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Apple's plan for advanced gaming graphics on future iPhones

appleinsider.com — The next generation of iPhone appears set to claim exclusive access to advanced graphics core and video decoding technology, thanks to a secret licensing deal between Apple, mobile graphics leader Imagination Technologies, and Samsung, the iPhone's ARM "system on a chip" manufacturer. The result may be an ideal platform for handheld gaming and high

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MurphyMac, on 05/01/2008, -1/+11Wall Street remembered the stock's potential this week. iPhone update > Back to School > New iPods > New Macbook design > Christmas > 10k iPhones easily exceded = $250 / share going into the Macworld 09 tablet rumors. Anything with games is gravy.
DipDog3, on 05/01/2008, -21/+2Mirror Link: http://www.redrome.com/news/3-rumors/10-apples-bio ...
- fkr3, on 05/01/2008, -3/+15Reported to Google for violating their AdSense TOS.
- freshyill, on 05/01/2008, -1/+8Content thieves are among the lowest of the low.
  - flashback99, on 05/01/2008, -1/+2but music sharers are cool, right?
    - freshyill, on 05/02/2008, -2/+1Poor analogy. Now, if people downloaded songs, burned them to CDs and tried to pass them off as their own work, it would work.
rebotfc, on 05/01/2008, -3/+29The current gen iPhones graphics capabilities are remarkable, however I do not understand the idea that it can be a gaming platform.

Anyone who has tried gaming with a jailbroken iphone, knows it sucks. Any of the games on the NES emulator for instance are incredibly frustrating to play due to no tactile feed back. Moreover the accelerometer games are interesting for a while for ball rolling type games but beyond that really is just a gimmick.

/coming from someone who loves his iphone.
- Tddupre, on 05/01/2008, -2/+3not completely true it just depends on the type of games you are playing. I love playing puzzle games, pool, and the 2-D shooters.
- mizike, on 05/01/2008, -2/+15as much respect as the jailbreak community deserves; i'm holding judgment until I can see what a bunch of professional game developers come up with in the next few months....
- thecompkid, on 05/01/2008, -0/+8The community has some great apps, thats for sure, but just take one look at that super monkey ball demo and you'll realize that we haven't even come close to the limit of the iphone's capabilities
- gimmeslack12, on 05/01/2008, -5/+3Sounds just like the Wii.
- soomprimal, on 05/01/2008, -1/+2As you said, the top issue is the controls. There's a demo running on the jailbroken iPhones called Yeti3D, which has graphics comparable to Quake, but like the NES, the controls are awkard and need a lot of work if it were to be an actual game.
  - iburl, on 05/02/2008, -0/+2Could they allow the use of a little gamepad attachment on the dock, or thru bluetooth?
    - soomprimal, on 05/02/2008, -0/+1You can theoretically create any sort of interaction with the main i/o port.
- superkendall, on 05/01/2008, -1/+3Anyone who saw the demo of MonkeyBall running on the iPhone from the SDK launch knows just how wrong you are.
  
  You aren't going to have the same kinds of games that require a D-Pad, but there are a world of possibilities using gestures and motion recognition.
  - jacenat, on 05/02/2008, -1/+2you mean this "world" the wii desperatly tries to explore right now?
    hmm ... i can't remember anything besides metroid, zelda, sunshine and a bunch of casual games (yes smsb is casual).
    
    so i am not holding my breath for anything substantial on the iphone.
- phoomp, on 05/01/2008, -0/+2NES games were designed for NES controls. Take a look at the games that take advantage of the touch surface and the motion sensing. iZoo, Labyrinth, Pool and Chess are not frustrating at all. Trism, once released, looks to be a great game for the iPhone/Touch platform.
  
  These are not sit-down-and-play-for-hours games, but rather games that can be picked up and played when you've got nothing else to do.
- aajjcckk, on 05/01/2008, -1/+2I don't see why you need tactile (haptic) feedback to make the game playable. But anyway, 3G iPhone is rumoured to include it, and the forthcoming Nokia S60 Touch based phones will almost certainly have it (a very advanced version of it apparently), so iPhone is more likely to to remain competitive.
- buddhistMonkey, on 05/01/2008, -0/+4When Apple released the iPhone developer kit, they had a couple of major game manufacturers on stage with them demoing their upcoming software. They showed Spore and Super Monkey Ball, as well as a great Star Wars-like space battle game that Apple itself created as a code sample. All of them used the iPhone's built-in accelerometer to control the motion onscreen. In the case of the space battle game, you'd just touch the screen where you wanted your lasers to fire.
  
  You really have to see it to appreciate how cool it is, and how different an experience it is from anything else out there. Here's the link to Apple's video page for the iPhone's SDK release (the game demos start at about the half-way mark):
  
  http://www.apple.com/quicktime/qtv/iphoneroadmap/
  - nycmac247, on 05/01/2008, -0/+1thanks - commented w/o seeing your post; thanks
- myerzman, on 05/01/2008, -0/+2Don't care. I am loving playing through the original Zelda on my iphone. And the SCUMM emulator is perfect.
- nycmac247, on 05/01/2008, -0/+2Did you not see the monkeyball demo?
shyboy2008, on 05/01/2008, -27/+33g iphone is coming soon. So i gonna use my old iphone as a dildo.....a dildo.......a dildo........a dildo.........a dildo.........a dildo.........a dildo.
leerayIG88, on 05/01/2008, -17/+2iPhone? I use a environmental paper cup as a phone. Beat that technology!
mark076h, on 05/01/2008, -13/+2this is what they will need to be able to come out with a new iPhone every 6 months, graphics chips
- thecatcantalk, on 05/01/2008, -6/+2Yeah, 'cause there's no shortages of suckers who will pay $600 for a telephone.
  I left the Mac Cult a while ago. Ridiculous.
  It's a product, not a "lifestyle".
robEstyles, on 05/01/2008, -5/+7Yay an i-NGAGE
ErikHarrison, on 05/01/2008, -20/+2Nikola Tesla divided his notes on his creation of devices that would pull energy from Schuman's Gap (Tesla's gap)and be able to power things without the use of wires. This was a working machine to which he demonstrated it's use to several people, and it's all documented.

My theory is that:
1.) Obama wins, and becomes the "great unifier."
2.) His VP Ray Mabus is assassinated due to his remarkable ability and proven record of saving the middle east through peace.
3.) The Anti-Christ steps forward with a revelation to solve the energy crisis.
4.) Nikola Teslas notes that were divided amongst the most powerful nations will finally come together to solve the energy problems of the world in 2012, the year of enlightment, as believed by the Mayans.
5.) The world-wide build of machines used to harness and transmit wireless power from Schuman's Gap are built around the world in accordance to Tesla's design. (documented)
6.) The continents unite under this new leader, starting the new world order, as discussed (illuminati)
7.) The Anti-Christ uses the devices created to control the enrgy produced from the gap to essentially scorch the Earth, which is the exact reason why Tesla never wanted his creation to be built.

All prophecies fulfilled....

http://digg.com/world_news/My_theory_about_Obama_T ...
- MrRad, on 05/01/2008, -1/+1Wow, you're some kind of special.
- thecatcantalk, on 05/01/2008, -1/+1"***** 'em if they can't take a joke."
  --Aleister Crowley.
HoratioHellpop, on 05/01/2008, -8/+3"Apple" and "gaming" ... in the same sentence, much less article? Shocking.
freshyill, on 05/01/2008, -0/+6Very cool, but also very vague and very speculative. I just bought an iPhone on Monday and I love it, but I'm not sure how much of a gaming platform you can ever have without some kind of tactile feedback. Still, Apple has answered tricky questions like this before.

(Don't kill me, I know 3G is right around the corner -- I'm giving this one to my fiancée when I get a new one. I have to say though, Edge isn't all that bad. The only real problem with AT&T's network is that I don't get good enough service in some buildings, and 3G can't change that.)
bjf182, on 05/01/2008, -0/+6More Popcap!
- slundal, on 05/02/2008, -0/+1Peggle Then... /British born Australian writer's voice.
sdlvx, on 05/01/2008, -15/+6rofl gaming on an iPhone. Enjoy playing your games with no ***** buttons.
- MacParrot, on 05/01/2008, -0/+7Right, because we all know you can't have any type of game created without buttons
- cthellis, on 05/01/2008, -0/+3Yes, Flash gaming has particularly suffered, being driven almost wholly by pointer movement and a single mouse click.
benzete, on 05/01/2008, -4/+5Yeah........how about just gaming (period) on macs.... I get bored too often and there's just so much porn i can watch before powdered milk shoots out and then I have to come up with new hobbies like pen palling myself or putting cats in people's mailboxes (you must try this at least once). But good for the iPhone though..
- thecatcantalk, on 05/01/2008, -0/+4I live in the desert, we can't put cats in mailboxes 'cause the cats go into a coma after half an hour. So we put rattlesnakes in people's mailboxes.
  rofl@ "powdered milk"...great line.
- alittleroy101, on 05/01/2008, -0/+2That was amazing, I cringed when I read powdered milk. he thought of someone slapping their junk around and writing letters to themselves is both funny and scary.
kenrayd, on 05/01/2008, -2/+2...more vain amusement distraction.
thecatcantalk, on 05/01/2008, -11/+3Gosh, I've got a customized Mac tower, and an old orange-and-white iBook, both of which are (upgraded/customized) workhorses. Very nice machines, I love them.

But there's no point in buying a gaming-enabled Mac when NOBODY makes games for the Mac platform. Come to think of, ever since Microsoft put out Windows XP, there's no longer ANY reason to pay through the nose for a Mac, the most badly-overpriced computer on Earth. The iPod gives the least value for money of any MP3 player on the market, as well. They should call it the iSuck.

"Think Different", my ass. Nothing different about it.
- benhollister, on 05/01/2008, -0/+2I agree with you on the gaming front, and I USED to agree with you on the over priced front. I was vehemently anti-Apple last summer when I was shopping for a new (high end) laptop, and a co-worker convinced me to build a Dell to the same specs as a MacBook Pro. The MBP was $2,499, and the Dell, for a larger, heavier laptop, was $2,432.
  Not speaking as a fanboy (HATE the Air), just speaking as a consumer.
- MacParrot, on 05/01/2008, -0/+4Well maybe you should get a Windows machine and STFU? There certainly are people who have Macs and don't love them, but frankly I think you protest too much.
YankeesSuck, on 05/01/2008, -2/+8Clearly none of you watched the iPhone SDK presentation. They ported SPORE (or at least some levels of it) to the iPhone in 2 weeks.
- kidlinux, on 05/02/2008, -0/+3And they had to call in an artist to improve on the graphics to match the iPhone's capabilities. To quote the Spore developers, "that's the best kind of problem to solve."
FredFredrickson, on 05/01/2008, -8/+1Two things:
- They actually have a plan for gaming on one of their products?
- "Advanced graphics" on the iPhone? Sorry, but no. Not possible.
- chaosium, on 05/01/2008, -0/+7"- They actually have a plan for gaming on one of their products?"
  
  And they have a number of gaming companies (not CELL gaming) lined up.
  
  - "Advanced graphics" on the iPhone? Sorry, but no. Not possible."
  
  You have no idea what you're talking about.
- zongamin, on 05/02/2008, -0/+1Why not?
uberfu, on 05/01/2008, -6/+1So they have a plan for advanced gaming graphics for the iPhone - BUT they can't get Flash to work on the thing?

WTF !!
- InitialDMP5, on 05/01/2008, -0/+5its not that they can't, they won't.
aajjcckk, on 05/01/2008, -2/+1Well, this is good, but not really a big deal in the long run - there will be competitors. The next gen console wars we've been having over the last few years will transpose themselves onto phones - phones will eat consoles as they have eaten everything else like camcorders, etc etc.
TRScheel, on 05/01/2008, -1/+2This will be great because I always wanted something portable to cook my eggs on
Fraser484, on 05/01/2008, -7/+1PSP > iPhone will ever be.
RobbieS, on 05/01/2008, -0/+4Has everyone already forgotten about the NVIDIA APX2500? It has an ARM11 too, and if you think PowerVRs graphics are going to be faster than NVIDIAs, you're crazy. They both will support OGL ES 2.0, but NVIDIA has their stuff running now, and fast. Whenever Apple and co get their stuff ready to show off, it'll take 2 years minimum to get to market. By that time, NVIDIA will have a far more powerful already out for a year, and probably another one coming down the pipeline.

Apple will of course have the mindshare, but it's really only a matter of time before they dump PowerVR, and switch to the NVIDIA architecture.

And the article speculated about the Intel Atom? What a joke. Do they even know the power reqs the Atom will need? Intel isn't targeting handheld devices like phones. They are going after the ultra portable laptop market (like the EEE PC). That thing wouldn't last 1 hour in a handheld device.
- Scaryclouds, on 05/01/2008, -0/+3I think you pointed out why, at least right now, Apple won't go with a Nvidia architecture. NVidia is the current champion of graphics, however like Intel being the champ of CPU's, I'd imagine their "mobile" platform" to be more power hungry then with what Apple is going with. I'm just speculating though. What I am looking forward to though is iPhone 4(?) with an Intel CPU and a NVidia GPU. THAT would kick supreme ass.
  - RobbieS, on 05/02/2008, -0/+2You are correct with your power consumption concerns. However, I think NVIDIA has that covered too. Now, these are of course prelim numbers, and we'll have to wait until it comes out in the real world to see if they are true, but they are claiming 100 hours of MP3 time, 40 hours of normal video, 10 hours of HD video, and like 7-8 hours of Xbox+ quality gaming.
    http://www.pocket-lint.co.uk/news/news.phtml/12810 ...
    Whereas the iPhone is around numbers like...24 hours of audio and 7 hours of iPhone screen res video playback. It isn't even close.
    
    Again, by the time the NVIDIA chip comes out, the iPhone should be doing better. But will it be doing as well as those numbers NVIDIA says they are getting (which should be accurate, otherwise, the cell phone vendors wouldn't be buying them with false numbers).
bjs3171, on 05/01/2008, -0/+2am i the only one that, after reading it, still has no idea what that article said?
MacTyler, on 05/01/2008, -0/+7Here is a pretty cool concept of how you could control a racing game on the iPhone http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SfgKFHQ8t4E&feature ...
pos3000, on 05/01/2008, -1/+2Yay, now i can get owned by a 12 year old in CS in a public place.
Fiyerstorm, on 05/01/2008, -1/+4I can't see my iPhone as gaming platform without buttons. Maybe if they manufacture some type of slip on game controller that goes over the sides of the phone and connects through the iPod/usb port.
AppleMacStud, on 05/02/2008, -5/+1Well Mr. lame Windoze user, looks like the old, "You can't game on a Mac" line is about to be tossed out the window...
- jacenat, on 05/02/2008, -0/+2mac desktop and laptop machines feature mainstram graphics chips since the introduction of the x86 model series ... i have yet to see mainstream gaming to gain ground on OSX.
  
  so ...
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Apple's plan for advanced gaming graphics on future iPhones

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