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Posts tagged with "games"

Epic Games: “Anything In The Apple World Is Perfect”→

Epic Games: “Anything In The Apple World Is Perfect”

The Slow Down interviews Jay Wilbur, Vice President of Epic Games, makers of Infinity Blade for iOS:

Q: What are the challenges in developing for Android? The demo there seems to be running great.

A: It runs really well and really fast. One of the problems with the Android marketplace is hardware fragmentation, that’s a really big issue. The other thing is marketplace fragmentation, there are so many different appstores out there. The Android marketplace is a little more difficult [to develop for] because there is less control. I think the Android marketplace is robust … I find it very easy to buy things on it, it’s just that Apple has very tight control. So anything in the Apple world is perfect. It’s just perfect. We like that, we like that a lot. We know that it’s just gonna work. Sometimes that’s not always the case in the Android marketplace.

Infinity Blade did great in the first weeks of App Store and slowly dropped off since then. A major update with new maps, weapons and features is expected soon, and that should bring the app back into the charts. We can’t wait to see more Unreal Engine games find their way to iOS. Read the whole interview here.

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The Problems with a High Resolution Display on the iPad 2

Over the past few weeks there has been quite a back and forth discussion on the possible inclusion of a Retina or high resolution display on the iPad 2. Facts seemed to solidify when Engadget ran an article suggesting the second-generation iPad would have a high resolution display, though they did not specify the exact resolution. But then John Gruber yesterday seemed to disagree with that suggestion citing cost issues, uncovered UI graphics of an iPad camera app that are not optimized for a high resolution display and his own sources.

So why has there been so much doubt and to and fro-ing over whether the iPad 2’s display is high resolution? Well put simply, because there are so many barriers that would have to be overcome and issues that Apple would have to resolve.  Click through to read the full article.

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Rumor: Next iPod Touch To Have Glasses-free 3D Screen?

Here’s an interesting rumor coming from Japanese blog Macotakara [Google Translation] while you’re still trying to wrap your head around the news that Steve Jobs has taken another medical leave of absence. According to “sources of information” close to Macotakara, Apple is considering a glasses-free 3D screen technology for a future iPod touch, with an approach similar to what Nintendo is doing with the 3DS – a gaming handheld capable of projecting 3D images out of the screen without the need of wearing glasses.

In the past, Apple was granted several 3D-related patents and other third-party manufacturers played around with the idea of bringing 3D to iOS devices. Macotakara, however, reports that Apple is willing to integrate 3D into the iPod touch’s screen without any external peripheral or accessory. The 3D panel should be developed by Sharp.

According to a source of a company which provides LCD to Apple, they seems to begin preparing to manufacture small glasses-free 3D LCD panel for iPod touch.

This 3D LCD panel looks similar to Sharp, corp’s LCD which is capable for displaying 3D image without glasses on vertical and horizontal position.

While this is all based on pure speculation, it’s interesting to think that Apple might fight Nintendo at its own game with the iPod touch, which has been touted has world’s most popular gaming device several times in the past. Apple is clearly investing on the appeal of the iPod touch as an entry-level iOS device that’s perfect for portable games, and a mobile 3D screen would be another technological breakthrough for the company.

Doodle Jump Creators Going After “Doodle Games” In The App Store

Look, we get it. There are too many “Doodle” games in the App Store. If you look closer, I believe you’re going to find some Doodle Browser or Doodle Twitter in there, too. Since the incredible success of Doodle Jump, many indie developers have tried to follow its path with not-so-clever marketing moves that, indeed, involved using the word “Doodle” next to something else. Like Doodle God. Or Doodle Army. Just take a look in the App Store. Still, I’m a firm believer of the “users decide” philosophy and I think what Doodle Jump developers, Lima Sky, are doing is just wrong. Read more

Official PlayStation App for iPhone Now Available

Announced by Sony in December, the official PlayStation app for iPhone is now available in the App Store. The app is propagating in iTunes as we speak, so if you can’t download it just yet – make sure to try again in a few hours. In the meantime, the app is now live in the French store.

The PlayStation app doesn’t let you play games, but it allows you to check on the PlayStation Network by signing in with your PSN account. In this first version of the app you can read your friends’ status updates and browse the games they own, check on the trophies you have collected and read the latest entries from the official PlayStation Blog. Last, you can also read the latest news of games available for all PlayStation devices directly in-app. The interface seems to be quite clean and polished, although far from being native on the iOS platform.

PlayStation app for iPhone is available for free here. Check out the full description below. Read more

Firemint Acquires Puzzle Quest’s Infinite Interactive

Looks like iOS game company acquisitions are the new “Google has acquired”: in an unexpected turn of events, popular game studio Firemint (creators of award-winning iOS titles such as Flight Control or Real Racing) has acquired the company behind Puzzle Quest, the Infinite Interactive team. Both companies are based in Australia, and a press release went live last night to announce the deal and the fact that “Firemint is welcoming Steve Fawkner”, founder of Infinite Interactive in 1989. As you can see in the graphics above, the companies are already joking about the games that will come as a result of this acquisition, whether or not we’ll be able to put our hands on “Puzzle Control” or “Flight Quest”.

A curious detail is hidden in the press release (which we’ve embedded below): apparently, Firemint’s Rob Murray and Steve Fawkner are long-time friends, and Fawkner showed Murray an early prototype of Puzzle Quest in 2003, receiving feedback from him. Now, he will be able to get feedback on a daily basis and who knows – maybe we are really going to see a more RPG-oriented Real Racing or puzzles in Flight Control. The idea sounds awful, I know, but game designers can usually make awful ideas happen. Read more

Real Life Angry Birds: LEGO, Cake, Arcade Booth

In the past weeks, terrific App Store sales aside, we saw the Angry Birds franchise making its way to Apple Retail Stores with official cases for iPhones and iPod touches and custom MacBook Air skins realized by loyal fans of the birds and pigs. Today, we’ve got more real-life Angry Birds creations and mods to share.

First off, an Angry Birds arcade booth spotted by MIC Gadget in China which lets you defeat actual pig plush toys using a slingshot. Looks like fun, too bad I think we won’t see this become available in Europe or the US anytime soon.

Other fan-made creations found on the Internet today include a full-featured Angry Birds set made of LEGO bricks and a birthday cake for the real iOS aficionado. Great stuff, and I bet the cake was delicious.

The only downside? There’s no achievement to unlock for when you eat it. Read more

Angry Birds Maker: “Apple Will Be Number One For A Long Time”

Peter Vesterbacka, the “mighty eagle” at Rovio, thinks Apple is going to sit at the number one spot of mobile platforms for a long time. Angry Birds is, quite possibly, the most successful game that has ever landed in the App Store: more than 50 millions of copies sold, an equally popular iPad version that has been recently updated, a rumored sequel already in the works which will feature a “pig point of view”, Angry Birds cases at Apple Store. If that’s not enough, Rovio is launching its own pig-based mobile payment system.

Yes, true story. Read more

App Store’s Christmas Brings Millions of Downloads to Developers

All those new iPhone and iPod touch users tracked by the official Facebook app? Yeah, the spike in traffic and new users isn’t limited just to the Facebook app. According to numbers reported by The Next Web and Business Insider, Rovio’s blockbuster iOS game Angry Birds and Tapulous’ Tap Tap Revenge 4 generated over 1 million downloads and twice the level of traffic of last year, respectively. Put simply: this year’s App Store and iOS growth showed its results on December 25th by bringing tons of new customers and downloads to apps that already managed to gain a prominent position in the Store. Or was it because of all those people that got an iPhone, iPod touch or iPad under their Christmas trees?

A little bit of both, in my opinion. Surely lots of people got an iDevice for Christmas and rushed to the App Store to buy apps; we shouldn’t ignore the fact, though, that several developers discounted their apps before the iTunes Connect shutdown (which ends tomorrow, by the way) forcing many users like me to save money for Christmas (or iTunes gift cards) and buy apps altogether right before the family dinner. Either way, those are impressive numbers. Read more