The Mixed Outlook for iPhone Gaming 99
With everyone talking about Apple's big announcement, it's unsurprising that commentators are discussing the possibilities of gaming on the iPhone. The DS and the PSP are both on N'Gai Croal's list of who is afraid of the iPhone, and with good reason. Touchscreen gaming on a high-resolution screen? Sounds like fun. TIME's lengthy run-down on the iPhone even mentions the possibilities of games on the small screen. Just the same, it's not all roses: Kotaku talks about the developer unfriendly nature of the platform, and how that could throw up barriers to the first game on the handheld.
Re:Developer Unfriendly? (Score:3, Informative)
There'll be no Flash or Java [nytimes.com] on the first iteration of these phones, although that's probably because involving too many developers would kill the secrecy around this product. The next revs will probably support them.
Another kicker is: no video support in the current camera (although that'll probably change soon). Lots of people use their cameras to record video.
Re:Why even worry about it? (Score:3, Informative)
And even if not - the thing will be hacked in two days, devkits leaked and Apple will have to allow it de facto. See the story of Boot Camp.
Re:Vote with $$$ (Score:2, Informative)
- a $500 phone + 2 year service contract with ridiculous data charges.
I'll buy:
- the tiny phone I'm already using ($0)
- a $200 PSP or a $129 DS (Lite), and then spend ~$50-$100 for a 4 gig flash memory card to hold all my wifi-enabled 3rd party apps, homebrew games, and ROM dumps of games I own, dating back to the NES days.
To recap: I'll sit back and play with fun 3rd-party (and 1st-party) toys while you pray to your little statue of Steve Jobs to pleeeease let you do what you want with your phone. Have fun.