If you ask me, the entire "games" black hole looks for all the world like they're on the cusp of something that isn't quite ready.
They introduced official gamepad support coming to iOS7 at WWDC, both standalone gamepads and iphone/ipod-wrapping cases. A couple MFI partners even teased things to come. And then... nothing.
It became actually real in the release of iOS7. The iPhone event even dedicated some serious stage time to gaming and a few higher-profile apps were updated to support it. But, still, nothing.
The iPad event came and went and they didn't even mention the iPod Touch, let alone gaming. I don't think they've ever talked about the iPad without talking about gaming.
So I wonder if the event was "off" because a tent pole feature, something that encompassed phones, tablets, ipods and maybe even the appleTV, just wasn't ready to go.
I've often wondered about Apple's reluctance to fully take advantage of iOS as a serious gaming platform. At the WWDC they mentioned some key partnerships to deliver console-style controllers for iPhones and iPads -- I don't understand why they don't just find a way to integrate console controls onto iOS devices on their own and DOMINATE the space.
I want to play AAA titles on my iPad with AAA-caliber controls, not some flaky touch screen stopgap.
> I don't understand why they don't just find a way to integrate console controls onto iOS devices on their own and DOMINATE the space.
You'd be talking about essentially a dedicated device. The 'hard-core' console market, where the manufacturer takes a loss on the device and hopes to make it up on the games, someday (it took Microsoft about a decade), is probably not something Apple would be too keen on, given their business model. Of course, they also have no experience making console controllers. Probably better to leave it up to the partners.
I've heard this rebuttal before, but I really think with some clever engineering (which Apple has no shortage of) it could be done in way that would preclude a dedicated device, and wouldn't be intrusive to people who have no need for it.
That's an interesting thought. I think the missing piece is really the Apple TV playing games, and for whatever reason (maybe storage?), they just can't or don't want to make it happen.
As to storage, they've got the fusion drive. It doesn't sacrifice speed. It can (economically) be large enough to avoid feeling cramped. And it's been real-world tested for a couple years now.
Personally, I think the hold-up is that Apple is working on some new method of interacting with a computer from across the room. [1] I can see them demanding some better interface for general software, before they put an app store on the Apple TV. At which point they're free to only barely support gaming (via the gamepad APIs) as is their tradition.
[1]
A remote control is a terrible way to interact with arbitrary software. It's not even that good for modern video services that do little more than adding queue-management, search and account information management.
Gamepads are effective, but they're very gaming-specific and Apple is only accidentally a force in gaming; it's not in their DNA to release hardware that requires a gamepad.
Maybe it's something like Kinect. Maybe it's Siri. I don't have any good guesses there. I hope to hell it isn't AirPlay.
I just think the evidence is pretty clear that Apple simply doesn't value gaming enough to do a gaming-first product. They'd demand it do something more and how you'd do something more is a problem large enough to explain the delays (particularly given Jobs' autobiography, wherein he claimed that he'd finally cracked TV).
They introduced official gamepad support coming to iOS7 at WWDC, both standalone gamepads and iphone/ipod-wrapping cases. A couple MFI partners even teased things to come. And then... nothing.
It became actually real in the release of iOS7. The iPhone event even dedicated some serious stage time to gaming and a few higher-profile apps were updated to support it. But, still, nothing.
The iPad event came and went and they didn't even mention the iPod Touch, let alone gaming. I don't think they've ever talked about the iPad without talking about gaming.
So I wonder if the event was "off" because a tent pole feature, something that encompassed phones, tablets, ipods and maybe even the appleTV, just wasn't ready to go.