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Steve Jobs named most influential game guy ever
- Thread starter boss.king
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And then a couple of years later in the mid 80's the Amiga came along and dominated the performance gaming market until the mid 90's.
I had an Apple II a long time ago and when it came to gaming the breadth and depth of titles on other machines (C64, Amiga) overshadowed it.
No need to apologize
I think iOS is fine as a gaming platform, with the exception of games that are better off with buttons. What I really think sucks is the platform's business model because the sheer volume of apps has created an ecosystem where games become interchangeable and undifferentiated. The commodization makes it difficult to turn a game into a brand. This kills the value of games and drives down their price point, which undermines quality and reinforces the commodization cycle.
Nintendo, Sony, and all the traditional game companies don't have to deal with this problem because their software lineup isn't a commoditized mess of mini-games and ripoffs. These companies also invest beyond the platform by developing in-house titles for their platforms and making sure those titles are good, preserving their ecosystem's $40-60 price points. Apple meanwhile does zero game development and has let the iOS market pricing evolve into a Freemium mess.
And I never said iOS gaming would go away. Along with Facebook, they've helped break out the casual/social game market (AKA middle aged women) and I'm pretty sure they'll keep it because there's nothing better for this type of gaming than a smartphone. But beyond this market, iOS game quality sucks relative to other platforms, enabled by what I just described.
Iwata recognizes this, which is why he said back in July
He's basically saying smartphone games are crap and as long as Nintendo keeps making quality games, they'll be fine. I agree with him. If a dollar store opens up in a neighborhood, the mall doesn't go out of business.
Well duh, Steve, where have you been? People are now making iphones their gaming consoles. People probably are 'gaming' rather that 'telephoning' their iphones.
Well this is where we will continue to disagree, you guys refuse to recognise that there are quality higher-priced games on smartphones too otherwise why would the big game software companies like EA and Taito port so many of their titles over as well as make ios specific games? You ignored what the stuff I've posted by Carmack and the successful franchises set up by Rovio and Epic games (with the Unreal engine and their own titles). I've posted a few simulations and innovative games by smaller developers too but hell I give up. The potential is there that is all.
Most idiotic post of the year and we still have another month and a half left. Well done
His reach and influence in tech was extremely broad. He'll figure near the top on many related lists, and most people wouldn't cast a questioning glance at you for putting him there. And yes, this includes gaming.
They're getting involved because it's a very lucrative market. Millions of people are spending 69p on games. I don't care much for iOS gaming too (gave it a stab last year and now I'm back on dedicated handhelds) but I've bought around 100 games for my iPod just because the games are so cheap. I rarely ever go back to them, though. Once I realised that I stopped buying them.
Carmack/id released a mini game version of RAGE for iOS, it's nothing on the PC+console version. Same for other franchises that get brought over. Metal Gear Solid 4, an absolutely epic and sprawling game on the PS3 was turned into a rail shooter for iOS (same for Rage, come to think of it).
Epic+Chairs Infinity Blade is a popular game but compare that to Unreal Tournament 3, Gears of War series or even their XBLA downloadable game Shadow Complex... they all put IB to shame and show it to be the minigame that it is. A high quality minigame, but a minigame nonetheless.
Nobody is denying iOS isn't a lucrative platform. There's a lot of money to be made. But big devs releasing small games isn't a sign of how great the platform is, hell the Wii had a huuuge influx of devs in 2007. What did they bring? Trash. And ports from Call of Duty, Tomb Raider and the like which weren't as good as their PC, PS3, Xbox versions.
Like Dagless said, Carmack's game is a minigame console companion on rails. In the rest of the FPS world, if you're playing a rail shooter, you're probably using a light gun.
It's a no-brainer for big name devs like EA and Taito to port existing IP. They already made a profit off these games years ago. Far as iOS exclusives, most big studios are not doing that.
Rovio is one of the few companies to have created a brand. This has more to do with their marketing genius than game design skill. Programming wise, all they did was use someone else's physics engine, copy Crush the Castle, and change everything to animals. 2 years after release, they still don't know what to do with the game other than reskin it.
Epic admitted the reason they were so successful with Infinity Blade was because Apple presented it on stage. You can draw your own conclusions about how this relates to product differentiation on iOS being so difficult. Other than that, the game is just a 20 minute minigame using a programming loop and reskinning to pose as an RPG.
And your simulations are the exception, not the rule. The rule is sitting on the top 25 paid list:
- 99 cent mini-game that can be played in a browser
- Gameloft's latest IP ripoff
- crippled port of a AAA console game
- random Electronic Arts IP converted to Freemium
- Angry Birds reskinned for the 50th time to capitalize on the latest holiday
- random retrogame with more depth than any of the above
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2011/11/02/steve_jobs_most_influential_gamer/
Who has been most influential person in gaming history? The late Steve Jobs. What is the product that has most influenced game development? The iPhone.
No, those aren't the opinions of mere fervid fanbois; they're the considered conclusions of 1,000 gaming-industry executives surveyed in the run-up to next week's London Games Conference.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/johngau...jobs-deserves-credit-as-a-video-game-pioneer/
According to 1,000 game industry professionals who filled out a survey for the upcoming London Games Conference, Jobs is already being honored for his work.
A whopping 46% of survey participants placed Jobs in the top five. Twenty-six percent of attendees named Jobs the “most influential person” in games, which put him ahead of well-recognized pioneers like Gabe Newell (16%), Shigeru Miyamoto (7%), Tim Berners-Lee (4%) and Mark Zuckerberg (3%).
Anyone who’s paid close attention to the gaming industry today – and not those who just play the top-tier console and PC games — can see that the future of games is migrating away from the console and to mobile devices. Apple’s iPhone ushered in a revolution in smartphones, which in turn changed the dynamic of games. Look at how much money game giants like Electronic Arts have invested in the mobile space, acquiring game studios like PopCap, Chillingo and Firemint. That wouldn’t have happened without the iPhone.
Fifty-three percent of survey participants voted the iPhone as a top five gaming product. iPhone (17%) beat out game devices like Wii (7%), Xbox Live (3%), PlayStation (3%) and Steam (2%).
And as pointed out before several key people were left off the list so I would not trust the CEO either. They left off the father of gaming and so on.
Also from the article you linked:
Your humble Reg reporter has as much respect for Steve Jobs as the next guy well, more, if some of the opinions of Reg commentards are any indication but to rate Jobs' influence above that of Miyamoto and Berners-Lee seems a bit colored by the tsunami of adulation that has followed the Apple cofounder's recent untimely death.
Also from the Forbes website:
http://www.forbes.com/sites/insertcoin/2011/11/04/steve-jobs-and-apples-influence-on-gaming-massively-overstated/
Im all for giving Jobs credit where hes due, but treating him like some sort of god who invented anything with an on switch is offensive to those who actually made significant contributions in other areas of technology, and it needs to stop.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/benzingainsights/2011/11/02/steve-jobs-voted-most-influential-man-in-video-games-igniting-a-firestorm-of-complaints/
The London Games Conference is a small event that that is heavily focused on the digital, social, cloud, and iOS/Android side of gaming.
Judging by the lack of major game publishers in attendance no one from Nintendo (NTDOY), Sony (NYSE: SNE), Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT), Electronic Arts (NASDAQ: ERTS) or Activision (NASDAQ: ATVI) is on the speaker list its not a stretch to assume that the majority of the attendees surveyed are small-town developers who wouldnt even be working right now if it werent for the App Store. To them, Steve Jobs is everything. He gave them a way to pay the bills.
No one says tech journalists can't have their own opinion.
1,000 industry professionals, whoever they are, also have theirs.
In the meantime, jealousy and envy is a hard road.
The point was that this group is not an accurate cross section of the gaming community, but rather a slice of the iOS/Android gaming community.
There's no jealousy or envy (unless you were talking for yourself or something), only a desire to see those who made larger contributions to gaming than Jobs be recognized for their achievements.
'Zactly.
If I ask a thousand vegetarians what their fave dish is, what do you think they'd say?
Well it's not as if the Sega didn't milk their Sonic character, nor Nintendo Mario for a long time with varied results. Other franchises have done the same lately with a slew of console/pc games sequels, some better, some worse. Just dong more than reskinning does not guarantee some kind of "creativity".
As to your comments on Infinity Blade, you've not kept up with some late developments. Sure the first was repetitive, it was meant to be as a fancy Punch Out with cool graphics, however one of the later updates included a new ending hinting at something different which is expanded on in the book-which explains the whole artifice of "bloodlines" quite cleverly. The sequel is going to take a different tack.
http://www.slidetoplay.com/story/slide-to-play-q-and-a-infinity-blade-2
Plus different attacks, much more complex power ups and magic, the coop aspect doesn't interest me but I am intrigued in any case.
However in our discussion one thing no-one has clued in on is we are comparing apples
to oranges it seems. Truthfully I am not sure what you guys are comparing here. LTD seems to think the ipad will replace everything including mainframes , while I don't think the same ios game is necessarily the same experience on the iphone or ipad, let alone a full size game console or PC. Smartphones vs. portable game consoles is a fair comparison-some folks might get their gaming needs satisfied on a smartphone and not need another device since like myself they either play on their desktop or have a full size console. Other might prefer the physical controls and huge catalogues of the portable consoles even if it means carrying another device around. Anyway, let me leave you with this humourous look at iphone games.
http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/2506-iPhone-Games
Says who?
Do we have a complete list of their names and roles in the gaming community?
Ah, then I stand corrected! Probably small-time players after all. I completely missed that point.
Yes, it does make sense that they have a lot to thank Apple for.
No, but doing nothing guarantees the brand will die. Ironically Rovio is putting out an IPO next year on the strength of having created a brand and wants everyone's money. Hopefully they're more innovative in the plush toy market and their Angry Birds movie becomes a hit, because their current strategy when it comes to games has no long-term profitability.
You're right. I bought the game and played through 3-4 bloodlines before getting bored and I haven't touched it since. I might try out IB2 since I'm sure it'll cost less than a pizza. If I'm really hungry though, I might just go for the pizza.
However in our discussion one thing no-one has clued in on is we are comparing apples
Usually what happens is LTD comes in and says that Apple will destroy Nintendo and that's it's already happening.
The only point I make is that if Apple wants to kill Nintendo, they have to have games that are better than Nintendo's. Then I make fun of all the crap on iOS. I understand that a lot of this crap are staples of bored housewives everywhere and I'm not denying there's a market for them, but a farm skinner box, or cutting fruit with your finger, or flinging birds at pigs X number of times is not gonna keep people from buying Super Mario 3D Land when it drops next week.
Oh man don't remind me. I played it at Eurogamer and it's pretty much the perfect portable Mario game.