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Is iPhone Up to the Challenge?
By Edge Staff
January 14, 2009
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"We have created one game: Texas Hold ’Em. We haven’t felt the need to come in and be a firstparty developer that has to develop a third of the games, like you have on some of the other platforms. We have such a vibrant thirdparty developer network – from big guys to little guys – that the needs are being well taken care of by this established thirdparty community."
Apple claims 62 per cent of the UK music player market, 78 per cent in the US, and the market for games on iPhone is thriving. We sat down with Greg Joswiak, Apple’s VP of iPod and iPhone product marketing, to find out why he thinks the App Store will revolutionise the portable gaming market. (Pic credit: Thorsten Wulff)
EDGE: How is the App Store holding up as a method of getting games to consumers?
JOSWIAK: The App Store has gone really well. In 100 days, we’ve had over 6,000 apps on the Store: mind-boggling. In the same period we’ve had over 200 million customer downloads. It’s just amazing. And it’s games that turn out to be the biggest category of all, with over 1,500 different games already available. To put that in context, that’s more games than the Nintendo DS and the PSP put together, and this is 100 days in.
Is that a problem, though? Because, unlike with DS and PSP, a lot of these games aren’t very competent – could they be damaging your signal-to-noise ratio?
But that’s the beauty of the free market. The cream will rise. That’s why we have a rating system that allows you to rate your experience with a game, and that becomes key to deciding what are the best games. What I love about that is that we offer the opportunity not only to all these big game developers who are doing a great job – EA, Gameloft, Sega, Hudson – but also the small game developer, who has an opportunity to create something too; people who would never have a chance at getting physical distribution.
If they can get a title out and can get good ratings, they can see themselves rise up the bestseller list.
We’ve spoken to a number of developers over the past couple of months, and many of them have said that the approval process is extremely mysterious: they don’t know the criteria they’re being judged on, and the approval process can take anything from five days to a month.
The contract that we have has common sense elements spelled out. We’re not letting in porn or misbehaving apps, or things that come down to poor taste. That’s what our customers expect from us. As far as the time it takes to get apps approved, as you can imagine, we get so many apps a day. The guys we have approving that are doing the best they can and moving as fast as they can.
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England and Wales company registration number 2008885
In all honesty, I have not picked up my Sony PSP since the day I got my IPhone 3G, so yeah, I think its up to the challenge!
RT
www.privacy-web.us.tc
Clearly, the sweet spot for iPhone/iPod touch are casual gamers, and everyone at some point of the day/week/month has a casual moment for which gaming is the antidote.
Plus, specifically because gaming is just one of the tasks that consumers use their iPhone/iPod touch for, the device is never far from their clutches – and their (virtual) pocketbook (thanks to App Store).
I see this truth play out several times a day, EVERY DAY, when my three and six year old sons ask if they can use my iPod touch to…play games, listen to music, view our photo albums, watch YouTube videos, use their favorite drawing program, etc.
It's the classic low-end disruptor (Innovator's Dilemma-speak), something that I blogged about in:
Apple’s Mobile Gaming Gold Rush
http://thenetworkgarden.com/weblog/2008/11/apples-mobile-g.html
My only point is that for hard core gamers this is apples and oranges relative to dedicated platforms, but that has no bearing on the realness of the market. On some level, the back and forth sounds like mainframers to PC owners (it's underpowered, a toy, not a real computer, don't want it/don't need it/won't use it). I think that we know how that one turned out.
In any event, check out the post if interested.
Mark
Quix, stop trolling FFS.
Apple & Starbucks, it's enough to make you shudder.
Wow, lots of anti-Apple FUD flying around here. Let's dissect some of it, shall we?
"The iPhone will never challenge the PSP/DS as far as games are concerned because Apple's products only attract a niche market." - Baria Von
Niche market, eh? Hmm, sounds like *someone* has never heard of a little device called the iPod?
"Very few consumers would buy an iPhone just for games (just like very few would buy an expensive Apple desk-top system just for OSX) as the product is insanely expensive." - Baria Von
Bzzt, wrong again. The iPhone is comparable in price to other smart phones. And no one is going to buy an iPhone "just for games," but they will buy an iPhone because it's a great phone *with great games*. And you may not realize that iPhone games also run on the iPod Touch? Which is more comparably priced to the DS and PSP. You may want to get some info before posting next time.
"I'm glad the iphone is doing well, but it's a laughable gaming platform at best." - CyberData4
"Laughable," eh? No, you're not going to get button mashers on the iPhone/iPod like you do with DS/PSP, but there are some excellent games available. Fieldrunners. Rolando. Sim City. Tap Tap Dance. And they're just getting started. Play these games and realize that this is the *real* future of mobile gaming. Me, I'm hoping for an iPhone/iPod version of Starcraft.
I have an incredible device in my pocket that gives me email, Internet, a wide range of interesting and useful apps, and a great gaming experience on the go. Those of you who don't see the iPhone/iPod as a serious challenger in the portable gaming market are either ignorant, delusional, or afraid.
""Laughable," eh? No, you're not going to get button mashers on the iPhone/iPod like you do with DS/PSP, but there are some excellent games available. Fieldrunners. Rolando. Sim City. Tap Tap Dance. And they're just getting started. Play these games and realize that this is the *real* future of mobile gaming. Me, I'm hoping for an iPhone/iPod version of Starcraft."
Played them. All of them. Not impressed. You know why you'll never see an iphone version of starcraft? Because it'd require a dev to actually put some effort into a game beyond the token touch/tilt control scheme. So, the games are still laughable. Rolando? Wonderful. Just like the wii, the unique control scheme may be able to impress a novice, but for real gamers it takes some depth and ...FUN. Tilting my iphone everywhere like a tard doesn't impress me. Only iphone game that impressed me was Sim City. That had potential.
For ever ONE iphone game you can name, I can name 10 ds games that are FAR better. Sorry, but gaming is NOT the iphones strong suit. I love my iphone. Hell, I'm about to sync some new songs and a movie to it now. You're right about one thing, the iphone is the "future" of **mobile** gaming. Thank goodnes that DS and PSP are top of PORTABLE gaming. Off to play some Chrono Trigger, peace.
I can't believe you created an account just to post this nonsense. Get a grip Apple fanboy.
*Somebody* has to counter all the ignorant anti-Apple tirades that fill the Internet with noise and bluster.
And "fanboy" right back at you.
It's not Anti-Apple. I am sure most people like Apple around here. But it is obvious that to the gaming community being Apple means that "Jack has just left town, stick with the remains". Buying decisions are driven by games and games only. Need proof? Read the flame about Nintendo not delivering enough hardcore content, see how much people care about BluRay movies on a PS3, own an HDVDV drive for their 360 and so on.
It's obvious that people owning Apple products did not buy them for the gaming experience. So congratulations, you now own a phone with a map disgracing the genetic heritage of your hunter-gatherer ancestors. That does still not change the fact that people present here will determine the viability of Apple platforms by measuring the quality of games first. Those games are not up to the standards of competing platforms and the gaming experience lacks any sort of ergonomics as far as the masters of dualstick controls are concerned.
I understand that for the members of the technology industry and attached press, the iPhone has become a genitalia substitute, yet EDGE is about games not plastic boobs. In all brutal honesty those games should not be rated any better just because another Apple toy for adults has been peer pressured into being perceived as the best thing since sliced bread. The perspective here is the gamer's perspective. Do I listen to mp3s on my PSP? Do I watch movies on it? Do I surf the web with it? No, no, no, no, those features are regularly ignored. The same is happening to the iPhone, if anything there is no bias in that regard. All non-gaming applications of any tools usable for gaming are equally ignored.
To be taken seriously as a gaming platform, there have to be games with higher production values. Converting the same 10 puzzle games to the next cell phone platform just isn't enough. If the DS touchscreen is off by a millimeter or PSP D-Pad not 100% perfect, or the input scheme not absolutely perfect, then the gamers will expect the press to descent on those issues with a flaming sword. The iPhone should get the same scrutiny. That is neither fanboyism, nor Anti-Apple lifestyle. It's business as usual.
Quix said:
Niche market, eh? Hmm, sounds like *someone* has never heard of a little device called the iPod?
The iPhone is comparable in price to other smart phones. And no one is going to buy an iPhone "just for games," but they will buy an iPhone because it's a great phone *with great games*. And you may not realize that iPhone games also run on the iPod Touch? Which is more comparably priced to the DS and PSP. You may want to get some info before posting next time.
I have an incredible device in my pocket that gives me email, Internet, a wide range of interesting and useful apps, and a great gaming experience on the go. Those of you who don't see the iPhone/iPod as a serious challenger in the portable gaming market are either ignorant, delusional, or afraid.
_________
Until the numbers and facts prove otherwise, your comments are completely fictional. The iPhone and iPod Touch don't have the market share to make a serious impact on gaming.
Apple haven't got a leg to stand on when it comes gaming as opposed to Sony/Nintendo and even MS. Plus most of the games are completely shit.
And yes, i've never bought (and never will) an ipod, i use my nokia phone for listening to my music via bluetooth headphones, something that i could never do on an iPhone/iPod Touch i.e. listen to music wirelessly using bluetooth headphones.
Wow, I remember people saying the Wii didn't have a chance either, what with the PS3 and Xbox 360 being so technologically superior and hence more suited to "serious gamers." Hmm, I wonder how all that turned out?
Let's see how "fictional" my comments are in a year or two, mmkay?
And good for you and your battery-killing, audio quality-dulling Bluetooth headphones. 99% of the market doesn't care. That's just a fact.
You anti-Apple trolls grow tiresome.
Quix said:
99% of the market doesn't care. That's just a fact.
___________
Nonsense, you're just pissed because you're expensive, piece of shit device can't do it.
The iPhone will never challenge the PSP/DS as far as games are concerned because Apple's products only attract a niche market.
It's the same reason Apple do so poorly within the computer market as they aren't prepared to release OSX for the PC, therefore consumers can't go into a store, buy the software, and install it, like Windows.
So, if one wants OSX they need to buy a very expensive Apple product and that's where they fail.
Very few consumers would buy an iPhone just for games (just like very few would buy an expensive Apple desk-top system just for OSX) as the product is insanely expensive.
You are right that Apple is the underdog in terms of computer market share, but they are more like BMW as compared to Ford. Ford may sell more cars but BMW make more money from each car sold. So its hard to say they are doing poorley in the computer market when they are one of a few companies with no debt and billions in the bank.
And terms of music players or products like the iPod Touch, Apple is the market leader.
When you buy a Mac, you are buying because of its high end design and finish as well as OS X. This costs money. If you bought a Dell or Sony Vaio comparable to a MacBook Pro I think you would find they were all around the same price. Plus the Mac has the added advantage of being able to run Windows if need be.
If someone buys an iPhone just for games, I think they've got bigger problems to worry about! An iPod touch is first and formost a music player and all other features are seconday to that.
The climate at the moment seems to be like a goldrush. Apple supplies the developer kit for free so the barrier to entry is minimal. The cost for the developer program which allows you sell on the App Store is $99 which is i'm guessing a lot cheaper than Sony or Nintendo.
Everybody is flooding the market with cheap shallow games to make a quick quid. However, over time this will settle down and this is when the real content will come through.
Thing is, 99% of the games on the iphone are trash. With touch controls tacked. Sorry, but iphone games just don't have the same quality as most nintendo ds or psp games.
I'm glad the iphone is doing well, but it's a laughable gaming platform at best.
The biggest problem I can see for the platform at the moment is being able find the good games. There are no reputable sites like Edge online giving you the heads up about about potentially interesting titles. And the categorisation for games in itunes is terrible. The top ten lists are full of crap, iThis and iThat. I think that because the platform is so new and the demographic aren't gamers first, they are just buying whatever is in the top ten lists in the first place. It's too laborious to click page after page in search of something interesting.
As an aside, a lot of these games forget that on the iPhone, the phone comes first. You could be interrupted at any moment with a call or text. They more often than not don't offer a way to get straight back to where you were if you exit out the app. Rolando does this well with its isave system, but this is what I expected from every game.
@4thvariety
You miss the point. you don't buy an iPhone only to play games. You buy it to use as a phone, iPod, web browser, GPS, mini computer, etc etc. Games are icing on the cake.
If you don't need the phone or GPS features and the resultant monthly bill, at US$229, the iPod Touch is in fact very price competitive when you factor in the cost of games. It only takes a few games at US99c - $9.99 for the iPod Touch to end up cheaper then the DS and the PSP. If you look at Apple's latest iPod Touch ads and Apple's website and the phenomenal sales volume of games apps, there is no doubt that games have indeed become a core feature of the platform.
The other issue is the iPhone and iPod Touch compared to the DS and PSP are like the Wii compared to the Xbox and PS3. With the multi-touch screen, accelerometer, 3D hardware acceleration and fantastic App Store, Apple is bringing in a whole new demographic to portable gaming. Speaking for myself, I'd never buy a dedicated games machine or buy more than one or two games for my computer, but since getting an iPhone 3G, I've purchased about 20-30 games already.
Pull the wool from your eyes, Nintendo and Sony are suddenly faced with a very strong contender in the portable gaming market whether you like it or not.
-Mart
Dear Mart,
I never suggested the only use for the iPhone was gaming, but for those who are already gamers and are looking into portable, the platform isn't that attractive. This is one of the reasons why I can't understand the hype about iPhone gaming in the current "enthusiast" press. Sure, the iPhone has become the fashion accessory for them to have, but outside the social group of the tech-geeks, the impact is not there. There has been cell phone gaming before and the iPhone is not that much of an improvement over it. More of a novelty in terms of the technical limit.
So even if I was to go for the iPod touch, then the fundamental issue of the quality of games would still remain. I do have dedicated game machines, so my gaming taste buds are not that impressed with what I see on the iPhone. As long as the hardware is relatively cheap, then it does not matter if the games cost more money. The games have the chance to prove they are worth it and they run on a platform designed for gaming. I might pay ten times, but the game is ten times as good. So I rather have a DS with 4 good games, instead of an iPod with 30 shovelware titles.
That goes not to say that all iPhone games are bad by design, but they are a reflection of the iPhone owners. If you are smart you can make a lot of cash from these guys. Any amount of 5-minute puzzle games and other short distractions will sell. You would be a fool not to develop that sort of games right now. But Sony and Nintendo could sell games like this themselves, especially Sony on the PsP. So the innovation of Apple is not portable gaming, it's not cell phone gaming, not touchscreens, not tilting sensors, it's single serving gaming. $2, two hours of fun from a very simple game and then the next please. That is the new wonder demographic, meaningless, microtransaction fun, which is quickly forgotten without regret.
Being Apple they naturally went after the high price segment first with their iPhone, but if they really want to change the face of gaming, they need to be competitive in pricing. Otherwise the "single serving gaming" invetion will spread faster to other platform than Apple can contain it. The same happened to Apple with iTunes store. Others quickly copied the model. But capturing more of the emerging single serving games market means lowering the prices. The Wii would not be the Wii if it cost $800. In the U.S. the aggregate price of $400 ($200 phone, $200 2year ATT contract) for an iPhone is dirt cheap compared to what is charged in Europe. Same iPhone with contract in Germany will cost you $1668. That's prohibitive pricing at its best.
Klaus
The iPod touch is the best comparison and I really like the additional slotted controller. Then, gamers could experience a better, more targeted interface. But, then again, packing around an attachment defeats the idea of portability.
My Frat brother thinks that Apple gaming is for real. He has an itouch and plays it quite often. He plays his DS more but he still realizes Apple's viability in the portable marketplace. I, for one, agree wth his views and think that it could pose a problem for the PSP in the near future.
You buy games? I don't know anyone myself that buys iPhone games, just free downloads.
What kind of games do you buy? What's your criteria for buying?
In my own experience the touch screen and tilt sensitivity has been a hurdle for games to work over, often a digipad and buttons would be more convenient. The games you play I figure make good use of these functions though?
When the games only cost between a buck and 10 bucks it is far easier to justify games purchases compared to $40-50 each game on the DS and PSP platforms.
And I'm not alone in buying games. Haven't you seen the figures from Apple? Extrapolating from the $30 million revenue Apple made off the 60 million downloads in the first month, out of 300 million downloads announced at the start of December, Apple probably made $150 million in sales. That's a lot of other people buying games and other apps.
http://blogs.computerworld.com/apples_app_store_hits_300_million_downloa...
The games developers are certainly raking it in. The Tank game iShoot is earning $21,000 a day for the guy that developed it:
http://www.iphonesavior.com/2009/01/iphone-developer-quits-day-job-after...
As far as what games do I buy? Lots of apps like X-Plane, Armaggedon Squadron, Blue Skies etc that use the accelerometer to steer, something that is very natural and doesn’t require a D-pad as well as other apps that make great use of the multi-touch screen like Enigmo and Sim City.
Just remember, there is a huge population out there who have never used a D-pad in their life who are buying these apps. It's like Mums buying Wii Fit - a vast untapped market.
-Mart
The PS3 is always criticized for its price, but compared to an Iphone the PS3 is a cheap toy. An Iphone is at 30€-50€ a MONTH, hardware not included (German pricing). I doubt that at this pricepoint Apple can compete with the DS or the PSP at all. The mandatory 24 month contract will cost you between 800€ and 1300€ (again German pricing). Talk about prohibitive pricing, the Iphone is nowhere near mainstream gaming at that cost.
Even if people bought an Ipod touch, the price is still higher than any other gaming handheld currently sold. And for what? Gaming isn't even the core functionality. The PsP can play mp3 and videos too, in the ind of teenagers there is little difference.
The controller issue, on the other hand, could be fixed by releasing a "controller cradle" snap-on. Much like the keyboard attachenment for 360 or PS3 controllers, the controller cradle would be basically a controller where people slot in their Iphone.
For a considerable time, the Iphone/Ipod games will be a mirror of the people who are into buying such expensive gadget. it will not be a move of traditional games to another platform. Different platform owners with different ideas about gaming and different taste buds. They don't need monkey ball or space invaders, it'll be Brain Age all over again.