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Denver, 12:07 AM
Thu Dec 3
63 posts in the last 24 hours
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09/11/09
09/11/09
The app store is fine as is, but I never use it. Manually scrolling through all these apps when only so many apps can be displayed on screen is a bit painfully if I'm just browsing through a bunch of stuff I don't enjoy. Perusing through a shelf at a store seems easier by comparison.
Truthfully, my Touch is used for listening to music, though creating playlist on the fly would be nice, (is it possible?) and for viewing pictures. So yeah, a camera would have been useful.
Oh yeah, the google map function can eat dirt, because you need a dedicated wifi spot to used the thing anywhere. I wish I had the need for a cell phone.
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I think the attack on dedicated handheld consoles is a bit much, but they have sold over 40 million Touches/iPhones in two years. They could very easily snag the casual audience.
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Seriously, check out a product tear-down sometime.
09/11/09
He did the exact same thing with Video playability on the classic iPod
The iTouch being "too thin" for a camera is not a valid excuse
09/11/09
Why? Because Apple and Ipod are about being cool and trendy while game machines have always been regarded as nerdy/geeky/loser's kind of stuffs.
As a hardcore gamer myself, I hate to say that they just don't match and will never do.
09/11/09
You sound just like how people were condemning Microsoft for introducing the Original XBox a few years back. Funny how that worked out just fine for them, no?
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I can't play games on my iTouch very well -- I need my buttons.
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Which brings me to my next point -- the reason why:
@kagekiri: You need practical hardware, but beyond that, why would you buy a game with good hardware if the software's not up to snuff? I think you're right when you say iPod/iPhone games aren't exactly the highest quality games we've ever seen. Well, perhaps on a phone. But our standards, when comparing to a DS or PSP, are elevated.
Which then brings me to another observation: AAA titles would not sell on an iPod. At least, definitely not on the existing hardware. If given the choice between your comfortable, familiar portable system or your mp3 player to play a 20-80 hour game with...
09/11/09
which is exactly why i said, "if they added a slide out portion like the psp go with a dpad and buttons.."
we all know the ipod touch isnt a great mp3 player.. most ppl that buy it are looking for more than one thing. folks that want just mp3 players usually would get ipod classics or other competent devices. 32 gigs .. and now even 64 gigs isnt enough for all the music i have.. but 32 gigs is enough for the occasional pick up and play games i play on the touch. the main reason i got a touch was because being as obsessed with games as i am, any device that gets hype for playing games that isnt a complete flop (like the ngage), always gets a purchase for me.
but besides that, its a very capable portable device when it comes to surfing the web and listening to music.
so yeah, if they added buttons specifically for gaming, then itd no longer be an mp3 player. itd now be a portable console like they are seeming to want it to be.
and as for premium games working on the app store, they need their own store.. not just a section in the app store. there needs to be an app store for quick games and stupid crap thats an impulse buy, and a dedicated 20 - 30 dollar section called the "game store." but that would only flourish if they added buttons. i really think if they came up with a solution that would work on older models as an attachment and be built in or bundled with all newer models.. theyd have a hit.
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With you 100%.
09/11/09
it only takes a couple things that have mostly been done before.
09/11/09
If they had a design similar to PSPgo, they'd have my money -- with more hard drive space for my music, of course.
09/11/09
I'd actually love to get one - but there's 2 problems.
1) (...and this is the killer) - I cant mount the iPod Touch or iPhone as an external drive or use it on more than 1 computer.
That's game over right there, if i cant take my ipod to work & play the music on itunes at work & at home its useless to me.
2) No Camera. The nano has a cam, the iPhone has a cam. I want a cam on the Touch too.
I'd prefer to get a nano over the touch due to the 1 computer / no mount thing - but thats only 16GB - not enough for me.
So ill be sticking with my 60GB classic for the moment.
09/11/09
1) Yes, you can. There are even apps that you can use to wirelessly access the device's hard drive from a computer or your computer's hard drives from the device itself. There's also plenty of iTunes alternatives you can use to listen/edit/add/delete music files to your device, such as MediaMonkey.
2) How often do you seriously think you'd be using a video camera on an MP3 player? Remember, the 5th Generation Nano's camera only takes video, no still shots due to it's low resolution. You're better off buying a cheap 40$ one off of ebay than wasting your time with that thing.
The only valid point you made was that you use more than 16GB for your music. Personally I don't have that issue because my iPhone has access to 3G and every song I have from a server I have online at all times.
I don't blame you for not upgrading for space reasons, but you really oughta do some research on the device in question as far as your issues are concerned before shooting it down.
09/11/09
Be interesting to see how Sony and Nintendo respond to the new runner in the handheld race. I think they'll be kind and pass on some friendly advice. Though "hahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha..." might not come off as that friendly.
Still, Apple have manged to sell 20 million of these things, which I'm sure Sonys 50million and Nintendos 100million will be quaking in their boots at. Especially when you can't currently buy Apples gaming handheld in any Game retailer I know of.
09/11/09
This is in just a little over 2 years of being on the market, as opposed to 4 1/2 for PSP. Yes, DS is by far and away the leader in the market, but certainly the ridiculous adoption rate of the iPhone/iTouch is nothing to laugh at.
You think Nintendo and Sony are laughing? I don't think so. You think that's why they launched DSiWare and PSN for PSPGo? Because they thought Apple was a joke?! They see Apple as a legit threat.
And the fact you can't buy Apple's 'system' in a game retailer is probably a plus for it. After all, their target market is more casual - much less likely to go in to a specialty store to purchase a machine.
09/11/09
And I'd say the reason that it's not in a gamereatierls, and because people don't go to a games retailers to buy a touch, is because they buy an MP3 player, not a gaming handhled as Apple are now touting it to be.
If they can throw out an accurate number for how many folks use the Touch as a hanheld and not a PMP it'd probs be worth looking at it in-depth.
09/11/09
Developers go where the money is and as long as there's a huge install base, they will develop for it.
The thing is even if people don't buy it specifically for gaming, even as a "side function" having your game potentially accessible for 40 million people is nothing to sneeze at.
For example, even if I bought an iTouch just for MP3s, I might be tempted along the way to download a $2 game I heard about from my friend, right? Even if I'm not using it specifically using it for games, I have a chance to buy one.
It's sort of like those people who bought a PS3 just as a Blu Ray player, right?
09/11/09
There's already a gaming industry like that, and it's not where DS and PSP are... it's mobile phone gaming. A field that is littered with the corpses of people who have been predicting, for years, that it's on the verge of sweeping the DS out of the way and even taking away console market share.
It's a completely different audience, business model, strategy, and different product. It can succeed, obviously... but it won't be because it takes much business away from Nintendo.
09/11/09
we'll see what the figures are after 3 more years. i doubt we'd see nintendos 100 million (excluding the iphone figures), but i wouldnt be surprised to see more than 50 million touches in the wild by 2012.. especially if they added buttons.
09/11/09
NOTE: I don't think it's dumb not to have a camera. I think it's stupid to have such a bullshit explanation.
09/11/09
It's really annoying, as someone who actually is into video games, to listen to him piss on the DS and PSP. He either doesn't understand that the actual quality of the gaming experience is important to us, or he doesn't care. It's insulting. Either way, I'm not looking into trading up any of my "traditional" portable consoles just yet. What can I say, I like having some depth in my games, and, oh, buttons to play them with.
/rant
09/11/09
Bill Gates.
I'm just sayin'.
09/11/09
First off, It is over priced, that is, it would be if it was just a gaming machine with only access to the app store. Fact is, it WAS overpriced when it was released, and remained so for a while. Now you can get one for $199? Come on, that's a steal!
What, the DSI retails for $169.99, and then there's tax so it comes out to a little more than 180.00. And what are you getting? Essentially, and being realistic, a DS with a camera, a sound/music feature and DSIware, which when being realistic, none have yielded anything significant yet in terms of providing an advantage over the DS. Of course, I will probably get some people saying DSIware games have their advantages and some are great, but i've been keeping up, and there's nothing that justifies the cost, at least not yet. Hell, I wasn't sure about paying the $140 (tax included) when I bought the original DS, and after about maybe a years worth of use, (and that was back in 2006 - 2007) I haven't played more than a total of probably 15 hours, and that's not for lack of trying.
Then let's look at the PSP, a system with a select amount of great titles. Does it justify the cost? I'm not sure. I've tried on numerous occasions (including today, actually) to buy one. I have the cash, but I can't bring myself to do it. All of my friends have modded PSP's, and if I get one I'm going to need to mod it, because there are at least 15 games I want to play and I don't want to spend so much money. But as much as I've liked to pirate in the past, I've never fully converted to it, and I still today can't totally mod a system (none of my consoles are modded) But if you did mod a PSP, then you would have access to all the games, and it's a UMD movie payer, and a music player, etc. Enough to justify the cost? Maybe if you mod it.
And like for the DS, if you get homebrew, maybe.
But I'm personally not convinced.
The camera, the music players? Gimmicks. As much as you might want to disagree, these aren't totally needed. Maybe I feel this way simply because a phone with a camera makes more sense than a gaming system with a camera, but then again I do own a PS3 eye. But in a handheld system?
Do you really not get why there is no camera in the ipod touch?
Two reasons, first because of course they want to make more money, so they hope you'll buy the IPhone. But also, who needs a camera on a handheld device? I know the DSI has it, and it's kind of utilized it, but I've yet to hear anything incredible come out of it, and until something does, NOBODY else in the industry is going to think twice. (except Sony with the attachable camera for the PSP, but that was a long time ago, and didn't seem to go anywhere)
The Iphone and Ipod touch are doing what no other gaming system has fully been able to do yet:
They are offering a fully functional downloadable game store where you can get all sorts of different games at very, very low prices. A lot of them are terrible, yes. rushed, yes. But there are a few gems, and in time, there will be so many more.
09/11/09
You say you're not sure it's worth the money, but then you say there are more titles available for it than you want to spend your money on? ...The hell?
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