Apple Calls iPhone A "Gaming Console"

Throughout the month of December Apple Stores in New York, LA, San Francisco and Chicago will host special "EA Games Sneak Peek" events where Electronic Arts will discuss why the iPod touch and iPhone are amazing platforms for mobile gaming...

Throughout the month of December Apple Stores in New York, LA, San Francisco and Chicago will host special "EA Games Sneak Peek" events where Electronic Arts will discuss why the iPod touch and iPhone are amazing platforms for mobile gaming...

Are handhelds considered consoles?

Well, I played that game Cube and almost puked because of its awkward camera and controls. I think the iPhone has potential, but there hasnt' been anything that has caught my eye yet.

sweet, that means I have been totally validated by claiming my old digital calculator watch was a video game console because it had that game where it flashed a random number and you had to press a button to stop it and the highest number won!

Filed under --> iPhone, Apple Inc.?

I certainly play games on my Touch, albeit only occasionally.

It is a cellphone people not a gaming thing. It is has better games than other phones but it still IS A PHONE!!! THE GAMES ARE AVERAGE! I only liked Aurora Feint, Uno, Dr. Awesome, Super Monkey Ball and Spore Origins! The rest is a bunch of free games that someone made! A person! Not a company! IT IS A MOBILE PHONE!

I'm getting an ipod touch for Christmas and I intend to game on it. I plan on putting SCUMMVM on the unlocked system to play the old monkey island and sam and max games. Aside from that I don't see much else appealing for sale. I would totally go for a peggle, castlevania or something like that.

IF Apple was smart, they would use the button that takes you back to the main menu as a shoot button in games. Suddenly games like Unrea Tournament are feasible on the system... Let's see if they bite.

Gaming console my ass.

They need to do the right thing and get Guitar Hero on there.  That would establish the platform for sure.

Nonce is a really weird word to use in two articles today Brad.

Im personally waiting for the new Nokia touch screen phone thats supposed to be lightyears better then the iPhone, well thats not actually that hard since the iPhone isn't a good phone. I have a N95(a 3y old phone) and even its better then the iPhone.

lol. The difference is that the DS still has the standard controls of all portable systems which still makes it viable for normal games, considering that most of the best games for the system don't use the touch screen that much. The i-Phone, while an amazing (if overrated and overpriced) piece of technology was never built for games.

It really annoys me that the mainstream media is spouting " i-phone has a more sensitive touch screen and better graphics than the DS, which automatically makes it a superior gaming system!" What was the last good game that made exclusive use of the touch screen? Phantom Hourglass, which for some reason I don't think anyone other than Nintendo can replicate.

I don't like touch screens

Don't you actually have to release games for something to be a gaming console? And no, Super Monkey Ball alone does not count. In that regard, you could call the Zune a gaming console because it has like, 5 games for it (all of which are okay, yet very much throwaway games you wouldn't spend money on).

The iPhone is a gaming console the same as the Ngage was a gaming console. Oh, sorry... the same as the Ngage *is* a gaming console. No, wait... I had it right the first time.

i play peggle on my ipod video all the time
it's a console experience that can't be beat

@erinfizz

Almost as weird as keeping a tally of my daily word choice! :(

Who's a "nonce"? 

"lol. The difference is that the DS still has the standard controls of all portable systems which still makes it viable for normal games..."

"...The rest is a bunch of free games that someone made! A person! Not a company! IT IS A MOBILE PHONE!"

This is why apple is fucking retarded. They say that the iphone is a fucking console. Its a goddamned phone/. IPHONE!!! IPHONE!!! ITS IN THE FUCKING NAME!!! Damn tards.

I own Super Monkey Ball for my Touch, its awesome to say the least.

I'd use SCUMMVM on an iFruitPhone, but fuck it being a "games console". Apple are just trying to muscle in on a market they haven't a clue about.

Iphone, just be a phone. stop being all gimmicky. i will never think of you as anything other than a phone. stop trying to sell me on your minor characteristics like some used car salesman would. you are better than that, and you should start acting like it.

."..Apple are just trying to muscle in on a market they haven't a clue about."

The DS is still better.

Nope, not a console, the Wii and DS have shown you still need the traditional controls to sells games.  But dreamcast capabilities?  That console had a great controller, which is what lead to the Xbox and 360's controller.

i'm getting a new iPod Touch soon. can't wait to get my monkey ball on, and put dark knight blu-ray digital copy onto it. 

yeah...guys? Stop using the word nonce.


In the UK it means paedophile, so it gives both stories this bizarre and kinda creepy vibe.

I've used Iphones and Ipod Touches and I really don't understand their draw, some of the stuff they can do is nifty, but at such a ridiculous cost, I would never personally buy one.

After playing quite a few different titles on the iPhone I would have to agree with Joswiak. There is already a lineup of traditional gaming companies making games and ports for it. It definitely deserves a spot on the site and more attention from gaming journalists.

There's some fun games out for the iPhone/Touch. Out of the ones I've played, Trism is my favorite.

Wait, wait WAIT... So the I PHONE is not a phone, but a gaming console?

@akumasan

Yikes, I was unaware of that definition. Considering the size of our UK readership, I think "moment" will work just as well. :( Thanks for the tip.

You can use the iPhone to play games. Just because the games are free or cheap, doesn't lessen the fact that it is still a game. I've seen attempts at creating FPS engines for the iPhone, none of which seem to cut it. Phones have gotten more complicated over the years, adding more and more features. Those who are buying the iPhone just to play the games, should look toward the iPod touch. I agree with Jeff when he says "The lack of traditional controls makes traditional game types--shooters and such--an unappealing prospect".

I wish Apple, and the developers it chooses to work with, the best of luck in making the iPhone/touch a success on the gaming frontier. I just wish they weren't so cocky.

P.S.

• Video game console, a specific device for playing video games
  • Handheld game console, a specific lightweight and portable device for playing video games

Puzzle games be only for iPhone.

iPhone - It's a console.

That quote is a bit out of context.   He was comparing the experience to a console experienced.  Eluding to the unified interface, and strict development guidelines.  Programming for the iphone has to use a unique native programming language, objective-C.  Instead of mix-matched coding including java basic C+ and C sharp.  

BMLite is frickin awesome on the iPhone I'm hooked on it, also like a bit of the un-tameable Jelly Car brpupupupupupupupupup

Alot of the "free" and some paid ones are pretty crap, its still abit like a mobile phone for games atm but it does have quite good specs (higher than both ds and psp), I actully bought Tap Tap: Dance for £2.39 and it was pretty damn good

theirs a free version of rRootage thats pretty cool and ms pacman.

ive downlaoded 2 games for my iphone. tap defense and some scroll shooter thats fun as hell. a lot of the games suck IMO.

Bad games do not detract from the good ones though, and should not have any say on the quality of the system... there are plenty of TERRIBLE 360/PS3/WII games. Since the Iphone is heavily community based on content it will always have its bad games... but look at the 360 community games... check out "Swords and Monsters", its basically a scam game that you beat IN ONE SECOND!! It cost 200MPs and yet this game is on the top ten most downloaded community games... the xbox is not any worse off for it... its not any better though..  

There goes Apple trying to cash in on another market.....

Tsk. Apple better not using their marketing power to muscle in on the handheld market.

That's great for Apple and their precious iPhone. I'm still not buying one.

The 'phone' argument is kind of silly, since the iPod Touch is just as capable (or more capable, if the higher clock speed rumours of the 2G model are true as it's not saddled with 'mobile phone' monikers.

I think it's just as suitable a gaming platform as the DS or PSP, it just needs more games that take advantage of the control scheme. Vay was a shitty RPG when it released on the Sega CD and it's still a shitty RPG, but it's a good example of how simple games like that can be ported without much fuss. Puzzle Quest is the perfect iPhone game. Phoenix Wright. Professor Layton. Elite Beat Agents. Give us more stuff like that, less of those horribly abysmal tilt-sensor racing games (jesus, please stop with those, developers and crappy Bejeweled rip-offs.

Thankfully the app store has seen a bit of a revision to make it easier to find the good stuff, although the review system that helps games bubble to the top is dependent on the people who write them, and the majority of those reviews seem to be written by retards, which negates their usefulness.

Apple should make a portable system... None of  this phone BS
Just consitrate on the gaming aspect and make it really good!
They have already got the technology just refine it... im sure they could do more with it... if it wasnt a mobile phone

That's not a gaming console.

Ah, I get to say what I always say about phones wanting to be gaming consoles. "Drain my battery to play mediocre games so when I need to I can't make a phone call?" Battery life is already horrible enough and my pockets can hold two devices. I can do without a gaming phone, thanks.