Filed under: Accessories, Developer, iPhone
iControlPad for iPhone
After the game demos shown at the iPhone SDK, event a lot of folks have been very eager to get their hands on some serious games for the iPhone. Most of the attention has been focused on the motion sensors and touchscreen, but Nintendo's consoles notwithstanding buttons are a mainstay of serious games and the iPhone's poverty of physical buttons has had some of us worried about the long term potential of the platform.Now a new accessory may go a long way towards alleviating those concerns. The iControlPad is an iPhone accessory that adds physical buttons and joypad. It slides onto the iPhone like a case (providing some protection) and offers a PSP-style form factor. The hardware interfaces via the Dock connector and is already supported by some of the emulators that run on jailbroken iPhones. They're also planning full SDK support once iPhone 2.0 ships, presumably next month.
The iControlPad is still in development and is not yet for sale. However, they are offering development kits to qualified developers.
[via Engadget]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Ian said 9:18AM on 5-24-2008
I thought access to the dock connector for 3rd party apps was restricted under the terms of the SDK agreement? Did something change? I'd rather not have to jailbreak my system once 2.0 hits, so this would be huge!!
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Jason said 9:21AM on 5-24-2008
I thought the SDK had zero access to the dock connector. Are they hoping Apple will backpedal and stop requiring people to pay for its "made for iPod" hardware program?
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RandaL_Hicks said 10:25AM on 5-24-2008
We're talkin'bout a product with a high coolness factor that runs on jail-broken iPhones. Owners in this category could care less 'bout SDK reqs... I could see Apple turning a blind eye (for a while) as long as it contributes to them sellin' more units. Of course apps requiring the device could be withheld from the online store and this coolness disappears.
punkassjim said 8:09PM on 5-28-2008
RandaL, you're forgetting to read the article: "They're also planning full SDK support once iPhone 2.0 ships, presumably next month." That's why Jason said what he said, and he's right.
Wysiwyg said 4:32PM on 5-24-2008
The coolness is strong in this product... But would i spend some bucks on an accessory that requires the iphone to be in an unstable state that could be killed by the slightest update, rendering the cool add-on useless?
I don't know. Words fail me right now.
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thezanino said 12:40PM on 5-24-2008
If you are smart about updating and installing software jailbroken iPhones and iPod touches are perfectly stable. I've had my iPod jailbroken literally since the day I got it back in October. I've never had a problem. I would totally buy this.
FoundInTheFlood said 12:35PM on 5-24-2008
This is gonna be SO Ueber !!! very cool.
But what do they mean with SDK Support? For "normal" games? Cause apple will never allow emulators, which are the coolest thing.
Eysiwyg.
Jailbreaking is easy, there are NO problems if you do it with the right software.
It's your decision, but i don't like people to whine about that they don't want to jailbreak in topics that are for people who WANT to jailbreak and did it.
Just ignore such posts.
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labrats5 said 12:57PM on 5-24-2008
Idiots. I hope the SDK doesn't allow for this, because this is the single worst thing you could do for iphone game development. It fractures the platform, opens the door for a peripheral button arms-race, and even if it does become popular its most notable effect will be dramatically increasing the playability of legacy games, taking the focus away from developing actually new games that work well on the iphone. Its a lose lose lose situation.
Idiots.
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danny said 1:48AM on 5-25-2008
oh great genius labrats5, thank you for guiding us inferior idiots down the path of richeousness.
no but seriously, why be a dick?
Billy O'Keefe said 2:44PM on 5-25-2008
You're REALLY overthinking this. Have another cup of coffee.
Awesome product idea. I had no idea something like this was even feasible (but perhaps that comes from me being iPhone-ignorant while I hold out for the 3G).
Geog said 3:28PM on 5-25-2008
I see what you mean, labrats5, but you didn't have to be as crass about it.
labrats5 is right in that having peripheral buttons takes away almost 100% of the cool of the iPhone/iPod touch platforms. If this does catch on (really hugely, which is unlikely), we'll be seeing more boring cellphone-style ports of every game released by EA, rather than innovative games using the accelerometers and touch screen which was the cause of deeming the iPhone the gaming platform of the future. But, there is a small market for this. The form-factor of the Apple handheld platform is perfect - if I wanted a PSP, I would have rather paid less money for it than I did for my iTouch. The only market for this peripheral is jailbroken iPhone users who play emulators more than they listen to music, watch movies, read email, browse the internet, and make phone calls. I see almost no possibility for a "peripheral button arms-race". Also, if this majorly catches on, Apple will likely try to cancel support for it with each software update,possibly rendering it useless for weeks at a time.
The virtual buttons on my iPod touch NES emulator are somewhat annoying, but they do the job - I personally wouldn't pay over $15 for this peripheral.
starkruzr said 5:28PM on 5-25-2008
"even if it does become popular its most notable effect will be dramatically increasing the playability of legacy games, taking the focus away from developing actually new games that work well on the iphone."
There is zero evidence that this will happen. The official SDK will continue to support only designed-for-iPhone games. I don't see why you think this would be a likely scenario unless you're just another guy who enjoys trolling jailbreakers.
Wysiwyg: jailbreak does not put your iPhone in an "unstable state." What it does require you to do is to not blindly click "update" immediately every time Apple comes out with a software update.
Incidentally, this should be default behavior for EVERYONE, regardless of whether or not they've jailbroken their phones/iPods. Always be sure you actually WANT what comes with the update, and that nothing you are currently doing will break when you apply it. I always wait at least a week before applying a SU to my MBP and check with TUAW, Ars Technica and several other places to make sure there are no issues. Compute smart, people!
labrats5 said 9:10PM on 5-25-2008
Wow, I got a lot of comment on this, I should probably reply to a few of them.
First off, yes, I was being overly cross. I'm Sorry. It was because I was just thinking before I read this that the iphone is very fortunate that it sucks so bad at playing emulated games. That is what pretty much destroyed the PSP as a gaming platform. No one buys software for the thing because emulation is so good, so easily available and, thanks to the control set-up, really easy to play. Almost everyone I know who has a PSP uses it mainly as a media player/emulator, despite the library of excellent game for it. You can't beat free, assuming free is playable.
But I don't care about the guy who wants to play chrono trigger for the 23rd time. I care about the developers who create new experiences. If anyone here could (figuratively) look me in the eye and say that this thing wont be used almost exclusively to play pirated content, I would be very surprised. They would have to believe that developers would actually create new content with support for this or similar peripherals. In that case my other fear, that of a fractured gaming platform, becomes a reality. Fracturing a platform is almost always bad news, especially when its fractured into two extremely different control mechanisms.
My point is that it's not always good to get what you think you want. If you want to see good original software for the iphone, this peripheral isn't going to be some sort of catalyst. Yes, some people get what they want in the short term, but in the long term it does nothing but hurt everyone. Everyone except pirates that is, but frankly I couldn't care less about them.
starkruzr said 8:30PM on 5-27-2008
labrats5: There will always be a difference between the official supported Apple applications and games and the jailbreak+emulator crowd's games. I, for one, will be extremely happy to be able to play both -- you and I both know that NOTHING emulated will be as fast, pretty or smooth as code designed to run natively on the iPhone or iPod touch. Take a deep breath and watch how Apple runs with the games market on Mobile OS X -- this controller won't make a damn bit of difference.
thestrangestick said 8:18PM on 5-25-2008
Don't be naieve. It's not like whenever an update is released iTunes secretly downloads it then zaps your product with it removing all your apps. Jailbreak is safe because you as the user choose when you want to update the firmware, presumably when you are safe in the knowledge that the latest firmware has been hacked.
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Rick said 1:05AM on 5-26-2008
it's too bad this thing makes your iPhone look like a crappy PSP that will fall apart any second.
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Sam Gross said 3:45PM on 6-05-2008
This being the prototype, it should look hacked together. They came out with renderings this week of the final product: http://www.icontrolpad.com/pad1.png
Rick said 6:31PM on 6-05-2008
@Sam Gross
OK, now that definitely looks better. Thanks for pointing that out. That is something that would look cool on the phone.
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