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Trip Hawkins: iPhone “Freaking Out Sony and Nintendo”
Digital Chocolate CEO Trip Hawkins has lavished praise on the iPhone and iPod Touch, claiming Apple’s platforms offer great profit potential for developers and are more than capable of challenging the likes of DS and PSP.
Hawkins’ San Mateo, California-based mobile game company Digital Chocolate has launched five iPhone games since December and four of them, including Crazy Penguin Catapult (pictured), have been bestsellers.
“It’s by far our most effective platform,” Hawkins, who also founded Electronic Arts, told VentureBeat. “We make as much money with these games on one device as we do putting a game on 100 different cell phone platforms.
“Between the iPod Touch and the iPhone, I think the platform is freaking out Sony and Nintendo," he added. "Apple has sold 30 million units so far and it has created tremendous awareness. It has taken ground all over the world. But it has only penetrated one half of one percent of its total market.”
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Copyright 2006 - 2009 Future Publishing Limited, Beauford Court 30 Monmouth Street Bath, UK BA1 2BW
England and Wales company registration number 2008885
I think people are missing the point a little. I think as the iPhone is a convergence device it stands a good chance at long term success. I for one prefer gaming on my iphone and have bought many more games for it than I have for my DS in the last year. Ok ok, the controls can be a bit obtuse at times but it suits my lifestyle a little more than the DS. I pretty much always listen to music on my iPhone when I'm traveling to and from work etc. It's already in my pocket, already turned on. When I get to the tube I can quickly open a game and have a quick play. No need to open a flippy clam shell and turn it on, or switch on and wait for the UMD to load. No extra bulk in my pocket. No. Instant satisfaction. Oh, here's my stop, I'm now in reception and want to check my work email. I can. Then go back to the game when I get on the bus. It's all really streamlined for my way of life. The DS is a bit more of an inconvenience for me. An extra item to carry around. If I go out at night, I'd never take my DS out with me, but if I fancy a quick blast on Wolfenstein in a half drunk state then I can, my phone is always in my pocket. That's the big difference here.
Sure the software and experiences on DS/PSP are deeper, but I don't want to get sucked into deeper games on a handheld, I don't have enough time and if I do find time I have my PS3 for deeper games.
I think the iPhone is a viable competitor to DS and PSP. Sure it's probably not keeping them awake at night in fear, but they must be a bit wary of it. Just look at how iPod has proliferated globally. If they can achieve the same with iPhone then it will be a very worthy rival. And lets not forget gaming on iPhone is still very much in it's infancy, remember the Wii and DS's controls were ridiculed at first.. Now look at um!
In other words it provides you will mindless distractions, like all mobiles, which no one will take too seriously because they are just mindless distractions.
That's why people aren't too bothered that the controls are rubbish or that, despite using a cross platform language, your game isn't transferable to any other phone or even a same model phone which is a horrible model for games on a device that is so easy to break or lose.
Mobile gaming will be popular amongst the bored on public transport but it'll never be a serious gaming platform until someone solves some of those major issues.
The DS & PSP aren't just for playing on the bus either. Sometime it's nice to play games in your own house without being tied to sitting in front of the TV. So the multi game issue isn't a problem and it's becoming less of a problem with DSware and similar things for the PSP.
What a load of bullfeces.
No one in a sane state of mind would pick an iPhone over the DSi or the PSP. It's just another one of those long shots where companies with no clue try to cross over to the lucrative gaming genre. Mobile gaming is overrated, I don't even know why it's given so much attention. The iPhone is no exception - a pretty neat device but definitely nothing that would make Nintendo or Sony tremble.
If you want portable games and have the least clue what you're doing, you stick to the true gaming companies. There's a reason why they're market-leading.
Somehow I get the feeling that the only reason Apple is given so much attention is because of they're image as the nemesis of Microsoft. The iPod is a good example. It's a half-assed, over-priced MP3 player, with numerous bugs, mediocre battery performance and short life-span. Still, people pick it over its competitors.
I somehow doubt that Nintendo and Sony are freaking out over the iPhone/iPod touch games, I have an iPod touch and a couple of games for it. If you compare the games available to those on normal mobile phones, they are way ahead, but as a gaming format my DS wins out every time in just about every way possible.
Games have come to the iPod/phone as an afterthought, the PSP and DS are made specifically for them, there really isn't a contest there in quality or capability, not to mention the sheer amount of shovelware games appearing for the iPod/phone makes the Wii's games catalogue look like gold, mixed with diamonds.
it would be nice if there was a single cellphone format you could buy games on. There a ton of problems with that format, ranging from figuring out a way for nondata plan users to purchase items without excessive charges, to transporting games from phone and service.
My personal belief is that iWHATEVER won't be eating into Sony or Nintendo's marketshare considerably.
I don't think people who are considering a PSP or DS will pick an iPRODUCT instead for their gaming needs.
Also, i think the majority of people shelling out for these higher end iTHINGS are probably "gadget and tech enthusists" and would be inclinded to own both. I think the majority of these purchases are people getting these games and apps ALONG WITH a DS and PSP, not IN SPITE of. Of course, this won't cover EVERYONE, but I think it will cover a lot of people.
I hope Trip realises that, despite founding EA, no one takes him seriously. If he knew what he was talking about he wouldn't have a string of failures after EA.
The iPone, like any mobile, has horrible controls and that's what holds back mobile gaming. Apple's nazi like control over software will no doubt be a problem in the future when they think they can throw their weight around and the iPhone will quickly fall behind technologically, imo, because Apple likes to trickle freed features. Look how long MMS took.