iCade Extends Physical Buttons to iPhone, iPod Touch

that a 3rd the price of a PSP VITA

so stupid as the best games on iphone are the ones without vb's

damn that things ugly. also, expensive as fuck, hope it flops.

I would play a lot more games on my iphone if this thing got enough support. Seems pretty pricey though. I'll definitely keep my eye on it though. I do not like touch controls for pretty much any gaming.

@Rappelsiini said:

I've been wondering why there isn't something like this out already...

I just found out (as in a few minutes ago) that there are in fact other devices like this, the iControlpad and the Gametel Controller to name two.

More than price I find that software support is a bigger inhibitor to buying something so superfluous. But between Super Crate Box on iPad and Bed Bath's recent $39 iCade sale -- I can safely say I will never need to buy another video game again

This seems completely against the point of what iphone games are supposed to be.

@miva2 said:

This seems completely against the point of what iphone games are supposed to be.

I take issue with the idea that all iPhone games need to be a touch-based experience like Angry Birds or Cut the Rope. The fact is, if you've purchased an iOS device, you've shelled out a lot of money for top-notch hardware, that is capable of so much more gameplay potential than is currently being realized on the devices. I've been hoping for an official apple add-on, but in the mean time 3rd party manufacturers are trying to fill the need.

I think Apple is just a cheap peripheral away from rendering the Nintendo 3DS and Playstation Vita obsolete, redundant single-use artifacts of the past.

If it was just add-on that would work with anything I would probably nab it. Otherwise, it seems like something that maybe 10-20 games max will use it and screw that.

I'd buy that for a little cheaper and if alot and I mean alot of games supported it

who takes iphone games seriously enough to buy one of those?

No way i'd bring that with my phone that I bring as a supplement to my every day life.

Who would buy this... You wouldn't want to keep it on your phone, so you'd still have to carry it around when not in use, making the 'one thing in your pocket' idea that is so appealing defunct.

80 dollars? isn't that kind of much?

I would use one of these for emulators if it wasn't so expensive and ugly

@Binarynova said:

Do we want decent gaming phones or not?

Not

And you thought $99 for 32GBs of memory was outrageous...

I actually kind of like the look of it. Not the price though.

Who is this for? It seems well made, but why?

@PiltdownMan said:

@Binarynova said:

Do we want decent gaming phones or not?

Not

The point where this will become viable is when the add on controller is also a case for the phone, and is sized accordingly. Then you're adding function to something people already want, instead of trying to convince them to bolt a big ugly butt onto their marvel of modern engineering.

Also, 80 dollars is HUBRIS

or apple could put out a driver that lets the bluetooth on my ipod connect to my ps3 controller.

ps3 controllers are cheaper than this icade, and have more functionality.

how is this considered a good idea if its close to half the price of the cheapest ipod touch?

@chrismafuchris said:

Who is this for? It seems well made, but why?

Jailbroken emulation. 100% this is what it's actually for. That's what makes all the discussion of virtual buttons pretty funny.

Talk to me when this is $29.99. Also, which button controls Jetpack Joyride?

Seriously, if they release that in the UK I'll be shouting 'Please take my £60! TAKE IT! I don't even want it in the first place!'. Damn me and my iOS game-buying habit that has led me to having over 200 of them...

This looks promising and has been a long wait. I never find anytime to play a DS so I don't see why this would change much of anything. This also makes your phone/ipod no longer fit into your pocket. Bummer.

80 dollars? yea I am not touching that at all.

Well, I can use this with my Samsung Android phone has this...Directional pad, 2 analog sticks, 4 action buttons, 2 trigger buttons, and separate Start/Selects buttons.

The buttons are a bit small, but it does hold your device.

And, there are like dozens of solutions for every smartphone that seem better than the iCade Mobile in build quality and amount of buttons. I think any sort of controller needs to have sticks, that just seems like a must have in my book.

I think the best solution for a controller that cradles the device is the PhoneJoy. I'd need to see some more reviews for a real world opinion, but it does seem like a slick solution for all sorts of devices because of the expansible center section.

Amazing that two years ago this was considered newsworthy. There are quite a few mobile-friendly controller options these days.