14 DAY TRIAL // id Software technical director, John Carmack, does not agree with the industry that Apple’s iPad 2 is breaking all boundaries by offering a console-level experience when it comes to new-generation video games.
Carmack admits that Apple’s iPad 2 is impressive, noting that devs are no longer forced to pour in resources for hardware optimization: "We have an embarrassment of riches when it comes to mobile development," he told Kotaku.
"We have more power than you can afford to take advantage of," he added.
Still, he believes that big video game studios will not invest too much in creating big iOS titles. Why? Carmack explains (his point of view):
"There's been incorrect hyperbole about the power of these devices, where people are saying that they have console-level performance. The iPad 2 has about half the performance power, and that's a ballpark estimate," said Carmack.
"But that does mean that mobile devices coming out, certainly next year, will be flat out more powerful, and they'll probably be powerful enough where you don't even need the hyper-optimizing, that you could do a fairly easy port-over of your technology and assets," he added.
Among iOS circles, id Software is best known for their incredibly-gorgeous RAGE shooter which, for the time being, is still free to download and play on iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad.
Created with the powerful id Tech 5 engine, RAGE was specifically developed as a demonstration of what Apple’s hardware is capable of leveraging to bring the video gaming experience close to that of current-generation consoles.
Softpedia note
There is, however, yet another misconception regarding Apple’s iOS devices when it comes to video games - controls.
It is my belief that no matter how powerful the A6 processor will be, the iPhone 5 and the iPad 3 still won’t be able to offer a complete gaming experience, when compared to systems like the PlayStation Portable, for example.
Even if Apple’s next-generation hardware beats Sony’s and Nintendo’s in terms of processing power, input in a key ingredient in offering satisfaction to the gamer.
So long as there are dedicated machines with actual buttons out there, the iPad and the iPhone will continue to be regarded as casual gaming devices.
And the fact that App Store sales are going through the roof is a different matter altogether. It’s all too well known that most of the games downloaded through Apple’s platform are played once or twice, then deleted.