What the iPhone 4 Means For Handheld Gaming

By Jason Young
GameZone.com

image courtesy of gdgt

In what happens to be the most unsurprising news of the week, unless you’ve been hiding under a rock, the formal announcement for the iPhone 4 on Tuesday presents a unique opportunity for handheld gamers everywhere to get into the motion controlling act; although Nintendo has dabbled with the idea before with games such as Kirby Tilt’n’Tumble and WarioWare Twisted!

Similar to the PlayStation 3’s Sixaxis Controls and the Wii’s Motion Sensing Ability, the most intriguing feature of the new iPhone is the new built-in three-axis gyroscope. As described on the iPhone’s official webpage, “when paired with the accelerometer, it makes iPhone 4 capable of advanced motion sensing such as user acceleration, angular velocity, and rotation rate. Translation: More motion gestures and greater precision for an even better gaming experience.”

While it certainly isn’t anything new par se, Steve Job’s demonstration of the new feature during his keynote with a Jenga-like game has ultimately presented some interesting and new features for third-party iPod developers everywhere.

However, the main concern is this: will developers actually use it? For starters, many of the iDevices out there are of the third generation or older variety, so from a financial standpoint I can’t see too many companies trying to take advantage of it the minute the device is released. In addition, how many companies will be able to utilize the feature to its maximum potential? Think about the PlayStation 3’s SIXAXIS support for a minute. Aside from Sony’s first-party games such as Lair and Warhawk, professional game developers have yet to utilize the SIXAXIS feature exclusively meaning that most developers feel as though it’s nothing more than just a tacked-on product. Case in point, Metal Gear Solid 4. On the flip-side, think about how little companies support the Wii’s new MotionPlus feature other than a few titles such as Red Steel 2 and Carnival Games 2.

Although it’s a given that a certain number of third-party companies will be excited by the possibilities of this new feature, what genres do you think will benefit the most from the new feature? From a gamer’s viewpoint, I can see first-person shooters, driving games, flying games, and possibly shmups benefiting the most from the new gyroscope in order to add another level of immersion. Other than those though, many companies may just continue to rely on the multi-touch system that’s served them well for the past several years and I wouldn’t blame them. It’s safe.

That said, the idea of a portable gyroscope makes me giddy and eager to see what developers have in store for us. With the announcement of the PlayStation Move, and the already utilized Wii Motion Controls can we expect slightly modified ports of hi-def console games? After all, the new iPhone has a new 720p touch screen in addition to a new A4 processor, so I wouldn’t be surprised. Most importantly however, what does this mean for Apple’s chief gaming rivals, Sony and Nintendo? Given their experience with motion control technology, if Apple’s gyroscope feature takes off, don’t be surprised if they’re somehow included as a peripheral in Sony’s next handheld or the 3DS.