EA, Sega On IPhone 3G Vs 3GS

@Inzoum: The thing is: going from the PSP 2000 to the 3000, you're getting the same thing. With the 3GS, you're getting the same design but entirely different hardware. Think of it as upgrading from a Celeron PC with an IGP to a Pentium 4 with a discrete GFX card, while keeping the same case. To a guy who uses the iPhone as a gaming platform (like me), it's well worth the upgrade. See Firemint's video on the 3G vs 3GS, for example. Their game (Real Racing) is the iPhone's most demanding game (in terms of graphics and physics). On the 3G, they can get 6 cars on the same track without a framerate drop. If they put a 7th car, the game automatically suffers from slowdowns. On the 3GS they went up to 40 cars on the same track with no noticeable framerate drop. They even claimed that they could keep adding cars and that the device would still run at the same framerate. And that's with no 3GS-only optimizations. It's the same code running on both platforms. To me, it's pretty exciting but, then again, I'm upgrading from a Touch 2G to a 3GS.

@sereal: That's the point, you barely get any new value, so why fork out the dough a second time?

Inzoum

Luke I really wish you would stop using Apple RDF tactics in describing the iPhone. "there will be games that will only run on the iPhone 3GS, which is bad news for the 40 million people in possession of an iPhone, iPhone 3G or iPod Touch (2nd gen)." 40 million people did most certainly not buy the iphone for games they bought it as a phone/music/video device etc. It's like saying there are 1 billion PC gamers if you count all the PC's even if thats not what they are used for. You could have left out the misleading 40 million comment from this article entirely and still have the same point in that sentence. It's poor journalism.

Jellocakes

It was obvious there would be 3GS only apps/games in the future. It's up to the developer though how they want to limit their audience. Majority of iPhone users are probably on the 3G or Original phone and with the 3G now at $99, the 3G crowd will grow. Of course when new models come out the crowd with newer hardware will grow but it'll take time.

Kalakaua

I just bought my first iPhone yesterday. I was debating whether the 3GS was worth the extra $100 and decided that for the faster speed and better camera it was. Glad I didn't just choose the 3G now because of the cheaper price. Does this mean that the games are going to cost more for the 3GS? And how much more are they going to cost over the 3G and iPod Touch versions? Because that is one of the reasons why I got one was for a cheap method of gaming on the go.

Billy Brown

@TylDurden: And my point is, why is it 125$. If I added up 90$ for what I want, where is your extra 35$ dollars coming from?

@SeraphX2: I'm talking about my $125 bill that comes every month.

TylDurden

"which is bad news for the 40 million people in possession of an iPhone, iPhone 3G or iPod Touch (2nd gen)." is the iPod touch 1st gen chopped liver?

The iPod touch 2nd gen already supports better graphics and such, the game "supercross" already has upgrades for the iPod Touch 2nd gen but was still awesome for all other iTouch devices. Why are panties wadding up over this?

TylDurden

@TylDurden: What exactly are you talking about. 30$ for data, 40$ for minutes, 20$ for unlimited texting. That's 90 bucks. Why would it be any higher? The data covers downloading and online stuff, I never use all my minutes and obviously I'll never pay for more texts. I currently have most of the apps I have found useful, I have them on my iTouch. I don't spend inordinate amounts of extra money on apps and stuff. If there are possibly more fees I'm unaware of, I'd like to know more specifics, but so far haven't seen it and I need more than just you saying "wait for your bill" without examples.

@Nudgenudge:
iPhone 3GS for new customers = $199
iPhone 3GS for ATT customers after 1 year = $199
iPhone 3GS for ATT customers after 2 year = $199

Where's the huge promotion.

TylDurden

@SeraphX2: wait till you see your bill, I love my iphone but your making some interesting claims especially for someone who doesn't yet have one. I do agree that Verizon nickel and dimes people though.

TylDurden

@greeble: you must be on some stupid cheap plan. I have barely any extras on my Verion phone and my bill is 80 bucks. When I switch to the iPhone soon, I'll only being paying 90 bucks and it can do things my enV can only dream of. If I want email on my Verizon, I have to pay 20 bucks a month. If I want GPS, 5 bucks a month. All of that stuff is free and doable with the iPhone, plus all the useful apps that ARE free, and then only the others apps I only have to pay ONCE for. On top of that, Rollover minutes. I pay 40 bucks for 450 minutes with Verizon. With ATT I pay the same amount but get to keep unused minutes. I rarely touch my minutes but still hate losing them. One day I may need them. So I can't wait till I switch over.

The iPhone is a way better deal. if you have like a 40 dollar phone plan, then you aren't getting much from your carrier to begin with. Maybe you can't afford 90 if you're paying 40, but then, obviously you don't really NEED all the stuff the iPhone has to offer if you aren't already doing all that with your current plan.

@Gex: Yeah, if you think Apple is any better than MS, you're mistaken. They may have a different outlook since they deal with over-priced proprietary hardware as well as an OS, but they are just as totalitarian in their field as MS is.
TBH, MS, as closed and strict as they can be with Windows, it makes sense and they are nowhere near as bad as Apple. As sereal said, OSX technically isn't supported on other systems, only by hacking it onto a system can it be done.
I own an iTouch, and I'm a programmer but i can't develop/publish for it unless I own a MAC PC of some sorts.
Apple closes themselves off, and alienate people way more than MS. MS is a successful OS; maybe they do buy out companies to not put Linux on systems. Nonetheless you can't deny, most Linux laptops/PCs campaigns that are produced by companies like Dell and HP fall through anyway and are not profitable. So it's not MS's fault, it's the Linux communities fault. Windows is easy to use and they don't restrict what is developed by third parties.
IMO, MS has a way better business model than Apple. I don't agree with everything they do, but I've noticed alot of successful companies get more hate just because they are successful.

@uchennaokafor: Personally, I'm not a fan of their PC's, but I love the iTouch and iPhone. Brilliant innovations.

Same goes for MS, I love their OS, but I hate mot anything else they try to get into because usually they try to set standards while breaking already set standards.

And I don't have a problem with just about anything Sony has. It's good stuff, so I'm willing to pay for it; sorta like Logitech.

@sereal: I'm sorry, what?

No competing products? You can release competing products on their platforms (see Adobe Lightroom vs Apple Aperture, or Microsoft Office vs Apple iWork, or the infinite other examples from developers of all sizes on OS X and iPhone). Sometimes the products fail because they don't compete with Apple's software design and engineering, but that's quite different.

Overcharging developers? Developing for the Mac is free. The license to post all your apps to the iPhone App Store is $99, and the dev kit is free. Care to compare that to a DS or PSP dev kit and license? Or maybe you're referring to the 30% cut they take from App Store sales? Compared to the 50-70% cut other cell phone companies take from their own app sales. Or the undisclosed cuts Nintendo/Sony/Microsoft take from their own DLC sales.

Finally, it's true that Apple writes its OS to run only on its hardware, but I'm not sure how that's bad business practice. It's far more the norm in every computing industry than not. Apple sells the package, hardware and software working together, and most would say their products are the better for it.

Sorry to carry on off-topic like that, but the complaints here don't seem to make any sense.

swarmster

The constant upgrades that Apple touts (which are hardly upgrades at all if you take off those rose-colored glasses) are a big reason I never owned an Apple product in my life until the iPod Touch. Even then, it was only because it came out at a perfect time to coincide with my other MP3 player dying on me and I had some spare scratch to throw away. As a gaming device, it sucks. People can praise the touch controls and accelerometer all they like, there still aren't any truly enjoyable games. You can pass time with some of the apps out there, but to actually call 99% of them games is giving them a lot of credit.

One thing's for sure, I'm not getting another Apple product unless they blow me away and do something no one else can do (sliding my finger around isn't exactly revolutionary, nor do I give a shit about any other feature of the iPhone/iPod). Aside from the fact I spent almost double what I would have on an equivalent product from another company, Apple has zero loyalty to early adopters. Have an old iPod of any kind? Screw you, upgrade every 6 months. Have an iPhone you bought 4 months ago? Screw you, time to upgrade.

How bout this Apple? Screw YOU. You still don't have the market cornered because of your shitty business model and you probably never will unless you come off the exorbitant prices for shoddy hardware.

jargy1

@OspreyDawn: That would be true until next year when the next iPhone has even more power and will run games that won't run on the 3GS. Really, $200 every year to play the latest iPhone games is a bit steep. To be a serious gaming platform it needs to have a configuration that will run for about 3 to 4 years. Apple, doesn't know how to do that.

Oh, and the battery life sucks balls when you play games. The DS battery seems to last forever, but play the iPhone it lasts only a few hours.

Disclaimer: I own an Touch 2nd Gen and I love it, but I cannot justify buying another one this year when the 3rd Gen comes out. $300 once a year is pretty ridiculous.

Probably means they will cost more.

@sereal: I've got a first gen ipod touch. The most recent firmware update allows you to copy and paste, and it costs like a tenner. It took several years to let me copy and paste, and they want more money for it. I'm pretty sure even microsoft doesn't stoop that low.

mrkinder

@Ketch2k8: I'm also waiting to see where android ends up. seems likely it will end up with the better apps due to the open nature of the platform.

sereal

@uchennaokafor: Yet lack of controls make all these points moot.

sereal

@Inzoum: What more value do you get from upgrading a psp 2000 to a psp 3000? Do you mean the go?

sereal

@jslizzle: That sounds more like a benefit than a catch ;)

sereal

@Gex: really? Apple won't let me run osx on any hardware, they won't let developers release competing products on their platform, they over charge developers. I hate MS as much as the next guy, but apple is just as bad for business practices.

sereal

I still see this as a barrier to the iphone/pod's growth as a gaming system. Only time will tell - I've been wrong before. :D

@greeble: i got an iphone it's amazing, luckily i don't pay for it my company does, however the catch is i have to make an APP for it for my company

jslizzle

If SEGA's usual releases are anything to go by, 3GS specific games will look and perform almost up to the standard of everyone else's releases on the iPhone 2G.

SEGA are so utterly shit at coding for iPhone that the 3GS is there only hope to get into double figure frame rates. Sonic The Hedgehog on iPhone anyone?

Monkey Ball was a complete and utter fluke, or Apple coded it for them.

MayCauseOffense

@Voltron: SPOILER: It's a Lucky Hit! mini-game.

@Nudgenudge: Nah, by then AT&T will have to answer to Sprint's 4G network they're building. Thus, iPhone 4G is born.

Well, its safe to say the iPhone 3G will be the first and last iPhone I purchase. The 3.0 update ruined my experience with my phone, it already runs slow enough and now I only get to play downgraded games So I'm missing out on lots of apps in the appstore all because my iPhone 3G went out of date after 6 months with it. The next year of my contract I will be following up on Android phones, thats where my future lies. Apple aren't completely to blame though, I didn't see 02 offering me a deal (similar to the 2G-3G transition) for an upgrade either!

@magictroll: True, but I'd choose Apple over MS any day of the week when it comes to business practices.

Gex

If Apple ever want their iphones to be a threat to the DS and PSP they have to standardise their hardware. If their 3D capabilities keep growing with every generation, then they're just going to keep on splintering their audience.

Julian 'Siliconnoob' Taylor

As long as it's not a Shenmue sailor fart app I will take anything.

Voltron

@kneehighspy: yeah, I'm also going for the 2-year plan.
I only upgraded from the v1 to the 3G because in the end, I "won" 100 euros due to various promotions. The 3GS doesn't offer enough to justify a change, but the 3GS++ next June will be perfect (end of my operator's contract == huuuuge promotions to keep me as a client).

Nudgenudge

@Voltron: so what, you must find sailors with the compass?

Nudgenudge

@fanboyish:

that's what i did, i still use my first gen launch iphone and skipped the 3g version. now with the 3gs and it's added features, along with the carryover 3g features, it's worth an upgrade for me. plus my iphone is now 2 years old, but still selling well on ebay, so that's probably where my old one (unlocked) will end up.

@Voltron: PS: Sega, do it !

Voltron

That Shenmue app icon is just plain CRUEL, Kotaku.

Voltron

@uchennaokafor: "I've always found the act of hating a faceless/soulless company rather lame."

Most large faceless/soulless companies are also ruthless and heartless, and so deserve our hate.

@uchennaokafor: Yeh, I think he just isn't into Apple, man.

@fanboyish: You've got the wrong idea.

1- I buy new consoles, but they don't tend to come out every year, and I don't buy everything that's released.
2- I upgrade my computer, but I upgrade it only when the leap is meaningful in terms of performance, at an acceptable cost.

Upgrading from an iPhone 3G to and iPhone 3GS makes as much sense to me as buying a PSP-3000 when you already own one of the previous PSPs. The price point is very high yet the added value is pretty insignificant.

Inzoum

@Giladas: Or you are just a clown for thinking products dont eventually move on. I still have my 1g but I expect it to be excluded from future software as the product ages. In the real world which everyone else lives in, there is such a thing as progression. Or maybe to busy hating on Jobs to realise that. I've always found the act of hating a faceless/soulless company rather lame.

@OspreyDawn: Thankyou for taking the words right out of my mouth. People seem to be to stubborn or blind to realise just how vulnerable Sony and Nintendo are to a dedicated/serious Apple portable gaming device.

If one removes flawed fanboy logic you come to realise that the appstore and free SDK are the trump cards Apple hold. Its a service which allows users to download titles with ease and it also allows the small timers to get in on the act without requiring major investments from major publishers. Yes there may be a large amount of shovelware but with its rating system its not exactly difficult to find the quality products.

@Squirrelbot3000: In the context of your comment, you were talking about upgrading if there was a 'major step up' from the 3GS. As the MMS capability is already there, it's not Apple's issue, it's AT&T's. Not a hardware/software problem, which is changed every year.

@OspreyDawn:
That may be true for the PSP, but the DS...let's just say the main market of that handheld is children and you know the buying power, not to mention proliferation of kids.

I don't think I'd buy an iphone for a child.

@Sam Healer: No it doesn't.

Read the fine print: "MMS support from AT&T coming in late summer."

Squirrelbot3000

@JetPogi:
I agree. But Apple isn't making a phone for everyone. I'm specifically talking about the smartphone crowd.
The thing is, for example, Nokia releases the N8X and a person buys it. A couple of months later, there's the E9X or the N9X and you start thinking "WTF? I just bought the top-of-the-line model and two months later there's already two or three models that are better".
I personally feel that Apple's business model with the iPhone is better because it allows customers to know that the new iPhone will be released in a certain month, it'll cost the same ammount of money as the last model and it'll be the only platform for a whole year.
Also, apart from specific hardware features (GPS, compass, etc), every app runs on every iPhone. On Nokia's phones it's not like that. That's why the Ovi store is a complete mess.

@fanboyish: wait all those you mentioned have different models for people to be able to afford them so???

JetPogi

@Inzoum:
Then why buy new consoles? Why buy new computers? According to that logic, those aren't upgrades either.
That logic is flawed. People can't treat the platform as "just a phone" because it's much more than that. I agree that buying an iPhone every year is overkill but buying one every two years (or when there is a big hardware revision) seems pretty fair to me.
I, for one, prefer seeing a new iPhone every year (and knowing exactly when it's supposed to be launched) than seeing 20+ iPhone models per year (the current - Nokia, Samsung, Sony Ericson - mobile phone business plan) that have completely different hardware and are incompatible with each other.

@Señor Cagon:
It's actually a 12 month cycle for the iPhone and iPod Touch.
People complain about the iPhone's 1 year cycle but what about Nokia and their 20+ phones per year?
Apple's is a different business model and people need to get used to that.
The new features "do" justify the upgrade. The hardware within (paired with the fantastic OS) makes the 3GS substantially faster than every smartphone on the market. I agree with you that the "2X Faster" description is pretty vague and that Apple should've used more direct marketing statements like "Portable console-like graphics on your phone" (for gamers).
Anyway, anyone with a bit of hardware knowledge knows that this phone is actually a lot better than the 3G and everyone looking for the extra speed and battery life will surely switch.

I think the iPhone/iPod touch has the power to trump the PSP and DS any day. Why?

1. Huge install base
2. Well designed app store
3. Easy for developers to access without publisher's help.
4. The combination of Apple's quality products with music and video combine to overshadow anything Sony or Nintendo can do.

It's proved it's a gold mine for casual games, all it needs is a standout title to get people to take it seriously as a gaming device.

This is no fanboy gloat, just think about it; the possibilities on the iPhone are endless with its large amount of support going for it.

The problem with Nintendo and Sony is that they're too tight ass to let indie developers make it big on their platform, sure there'll be a lot of crap, but eventually, just like sifting in the right river, you'll eventually strike gold.

OspreyDawn

@fanboyish: I can't afford replacing my regular cell phone every year. Buying an iPhone would be like a once-in-a-lifetime purchase, not something I'd do each time a new model comes out.

I can understand replacing an old 1st Gen 2Gb iPod Nano with a 2nd Gen iPod Touch. THAT's an upgrade. But swapping a new iPhone for a newer iPhone? just too damn expensive.

Inzoum

@[www.apple.com]

Columns ULTRA SUPER MEGA SPEEDY DELUXE HAPPY FUN TIME BIG SHOW 3GS confirmed?

Let's hope not.

Squirrelbot3000

@Señor Cagon: It would be foolhardy for anyone at this point to dev exclusively for 3GS unless it was app-related, like the compass feature limited to it. They'd just be shooting themselves in the foot otherwise.

Squirrelbot3000

Someone got Shenmue in my iPhone

@SacGamer: It doesn't... yet. Give it time. But yeah, cheaper alternative.

Squirrelbot3000

@WhatTheFrag: Frankly, I'm good with my 3G until the next incarnation, and even then I'll see how mine's holding up come this time in 2010. This thing's so good for getting my life straight I'd actually hate to have to give it up, unless there was a major step up from 3GS.

Maybe by then we'll just be getting MMS texting.

Squirrelbot3000

@Señor Cagon: I admit I would love the GPS and internet browser. It's just so...expensive.

And this is an article about it's gaming capabilities, which is why I'm criticizing it's gaming weaknesses. It is by no means a bad product. I actually really want one. Problem is...I'm not sure I can afford to pay hundreds of dollars for a phone and then god knows how much per month if I want unlimited internet/messenger.

SacGamer

@greeble: Or you could buy 30 99 cent games on your new iPhone every month with that money too.

Oh wait, that'd make it $60 extra a month. Eh, whatever.

Squirrelbot3000

@Malform: I didn't think the ipod touch had the gaming capabilities of the Ipod 3GS though. And it will have exclusives.

SacGamer

I have the Original Iphone and will upgrade to the 3GS for the added storage space (also phone dying), 4GB -> 32GB!! If it wasnt for that I wouldnt had cared... The new features dont justify a whole new device change.

Also, the 3G for 99 will make the masses adopt the thing so pretty much the companies will have develop for both platforms.

@SacGamer: Not a dedicated game machine buddy. It has the capablities and that why it has games but it has a TON of other features that are not gaming related. I use mine primary as a phone, mobile internet, GPS, messenger, facebook, calculator, email among other things.

Gaming on the thing is very well on last place. Most of the games are touch screen and also you cantilt the device to addd interactivity. Ask for smeone to lend you an Iphone for a while and play with it.

@FanBuoy: Yeah... I'm a bit mystified by that...

I appreciate that the iPhone 3GS is even faster than the iPod Touch 2G, but when the Touch 2G came out, no-one made a song and dance about how it was 50% faster than the other three iDevices that came before it...

Classic example of Apple trying to sell the more expensive product (iPhone) ;)

@fanboyish: Thats the exact opposite from what im hearing... The new features do not justify a full device upgrade. Not all ppl are hardcore to change the device due some vague "faster" description. Only fans and similar ppl with withstand the 6 month HW upgrades Apple offer.

@Malform:
Its late at night I need sleep.
I realized what I did just when
I clicked the submit button

Malform

As a 3G owner I'm not worried. Companys aren't going to shut out a majority of their customer base anytime soon. The only apps that are 3GS exclusive right now are the ones that utilize the compass.

@SacGamer:
One word buddy
Ipod touch

Malform

Seeing as how my iPod Second Generation is faster than the original iPhone, I'm okay for now.

I still don't see how you can have any real games without buttons. I suppose a real RPG would be possible...but I'd hate to have to buy an insanely expensive phone with a stupidly expensive contract just to play them.

SacGamer

Considering their upgrade cycles went like 8 months, then 11 months - we should see the next one in 13/15 months or well it's Apple prolly less than a year.

"...which is bad news for the 40 million people in possession of an iPhone, iPhone 3G..."
A lot of people who bought the iPhone and skipped the 3G are buying the 3GS. And a lot of people who bought the 3G are upgrading to the 3GS. So, a very large number of people will actually switch to the 3GS and, soon, it'll make sense to have applications that take advantage of the extra power and, of course, OpenGL ES 2.0.

Been thinking about getting an iPhone, but that extra $30 a month for the data plan really sucks. I could buy a game a month with that money.

Ouch, looks like being one of the first to get an iPhone was a really bad idea. Thankfully I abhor Apple so I dodged that bullet.

@TylDurden: odd. Thanks for the extra info. I'll make sure I keep an eye on them when I talk to them about signing up. Make sure they aren't trying anything funky without me knowing...lol

@SeraphX2: don't know man, just is. in fact, to upgrade to the 3GS before your time for an upgrade you had to meet 3 things,

1. eligible for upgrade before sept of 09

2. bill be more than $100 a month

3. (don't remember it was lame)

so its very common for iphone users to have a bill over $100 month, att just wanted to weed out peeps who cut internet or messaging from their plan.

TylDurden