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iPad Xbox and PS4 controllers on iPad - Are apple going to get serious about real gaming?

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whitedragon101

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Sep 11, 2008
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With Apple now providing support in iPad OS for proper games controllers like PS4 and xBox controller and iPad Pro now having the power of a console; is apple going to start getting serious about real gaming?

Maybe PC/console level titles or even ports of existing big games?
 
whitedragon101 said:
With Apple now providing support in iPad OS for proper games controllers like PS4 and xBox controller and iPad Pro now having the power of a console; is apple going to start getting serious about real gaming?

Maybe PC/console level titles or even ports of existing big games?
Click to expand...
The possibilities are endless!
 
Kinda yes and kinda no (a.k.a skeptical). There are still tons of exciting yet a bit niche games out there that iPad just could not play properly before having mouse support, for example Starcraft II and Anno 1800. Now we have it, I wonder if developer will bother porting the game to the iPad, and if iPad platform suitable for those games.
 
I doubt anything will change very much just like not much changed when iOS/AppleTV originally got controller support. Anybody serious about gaming will already have a PC/console and developers know that.
 
They should! Considering the A12X will absolutely destroy a Xbox One X CPU. And our GPU is a little faster than a Xbox One S. This makes the iPad easily capable of rendering high graphical fidelity games very easily. I am a graphics programmer, so it is amazing how you can test certain hardware and it will barely render at a slide show, and then after a couple days of processing and with only small tweaks and optimization, it will run smoothly at 30FPS. And it can surely be done on a iPad too. The problem we have is that no one is in to making high end games on a iPad Pro. It would seem like they would, especially with our 120Hz panels since 2017, and the high end performance these devices are cable of.

I think Apples new games service will change this though. Hopefully!

They could turn these iPads in to legit consoles, with $60 dollar games that are ported that I my self would gladly pay.
 
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tps3443 said:
They should! Considering the A12X will absolutely destroy a Xbox One X CPU. And our GPU is a little faster than a Xbox One S. This makes the iPad easily capable of rendering high graphical fidelity games very easily. I am a graphics programmer, so it is amazing how you can test certain hardware and it will barely render at a slide show, and then after a couple days of processing and with only small tweaks and optimization, it will run smoothly at 30FPS. And it can surely be done on a iPad too. The problem we have is that no one is in to making high end games on a iPad Pro. It would seem like they would, especially with our 120Hz panels since 2017, and the high end performance these devices are cable of.

I think Apples new games service will change this though. Hopefully!

They could turn these iPads in to legit consoles, with $60 dollar games that are ported that I my self would gladly pay.
Click to expand...
Apple should make their own controller then. Time for some really bad concept art! :D
 
The iPad first of all has plenty games. They’re just not necessarily the type that would need a controller. Moving forward Apple likely will want to make sure that a game is playable just with touch controls still - that might be a show stopper for some developers I guess.

We already have established gaming eco systems outside of the iPad and that might not change for a long time. Not sure how well Apple’s gaming service will fare.

Where these controllers definitely could be very handy is the remote play software for existing consoles - that way you could get a full console game experience onto the iPad without having to buy the title again.
 
ericwn said:
The iPad first of all has plenty games. They’re just not necessarily the type that would need a controller. Moving forward Apple likely will want to make sure that a game is playable just with touch controls still - that might be a show stopper for some developers I guess.

We already have established gaming eco systems outside of the iPad and that might not change for a long time. Not sure how well Apple’s gaming service will fare.

Where these controllers definitely could be very handy is the remote play software for existing consoles - that way you could get a full console game experience onto the iPad without having to buy the title again.
Click to expand...

I feel like all of the games we have are designed for a iPhone, and support for the iPad is an after thought. We need someone to get on board with real games on our iPads! Actual console quality like games, I could care less if they were touch only operated. Just quality cut scenes, a nice story, and good graphics, and legitimate physics would be awesome!

There are plenty of people in the world who bought a Nintendo Switch just to play Skyrim on it. Or a Xbox, or a PS4 just to play that (1) specific game that captured there attention in a trailer or wherever it may have been they originally saw it on.

There’s not a single game out there, where somebody would say; man! I’m going to buy an iPad, I’ve got to play that! Lol.

^ This needs to change. I hope it does.
 
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MrRabuf said:
Maybe PC/console level titles or even ports of existing big games?
Click to expand...

If you'd be storing the game locally that could be an issue because a game like Red Dead Redemption 2 would take up a (comparatively) enormous amount of the local storage. Not saying I wouldn't enjoy it.
 
tps3443 said:
I feel like all of the games we have are designed for a iPhone, and support for the iPad is an after thought. We need someone to get on board with real games on our iPads! Actual console quality like games, I could care less if they were touch only operated. Just quality cut scenes, a nice story, and good graphics, and legitimate physics would be awesome!

There are plenty of people in the world who bought a Nintendo Switch just to play Skyrim on it. Or a Xbox, or a PS4 just to play that (1) specific game that captured there attention in a trailer or wherever it may have been they originally saw it on.

There’s not a single game out there, where somebody would say; man! I’m going to buy an iPad, I’ve got to play that! Lol.

^ This needs to change. I hope it does.
Click to expand...

Maybe the paid gaming service will have some positive effects on the iPad as a console for joypad- centric games. Fingers crossed.
 
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Apple can never catch up with gaming industry... controller support is nice but until they have big name multi platform releases that aren’t watered down/mobile version of their pc/console counterpart and invite devs to release exclusives that makes the gaming crowds’ mouth water, apple could never get serious about gaming. They already laughed at apple saying IPP has the same specs as xbox.

Apple just hopes gaming crowds will latch into them but they have to actively invite devs to make exclusives or develope multi platforms for it if they’re truly serious about it, not just making good specs and having controller support and hoping devs will consider them... until then ipad is just a mobile device that happens to have a few console quality games instead of a device that’s considered an equal player in a video game industry with sony, microsoft, and nintendo as rivals.
 
Apple Arcade and Sony & Microsoft gamepad support is going to be great if they get good game titles. With the huge install base of compatible devices and depending on the monthly charge, Apple could have a winner on their hands.
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ericwn said:
The iPad first of all has plenty games. They’re just not necessarily the type that would need a controller. Moving forward Apple likely will want to make sure that a game is playable just with touch controls still - that might be a show stopper for some developers I guess.

We already have established gaming eco systems outside of the iPad and that might not change for a long time. Not sure how well Apple’s gaming service will fare.

Where these controllers definitely could be very handy is the remote play software for existing consoles - that way you could get a full console game experience onto the iPad without having to buy the title again.
Click to expand...

Remember that Apple have a potentially larger install base of compatible devices than any console maker.
 
Is it bluetooth only, or can I plug in one of the cheaper, wired USB xbox one controllers into the iPad?
 
tps3443 said:
Man I’ve got 1024GB on tap ready to fill lol.
Click to expand...

It fills up incredibly fast. Distressingly so. With screens at the resolution of the iPad Pro, a premium title could chew up plenty of space. Mandatory lag ree appletv projections is a must.

Tom
 
Would overheating be a issue with the iPad (thinking of the fans needed to cool down PS4/Xbox consoles)?

Games would need to be ported specifically for the iPad so that they weren’t so demanding on the internals yeah?
 
tps3443 said:
They should! Considering the A12X will absolutely destroy a Xbox One X CPU. And our GPU is a little faster than a Xbox One S. This makes the iPad easily capable of rendering high graphical fidelity games very easily. I am a graphics programmer, so it is amazing how you can test certain hardware and it will barely render at a slide show, and then after a couple days of processing and with only small tweaks and optimization, it will run smoothly at 30FPS. And it can surely be done on a iPad too. The problem we have is that no one is in to making high end games on a iPad Pro. It would seem like they would, especially with our 120Hz panels since 2017, and the high end performance these devices are cable of.

I think Apples new games service will change this though. Hopefully!

They could turn these iPads in to legit consoles, with $60 dollar games that are ported that I my self would gladly pay.
Click to expand...

Are you telling me that the iPad can run games like Doom Eternal all in that magazine thin enclosure?
I don't believe you, not even my MBP can do XboxOne performance. I don't think it can match Xbox 360!
 
MacBH928 said:
Are you telling me that the iPad can run games like Doom Eternal all in that magazine thin enclosure?
I don't believe you, not even my MBP can do XboxOne performance. I don't think it can match Xbox 360!
Click to expand...
Which MBP do you have? Thermal throttling is real, but the CPU in the A12X is comparable to most of Intel's mobile offerings—even those with 2-10X the thermal/power limit! Given that the Xbox One uses a CPU that is several generations old at this point the comparison seems fair. Now, GPU-wise the A12X is barely comparable with the Xbox One S and most MBP computers with discrete graphics will run circles around it.

The bigger barrier may not be hardware but the cost of efficiently migrating the code/assets to iOS.
 
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MacBH928 said:
Are you telling me that the iPad can run games like Doom Eternal all in that magazine thin enclosure?
I don't believe you, not even my MBP can do XboxOne performance. I don't think it can match Xbox 360!
Click to expand...

There is plenty of power it’s optimisation that’s the key. The xBox One is not very powerful. Make a PC with equivalent specs and it will run like ***. The trick is the developers are writing right to the metal of the console squeezing out every cycle of performance.

If Apple just paid for big name ports I would be super happy with that. Rather than pay for the very expensive development of new games just pay the cost of porting and optimising for a new platform. If developers ported to Apples new Metal API that could have some amazing results. Especially if they did it so it would detect the iPad Pro version the user has and scale accordingly. It would also be a way for Apple to encourage customers to upgrade their iPad Pro just for a cpu/GPU bump.
 
Wow - loving GTA games with PS4 controller and 12.9 iPad Pro!!!!!!!!

How do you power off the controller? Only way I have figured out is by long pressing blu-tooth on the screen and turning it off that way. Can it be done by the controller??

Off to find other cool iPad games for the PS4 controller. Man this will kill hours on all the flights I take
 
whitedragon101 said:
With Apple now providing support in iPad OS for proper games controllers like PS4 and xBox controller and iPad Pro now having the power of a console; is apple going to start getting serious about real gaming?

Maybe PC/console level titles or even ports of existing big games?
Click to expand...

We don’t know really, but I can’t imagine adding the support for the two most popular controllers at the same time they announced Apple Arcade is a coincidence. I’ve heard that Apple is looking for all kinds of games (as long as they are done good), so I can imagine we’ll get a few surprises down the road. Of course, remember that controller support is optional, Apple will always insist on touch controls for iOS, however, some games will be more attractive now for sure.

I already tried a few games with my DS4 on my iPad Pro - Transistor, Oddmar, Grimvalor and even Fortnite - and they are a whole new experience with the controller (and yes, I’m aware controller support was present before, but this will make it much more mainstream as these controllers not only work with Playstation and Xbox, but with Macs and PCs also, so a lot more people will already have them or consider buying them in the future).
 
The fact that ipad now supports playstation controllers AND can stream from your playstation at home onto the iPad is making me rethink my idea of buying a Nintendo switch this weekend. I now have no idea what to do. Buy a new ipad (mine is old and about had it) or a switch. I have a ps4 pro at home, but if the other half is watching one of her soaps I wanted something to game on, hence wanting to get switch. But this changes things somewhat.
 
Apple will never be serious about real gaming. Support for these controllers is great so third parties will make the most of it.

Geekfest84 said:
The fact that ipad now supports playstation controllers AND can stream from your playstation at home onto the iPad is making me rethink my idea of buying a Nintendo switch this weekend. I now have no idea what to do. Buy a new ipad (mine is old and about had it) or a switch. I have a ps4 pro at home, but if the other half is watching one of her soaps I wanted something to game on, hence wanting to get switch. But this changes things somewhat.
Click to expand...

Get a switch. It is cheap and worth it for Mario and Zelda alone!
 
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