Gaming Potential Of IPad May Fall Short
The iPad's older siblings, the iPhone and the iPod Touch, came from nowhere in 2009 to be the hottest gaming platforms in the industry. Games on the iPhone/iTouch are cheaper and often more fully featured than their Nintendo DS and PSP counterparts, without an excessive sacrifice when it comes to controls, despite the necessity to do everything with touchscreen gestures. The Apple store has over 20,000 games listed, compared to over 600 PSP titles and over 3,600 for the Nintendo DS.
Game developers are certainly excited about the prospect of developing for the iPad, since it's more powerful, and has higher resolution than, the iPhone and the iPod touch, with the same effective digital distribution channel and the same popular touchscreen controls.
From a usability standpoint, I see early development efforts for the iPad falling short, and I'm certainly not alone. No matter how much more powerful or pretty the iPad is, the fact is that it's a bit too large to work as a standard handheld, and porting titles straight from the iPhone, the DS or the PSP will cause massive control and usability issues. It's large enough to interfere with many game control schemes, and heavy enough that extended play sessions will be hard on the wrists if gamers are forced to play with it the same way they play with a smaller iPhone.
Games with simpler control schemes like Popcap's excellent line will translate well, but more complex games -- indeed, the very games the developers are looking forward to bringing to the mass audience that the Apple Store offers -- could well fall flat because of these usability issues, if developers don't invest in creative new control schemes that cater directly to the iPad itself.
Recent Gaming Insider Articles
-
May The Force Be With EA May 10, 12:11 a.m.
With the “Star Wars” holiday of May 4th right behind us, it seems a fitting time ...
-
How to Use Gamification For Mainstream Consumers, Not Geeks Jan. 25, 4:51 p.m.
The idea of “gamification” has rumbled loud and long throughout the marketing and branding echo chamber ...
-
Contests Powered By Play Dec. 28, 3:07 p.m.
Whether it’s a coupon, a giveaway, a white paper or an app, the competition for consumer ...
-
Gamification Ate My PowerPoint Oct. 12, 3:53 p.m.
At some point in your career, your brain probably experienced death by PowerPoint. I'm sure you ...
-
Gaming 24/7: Reaching Your Audience Day & Night Aug. 3, 3:18 p.m.
If you're paying attention to digital marketing, by now you've heard that gamification can improve engagement ...
-
Creating Games That Maximize Cross-Platform Potential July 13, 5:52 a.m.
With the global game industry expected to grow from $52 billion in 2011 to $70 billion ...
-
Five Ways To Gamify Your Facebook Marketing July 6, 1:49 p.m.
Whether or not you “like” marketing your business on Facebook, your users want to do much ...
-
Gaming For The Greater Good June 1, 1:48 p.m.
Whether from aliens, traitors, mutants or disease, it can be argued the classic video game narrative ...
-
Feeling Special April 27, 1:15 p.m.
Every day, social games are enabling players to express themselves in subtle but powerful ways. By ...
-
Bored With Board Games, Toymakers Go Digital April 6, 10:37 a.m.
Timeless as they may be, classic toys aren’t immune to today’s digital trends. A new age ...
Be the first to comment on "Gaming Potential Of IPad May Fall Short"
Leave a Comment