ultimately this is the responsibility of developers. Apple doesn't demand developers make older models obsolete (within reason, of course, since older devices will be cut out of the loop in regards to software updates). In the end, it's up to developers to make their games scale across as many devices as possible.

 

[MikeE21286]

If there are hardly any exclusive iPad 2 (and now iPad 3) content, what reasons is there to upgrade? Honest question. Besides the obvious improvement in hardware of course, but i've tried a friend's iPad 2 and it seemed very quick to me when browsing the OS and opening programs. There really isnt much time left to improve on (if something takes 0.5 seconds, an improvement to 0.3 second wont really be noticeable).

There's always at least 1 bullet point feature for people

This year its the much higher resolution + 4G (for those that use a data plan on their iPad)

iPhone 4 was retina

iPhone 4S was Siri (lulz)

etc...

 

[shinra-bansho]

I don't know if I'll ever really "get" the idea of buying a new phone or tablet (I don't get tablets in general) every f-ing year, frankly.

Why? Seriously.

 

[polyh3dron]

it's definitely not as bad as PC gaming.

and 4S wasn't just Siri, it's got a way faster CPU. lulz.

 

[LunaticHigh]

it's definitely not as bad as PC gaming.

How's that? My pc I bought before the iPad 1 came out for only 200ish $ more than an ipad ran is still playing everything on max today and I haven't upgraded anything except the hard drive.

 

[Nemo]

Hows Machinarium ipad 2 exclusive? That makes no sense

 

[DyslexicAlucard]

If there are hardly any exclusive iPad 2 (and now iPad 3) content, what reasons is there to upgrade? Honest question. Besides the obvious improvement in hardware of course, but i've tried a friend's iPad 2 and it seemed very quick to me when browsing the OS and opening programs. There really isnt much time left to improve on (if something takes 0.5 seconds, an improvement to 0.3 second wont really be noticeable).

Gaming and video, essentially.

Like has been said, the yearly iterative cycle of Apple has kept me from buying another one of their products since my iTouch 2G--which still does MP3 playback just fine. If I was just using and iPad for music and web browsing, it wouldn't be such a big deal. But since the majority of my time with an iPad would be spent gaming, it's too poor of a monetary proposition to upgrade every--let's be fair--2 years.

I'd rather--and did--buy a Vita to play portable games on. Sure, games are ~$40, but prices drop, there are Minis/downloadable games, devs have a set spec to work from so that they don't have to pander to three-gen-old hardware, it has physical buttons etc..

If it wasn't for the yearly iterative cycles, I think the iPad would've been a much better value propostion, for me--99c games or not. As-is, I'll stay away, but I can see the appeal of getting a new toy every year--the covet factor on new Apple products is pretty damn high!

 

[odhiex]

As long as they keep making money out of it, Apple will never care. I dont know whether it would be bad for Industry, all I know it is bad for my wallet.

tough competions from Android tablet (from samsung display, asus tegra 3 for example) and the upcoming windows 8 tablet (new metro interface) made Apple feel the need for meaningful upgrade IMO. No way they want to release a product which is only has cosmetic upgrades than its predecessor.

Tablet competion has pushed Apple to this stage, we will see a yearly or maybe half yearly upgrade in the future, if the competion getting really fierce.

 

[Shambles]

Is there some sort of "speculation thread" website where you randomly insert a few nouns and it makes a thread title and post for you? These things are popping up like the plague.

 

[Mdk7]

Yes, it is.
It's something that really pisses me off, frankly.

 

[DyslexicAlucard]

I'm also loving the (quite amusing) dichotomy of consoles to iDevices. On consoles, we've been playing on the same hardware for 7 years, and games still launch at $60. With Apple, a new device launches every year, and games are $1-10. I actually like that not just one method is clearly winning over the other; it keeps things interesting and divergent, which is always good for consumers and their choices.

 

[Dog Problems]

its only bad for this guy

That poor son of a bitch.

 

[fallagin]

Yep its absolutely terrible. Iphone Ipad Developers should just commit to developing for the first iteration of the system until the next Iwhatever arrives.

 

[Pie and Beans]

I have a first gen iPod Touch. I'm wondering when everyone else cottons on that as soon as they start the race, they have to buy in each and every goddam year or two or risk being in the position this sorry unsupported slab now is.

 

[tearsofash]

I just want to play my Cave games. That's one of the reasons I picked up an iPad 1 in the first place, and now the newer ones won't even work on it.

 

[ZenaxPure]

I don't know if it's bad but I can say from personal experience it's annoying. I bought a 2nd generation iTouch not long after they came out and I have barely played anything on it for the last few years. Basically any game that comes out now regardless if it doesn't look resource-intensive or not I can't even download. Even gaming-related apps are out of the question, you can not download the XBL and Steam apps on a 2nd generation touch, it's so annoying.

I know my 2nd gen is pretty old by this point but this isn't just a recent problem, I have not been able to reliably play a large portion of the iOS games on my touch since the 3rd gen touches came out. So in that regard someone is losing money somewhere. Like on Weekend Confirmed there has been a string of great iOS suggestions over the past few months and I've tried to download all of them and not a single one was compatible with my touch.

 

[brain_stew]

Its fantastic for gaming.

 

[sp3000]

It's far better than the idiotic 9 year long cycles we have for current systems. I really hope that Apple forces MS and Sony to rethink their plans about keeping one outdated device in the living room for a decade, while everything around it becomes ten times faster.