Well, we have certainly heard quite a bit this week about the new A6X chip that will be powering Apple’s new iPad 4. They claim the performance is close to double of what the A5X in the third generation iPad can churn out. I know that plenty of people are happy with the faster load times that the dual core chip boasts, but it’s the quad core graphics that has me excited.
Ever since the first generation iPad wowed millions and set the benchmark for the tablet market, I have wondered how “tablet gaming” would evolve. When the iPad 2 came out, of course it peaked my interest. With titles like Epic’s Infinity Blade II, I thought the time had come for the iPad to compete with the likes of Playstation and Xbox. It turns out it wasn’t quite time for that to take place, but when the iPad HD and the A5X hit Apple Store shelves, that’s when I really saw the light begin to shine. We were seeing developers like EA give iPad owners access to games like Fifa 13, and not just Monopoly Millionaire.
If you look at the install base of gaming consoles, both Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 are around 70 million units, and the iPad is around the same number. This is a figure video game developers Crytek and Namco Bandai couldn’t ignore, which lead to the development of games like Crytek’s Fibble HD – not quite a tripple A console title, but fun nonetheless.
The argument could have been made that gaming on the iPad couldn’t compete with consoles because it didn’t have that handheld controller feel. Well, that argument is no more with products like Duo Games Dual Analog Bluetooth iOS Controller which is starting to see a release. You can now achieve that same old-fashioned controller and TV gaming feel you get with consoles.
While the gaming options for iPad owners currently are much more robust and entertaining than they were a couple years ago, it still could be so much more. I truly believe that with the new iPad A6X chip, the time has come for Apple’s tablet to take on the video game console market. The iPad has better screen resolution and more memory than any console on the market; it just needs a little more love from developers.
This month EA is launching Need For Speed Most Wanted for iOS, which is exciting, but it’s not the same premium version that’s coming to the Xbox or Playstation. I think this will soon change, and we will see triple A video games like Call of Duty and Battlefield announced for “Xbox, Playstation, and iPad”.