Another Apple event has passed. New software and hardware is on its way, but what does it mean for us gamers? …
iOS 5
As well as all the ho hum around the Siri Assistant, a new notification system, the ability to free your device from you Mac or PC, iMessage direct messaging and many other features of iOS 5, the only real feature that will benefit gamers like us are the improvements to Game Center. Despite many gamers moaning of both its visual stylings and lack of features, it has managed to attract over 67 million people to open Game Center accounts, so it must be doing something right. New features to Game Center with iOS 5 include: the ability to add photos to your profile; share achievement points and compare your progress with friends and other players; friend discovery, which recommends friends to you and help you find gamers with similar interests; and game recommendations, which gives you a list of games that you might want to download based on the games and genres you have played before. These are neat features, but I do wish they had redesign the interface and done away with that ‘old man board game’ look and feel.
iCloud
See how iCloud can benefit gamers here.
AirPlay
See how Airplay can enhance gaming here
iPod Touch
Probably the biggest disappointment of the show was the lack of updates to the iPod Touch. Yes it’s a great device and it will support iOS 5. But, unlike the new iPhone 4S below, it will not include the more powerful A5 chip. A strange move considering Apple claimed at the event that the iPod Touch is the most popular gaming handheld, especially when combined with the showing of Infinity Blade II (read more about Infinity Blade II here) running on the iPhone 4S, and no doubt requiring the extra power of the A5 to run it at optimum quality!
iPhone 4S
We all new the iPhone 5 was not going to happen. But why it took well over a year for the iPhone 4S to appear, we are not sure. Despite many of you being disappointed that you won’t be getting a hands-on with a new look iPhone this year, the iPhone 4S might be worth a look, particularly if you are into high-end gaming. As Phil Schiller pointed out in his presentation, the A5 chip in the iPhone 4S (Dual Core, 2X speed, 7X graphics – same as the iPad 2) “screams with games”. As mentioned above, EPIC presented a demo of Infinity Blade 2 running on the iPhone 4S, stating that it includes techniques seen in Gears of War 3, as well as some not seen at all on high-end consoles. Rendering god rays, fully animated environments and pushing more polygons and high quality textures, the game does look impressive.
The iPhone 4S now comes in an optional 64GB flavour, so you can store more games on your device without syncing. It also has 4G-like download speeds (over 3G) of up to 14.4 Mbps.
Overall not a particularly exciting presentation, apart from IB2 perhaps. So, what did you think, and will you be getting one on October 14th? Sound off in the comments below, or enter our Poll on our homepage.
