Nintendo Wii vs iPhone: new Apple App Store gives edge
June 6, 2008 By Daniel
Filed under Cell Phones, Gaming
The Nintendo Wii has been beating the Xbox 360 and Sony PS3 for a while now, but this lead may soon come to an end and not from Microsoft or Sony, Nintendo may lose it’s position to Apple and their new App Store that launches this Monday.
In the next-generation console war Nintendo has had a seat at the top of the three, but iPhone Cheats has posted an article and stated that Forbes mention “Apple may soon have the potential to topple the video game giant with the introduction of its new App Store”.
They go on to say “The new service to be rolled out by the Cupertino-based company will allow third-party developers to introduce their programs as downloadable software for the iPhone and iPod touch. Apple already started the ball rolling with the unveiling of its software developers kit (SDK) earlier this year, and showed some impressive demos of what it can do on their respective gadgets.
Nevertheless, Nintendo won’t be an easy foe to bring down. Despite the fact that the DS and its rival Apple products all share touch screen capabilities, the ability to download software into the iPhone wireless may become the winning edge for Apple in the end”.
The iPhone isn’t really a games console and could not be expected to beat the three next-gen games systems but if it can sell a lot more software and games then it could be one of the most played devices for games. Would you play lots of games on the iPhone?
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OK but the iPhone isn’t really a competitor to the Wii, or any console, is it? I mean, it’s a phone.
I would agree it’s big competition for the DS and the PSP, for sure.
Although technically everything is competing with everything for my cash I don’t see a major reason to compare the iPhone to the Wii. Especially if they target 2 different kinds of gaming. Gaming on the go Vs a home set up that can have 4 others also play with you with out going online or connect them all.
iPhone Vs DS (& PSP). Well, in order for an iPhone to grab my attention that badly I’d need to see better graphics than a PSP, Online Play, control scheme, & 10+ hours battery life for gaming.
An iPhone could make me buy my first handheld for those reasons. But if it can’t compete in any of the above all I will see will be over glorified cell phone games.
battery dies too quickly when the screen is active to play games for long
iPhone won’t ever be able to beat Sony’s stylish super powerful PSP or Nintendo’s lame DS. iPhone will will another Nokia NGage not even if they made all games free will they have a chance LMFAO Apple is not trying to get cheap money. iPhone games have terrible control awful dated graphics worst than DS plus too pricey $25 wow they must be on crack…
The PSP is stylish, but the iPhone isn’t? Actually it’s got more powerful hardware than the PSP or DS, by far.
Nintendo DS: Late 2004
67 MHz ARM 946E-S (N-Gage processor) + 33 MHz ARM7TDMI (same processor as the original iPods)
4MB RAM
256KB Flash + cartridge storage
Dual, 256×192 3“ displays; one is stylus touch sensitive
Sony PSP: Late 2004
333 MHz MIPS R4000 CPU + GPU with 2 MB onboard VRAM running at 166 MHz
32 MB main RAM (new models expanded to 64MB), and 4 MB embedded DRAM. MemoryStick storage, UMD media
480×272 (368×207 usable for video)
Apple iPhone
Samsung ARM SoC 620 MHz 1176 running at 412 Mhz + PowerVR MBX 3D GPU
128MB RAM
8 or 16GB Flash storage
320×480 3.5” display with finger multitouch input
I admit, battery life is a problem. Another one is the lack of buttons. It just has the touchscreen and accelerometers. But seriously, it’s no NGage, it’s way better.
The iPhone is too expensive to take away a large percentage of Nintendo users. Most of the Nintendo DS users are rather young. Plus there are exclusive titles that the DS has that Apple would have to license which is unlikely.
As a PSP user I like using the buttons and control nub because it’s similar to my PS2. However, if the iControlPad is manufactured well, then I would just as soon use that on the iPhone. Gaming will be huge for college students and adults since there are very simple games that can be played just for a short bit of relaxation.
I would never go overboard with the iPhone for games because I wouldn’t want my battery crapping out for important use. I can quickly kill the battery on my PSP, but I can just slip in a spare anytime I want. Not so with the iPhone. I’m sure the iPhones gaming abilities will greatly increase sales for the iPhone, but I just don’t see it taking away significant market share from either the Sony PSP or the Nintendo DS. I do hope I’m wrong, however.
I’ve also seen the specs of the three devices from Roughly Drafted Magazine and the author says the iPhone is hardware ready, and from what I saw of the SDK conference, the iPhone should be easily programmable for games. I’d like to be able to compare whether it’s easier to write games for the iPhone than it is to write games with the PSP or DS.
The last thing I need to say is that I hope the 3G iPhones battery is up to all of the usage it’s going to get.
The PSP will never be beat by the iPhone are you kidding me the games look worst than DS rehash iPhone better stay doing phone and music or face money loss for over.
Name
Sony PlayStation Portable (PSP)
Type
Handheld game system
Form Factor
Handheld
Width
6.7 in
Depth
2.8 in
Height
0.7 in
Weight
6.7 oz
Enclosure Color
Piano black
Game Console
Color Support
Color
Media Type
UMD (Universal Media Disc)
Processor
Type
333 MHz
Data Width
128 bit
Memory / Storage
RAM Installed ( Max )
64 MB - Integrated
Display
Type
LCD display - 4.3 in TFT active matrix - Color - Internal
Display Format
130,560 pixels
Color Support
24-bit (16.7 million colors)
Resolution
480 x 272
Audio
Built-in Speakers
Speaker(s)
Sound Output Mode
Stereo
Communications
Connectivity Features
IEEE 802.11
Input Device
Type
Game pad - Integrated - 9 button(s)
Features
LCD screen
Connections
Connector Type
1 x Headphones / remote control, 1 x USB ( Mini-USB Type B ), 1 x DC power input, Composite video output
Expansion Slots Total (Free)
Memory Stick PRO Duo
Miscellaneous
Cables Included
1
Power
Power Device
Power adapter - External
Battery
1 x Game console battery - Rechargeable - Lithium ion
Included Qty
1
You guys are right, it will never beat the DS or PSP as a portable gamee device. It’s just too expensive and completely outnumbered. It’s also just not designed as a gaming device. I don’t even want it as my main gaming station.
However you will be surprised at the 3d graphics power it has, wait for games to come out. It is more powerful than you think.
Don’t forget the iPod touch.