New operating system to compete with Android.
Apple isn’t about to be pushed over in the mobile gaming market. They are firing back at Android (Apple’s biggest competitor) with the release of iOS 7 and the new A7 chip on Wednesday. Apple is signalling to the world that it’s dead set on remaining the preeminent mobile gaming platform. Since the release of the App Store, game apps have become very popular and have launched many studios to stardom, such as Rovio (the studio behind Angry Birds) and King (who are responsible for Candy Crush Saga). Maintaining the edge means not only providing full-blown Bluetooth controller support, but also urging developers to round out new hardware with top-notch apps that will take advantage of the A7 chip.
How has Apple been successful against traditional gaming consoles such as the PlayStation Vita or the Nintendo 3DS? They have always hinged on the fact that those companies cannot keep up with the pace of iOS game development and its impending hardware offerings, as well as saying that those devices are not worth the money. After all, why cast out large chunks of change on a Nintendo or a Sony gaming device when you can get a smartphone that will soon catch up to those gaming juggernauts and do the same things and then some?
Optimizing for the A7 has already begun, with game developers already optimizing apps to download, such as Dungeon Hunter 4 and PLAYMOBIL Pirates, which are all ready for the jump to the 64-bit processor with the iPhone 5S. Leading the charge is Infinity Blade 3, which hits the App Store in tandem with iOS7. This leads to the question: is the iPhone controller on the horizon? It is known that they are in development, and likely won’t be revealed until early November. PowerA, makers of the Moga line of portable and console-style Android controllers, has iPhone controller announcements in the pipeline, though company representatives won’t say exactly when we will see our first iOS 7-optimized handheld or what it will look like.
While the iPhone announcement and A7 unveiling have done little to tip the controller manufacturers into spilling more secrets, Apple is still sitting pretty at the front of the mobile gaming industry thanks to the marketing bump of the capabilities of the A7. It will only further Apple’s lead in the industry in the coming months with more iOS 7-optimized apps and the influx of new 5C and 5S devices running its latest software. The gap is shrinking, and iOS is moving up front now for mobile gamers.
