We all know the theory, smartphones were going to steal Nintendo’s crown for the ultimate mobile gaming platform, but it never really happened the way it was supposed to.
There have been a few stand out stars in the mobile gaming world, masterpieces like Infinity Blade, Real Racing and Castle of Illusion have shone and the relatively cheap price of the App Store has been marketing changing.
But small screens, dodgy control systems and many rubbish games have stopped the smartphone from ever really taking control of the market space.
Castle of Illusion – Pure Magic on iOS
In addition up until now the raw graphical power just hasn’t been there to compete with home consoles, never was this more apparent as when the much appreciated Bioshock was released. Whilst still an impressive mobile experience it just doesn’t measure up to the much loved big screen experience.
So then enter then the newly announced iPhone 6 Plus and perhaps a new gaming contender.
On initial inspection the specs would seem to be very gamer friendly with its true HD 5.5″ display, which is a whole 1/2″ larger than the monster Sony PS Vita, and with a powerful 64 bit A8 processor & dedicated GPU there’s plenty of power for visually impressive games packed inside.
What’s more the upcoming iOS 8 release will feature a new graphics engine known as Metal, bringing an overhaul and upgrade to the iPhone’s graphical abilities. Certainly public demonstrations of Metal have been very impressive. Coupled with the extra power of the iPhone 6 Plus Metal could be revolutionary.
Metal Could Revolutionise iOS Gaming
It’s not all a bed of gaming roses though, the lack of tactile physical controls may continue to cause a problem. Play FIFA on a smartphone and then play it on the Vita and when it comes to fun and engagement there is only one winner, the physical controls really draw you in and ensures accurate controls.
Of course you can invest in a separate joypad or snap on controller but it’s always something extra that you need to carry with you, and ultimately a smartphones biggest advantage it’s always on you.
A powerful iPhone with a big screen and cheap games may just take the mobile gaming crown, all it needs is a few big names and for developers to master the control system and it could be a winner.