Editorials
Why the Vita and 3DS have nothing to fear from Apple
April 3, 2012, Author: Andy Corrigan, 4 Comments
Ah, the rise of the smartphone as a gaming platform; this is the bandwagon that just keeps on rolling, isn’t it? It’s no surprise really; the quality of gaming on your mobile phone has exponentially risen since the days of Snake and, dare I mention it, the N-Gage.
The digital distribution age, brought in by Apple’s iDevices particularly, provides gamers with a cheap, convenient gaming experience. Apple’s success here (and subsequently Android and Windows Mobile) has had such an effect on the games industry that many an expert, industry insider and consumer are predicting that traditional, dedicated handheld consoles are moribund.
I wholeheartedly disagree with this statement.
There is a very good reason for this, but first I have to distance myself from the small group that claim that smartphone games, like Angry Birds or Cut the Rope, aren’t ‘real’ games. I’m sorry, that’s just bullshit. Casual or Hardcore, a game is a game. A lot of what’s available for phones or tablets might not be Skyrim, granted, but they are in their own right real games, casual or otherwise.
Play FIFA on Vita, then play it on iPhone and tell me which is better and why.
I certainly can’t deny the popularity of gaming on the iPhone, either; the sales speak for themselves. I have an iPhone myself, but aside from Words with Friends, I really don’t game that much on it despite buying plenty for it. In fact, I don’t think I’ve ever actually finished a game on there aside from Peggle. Games like Mirror’s Edge, Infinity Blade and GTAIII all sit unfinished on there, and they’ve probably had around an hour’s playtime between them. This is stark contrast to both my 3DS and Vita where I’ve finished most games I’ve played on them or, at the very the least, played them to death before moving on.
There is one reason for this. When I’m sat on the tram or bus, a quick round of Words, Draw Something, or a blast on Peggle is all I want. For this, the iPhone is perfect foil, but when I sit down on my lunch break or have an hour to kill, I want to get my game on with something a bit meatier. The iPhone and iPad admittedly do have these meatier games available and at very reasonable prices, but they’re almost always sub-par experiences. Why? Because touchscreen-only controls are as conducive to playing meatier games as stabbing knives into my eyeballs is to seeing.
Take GTAIII for iDevices for example, a technical achievement certainly; particularly on iPhone. However, actually controlling it is such a fucking chore. This is simply because you don’t get that same feedback to judge the movement as you would with physical controls.
In a game that requires very subtle adjustments at high-speed, this simply won’t do, leading to smash after smash. That’s before you throw pursuing cops into the mix, which degrades the experience further into an exercise in frustration. It just doesn’t feel right.
Prepare to crash a lot...
Switch to the same game on home console, or Liberty City Stories on PSP, and it’s a completely different story; the same game becomes a joy. It’s the same for your FIFAs, Street Fighters, generic shooters and the rest; real games and cheap they may be, but smartphone and tablet games simply don’t have the same quality where it matters, and that’s in the controls.
People will always still stick on the pricing factor, though, and I admit, the Vita and 3DS might have a lot to work out in terms of pricing between now and the end of their lifespan when compared to Apple’s bloated store (especially when it comes to digital distribution). Even still, I’m afraid I’m always going to be happier paying more if it means a better, truer experience with great controls, and currently I can only get that on 3DS or Vita.
There’s definitely a place in my life for Smartphone gaming, but as far as I’m concerned, until they can offer that same level of feedback as physical controls, then place of the dedicated gaming console is very much safe in my household.
Phil said:
What about the xperia play with its dedicated ps3 style flip out control pad? I don't think the controls are always the issue the fact is that developers are not producing major gameing experiences for smartphones. I would suggest that primarily this is due to limited storage but I have a feeling that might change soon enough.
Posted on: April 03 8:23 PM || Report || Reply
Gametrender said:
Price is uber important, but the sheer convenience and desirability of having so many games, especially for free, at our fingertips is also a major plus factor. I'm a great fan of the Xperia Play too, and indeed the 3DS that I bought a week before was soon returned as I just didn't have the motivation nor pocket space to be lugging around a one use only device. That said I've just indulged in an iPad too, and while there's valid points here about the UI and hard interfaces I don't find it a debilitating problem. Besides there are now dedicated controllers that sort out this issue too. Sorry Vita and friends but I think your days are done. http://gametrender.net
Posted on: April 09 9:51 PM || Report || Reply
Trent said:
You have a good point Mr Gametrender but forget one vital issue: battery life. My iPhone will about last me the day if I limit my gaming on it to just a few hours, but sitting on Infinity Blade for much longer than that rinses the battery dry. The last thing you need is to be cut off from your friends or business contacts because you just HAD to have one more go at that boss. As Andy said, handheld devices are not designed for lunchbreaks but for longer mobile gaming times; long train journeys, waiting rooms or afternoons off relaxing in the park. Try gaming on your phone like this and it's bye-bye talktime.
Also, none of the phones currently on the market have the beastly power of the Vita. Sure the Xperia Play is lovely and the iPhone's Retina screen is a dream, but they have to devote much of their CPU to being a phone. The Vita is 100% a gaming device and is better for it. I'm sure there's plans at Samsung, Motorola and maybe even Apple (probably not though) to make phones that will let you call your friends while busting caps on the latest uncharted title but they're likely to be VERY expensive and a long way off.
Having two devices means you can keep your phone for just that; phoning, e-mailing, texting, tweeting, checking facebook, whatever; and use your handheld for gaming. Two batteries and each device doing what it's designed for. Just as a final note, the range of phone games currently available is frankly atrocious. Unless you dribble over Angry Birds and the million other puzzle games that have nabbed it's 'just one more go' format you're limited to poor attempts at shooters and a few decent action games. I've got Infinity Blade and Stickman BMX and Skater. Everything else I've tried has either been marred by unresponsive and intrusive 'ghost button' controls or is just plain shite. What devices like the Vita allow us to do is play full games with solid controls we're familiar with. If the 3DS and the geriatric PSP were the only units to go by I'd be more inclined to agree with you. But when the Vita combines the fluidity of control with the awesome graphical power of the PS3 in the palm of your hand... well, the only reason I aint bought one is because I feel little for it's franchises. And I don't have the money lol.
Posted on: April 10 2:29 AM || Report || Reply
Phil said:
The problem with all that Trent, is that, for me at least, when I play big, involved titles like Unchartered or assassins creed i don't want to limit myself to a 4 inch screen or an hour or 2 of play time. I want the big screen, long sessions that a handheld will NEVER give me. The mobile phone gaming marketplace is EXACTLY right for a handheld device. Short, sharp addictive games thatare easy to pock up & play.
Old school platformers, side scrolling beat-em-Ups or shooters are perfect and work well even with ghost controls
Smartphone know there place which is where the handheld consoles will fail.
Posted on: April 10 10:42 AM || Report || Reply