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I would lay out the facts once and let my readers decide. If only...

You're only half right though. Apple never expected the iPhone to be a gaming device. But the initial iPhone SDK had OpenGL capabilities that were pretty good. Developers did great things with it. Accidental success on Apple's part here. But here's the thing: when it became obvious that the iPod touch (moreso than the iPhone) was a hit gaming device, Apple ran with it! I think it took less than a year for Apple to push gaming in their advertising ("the funnest iPod ever" ), the graphics hardware got dramatically faster, and an iOS Games division was formed within Apple to push the software side of things, resulting in *much* better development tools for OpenGL, and stuff like Game Center. What was even crazier is that Apple promoted the best games with ads on TV and front-page AppStore spots, at no charge, with no strings attached. This idea (along with the 70/30 split) was unthinkable "back in the day". And remember, *anyone* could have beaten Apple to the punch. Microsoft had a game SDK for the Zune before Apple did ... I have TWO Zunes for game development purposes, and nothing came of it. XBIG is another disappointment. I bought a DSi basically for DSiWare, and again, nothing. So sure, Apple stumbled upon gaming unwittingly. But once they saw the opportunity, they moved quickly and turned it into a massive success. But that would be counter-intuitive to their success. Their success has come from designing a sleek convergence device. An add-on controller would be the opposite of that. And moreover, for what? To (potentially) lure 3DS users away? All 4 million of them? Why should Apple care about such a small market when they've sold 250 million iOS devices? Even the 120 million DS users is beginning to look a kinda small... I think Nintendo has been digging their own grave by not moving fast enough. In my example above, Apple pivoted on the primary usage of their flagship device in under a year. Nintendo has sparks of inspiration every couple of years, but then ... stops. It's a Japanese thing (I've worked for a Japanese company years ago) ... they're very resistant to change. To reinvent the handheld console, I think they need to go back to the "first principals". Like I said, ebook readers continue to thrive in an iPad world. Why? By being a device that does just one thing, they're able to provide a better reading experience. Similarly, Nintendo & Sony have to go back to the drawing board and ask, "what makes handheld video games great?" and moreover, "what can we do that would be impractical in a smartphone?" work from there. I'm not sure what the answer is, tbh. But I have some initial guesses: - no bullshit games, as I've talked about at length. - physical controls. - long, deep games made by "real" game developers. - dramatically better battery life than smartphones (no cellular radio) - ... and so on. Again, these are just guesses. I'm not saying I have all the answers, but I think my approach is the correct one, and it seems like Nintendo & Sony just aren't thinking like this.

Thanks! Ah, interesting. The review on The Verge said it was variable depending on the game, going as low as 3 hours, but as high as 5. I mostly have 3D mode off on the 3DS, so I think I get close to 5 hours out of it. Which is still bloody shameful, but I suspect for my usage the Vita would last less. But yeah, valid point. I actually wanted to get into this a little more. I (mostly) agree ... the iPhone/iPod/iPad are great little gaming device. Similar to my analogy above, I reckon I could launch and play a full iOS game before a DS game has loaded... technology is incredible when you put it into perspective, eh? But ... something was lost there. I've been playing iOS games since the AppStore launched. I've played all the best games out there. And yet, none have kept me occupied anywhere close to as long as my favourite DS games. The longevity and depth just isn't there. I used to think it was a price thing, but it's becoming obvious that the volume of iOS devices vs. DS/PSP more than make up for it. Look at the escalating production values of iOS games for proof of that. Now I think it has more to do with the throwaway perception of smartphone games. There's a difference between instant and throwaway. Just because DS games boot fast and are no-bullshit, doesn't mean they aren't lengthy, deep games. Throwaway means something entirely different... it treats games like a disposable item not meant to be used for a long period of time. As a result, iOS games tend to be flashy but ultimately not designed for long-term engagement. That's why you see the production values, not game mechanics, escalating. This isn't a bad thing per se, a choice of throwaway games is a good thing. But when it's the only choice, that's a bad thing. There are few games doing it differently... Sword & Sworcery is one that proved that lengthy games designed for deep engagement can be successful on iOS. After I hit "Submit Reply" I'm back to working on a game which will (hopefully) continue this trend. Yeah, I don't think Nintendo and Sony understand this well enough and/or they're in denial. Sorry for doing another shameless link, but I've written quite a bit on this subject. Specifically, in the "On Being Second Potato" section: I think that handheld consoles can still be relevant, even if not to same level of success the DS enjoyed. Just like ebook readers still thrive, and MP3 players continue to sell, there's value in having a device that does one thing really well. I just don't think Nintendo and Sony have figured out how to do that quite correctly as yet.

Ha, I see the pro-handheld crew is out in force. My turn to chime in! The lure of Sony's "like real console games, but in your pocket!" is short-lived, as Sno alluded to. Get a handheld console to take a break from these games, and get back to playing, well, proper games. The DS is my favourite consoles of all time. The games I got on that thing cut away all the fluff, and got to the actual game. I used to compare the DS & PSP by pointing out that I could boot up and play a full games of Meteos (on DS) before a track of Wipeout (on PSP) even loaded. And that's really what you want a handheld console for: playing games that get to the damn point, and live or die on its mechanics. You really don't want "console quality" fluff: you don't want to wait on 3 company logos, followed by exposition storyline boredom, etc, etc. I found myself playing DS even at home because after a long day at work, I had such little patience for all the bullshit fluff around console games. Things are a little different now. Indie/downloadable games fill that "no bullshit" niche that handheld games used to own exclusively. (I play Joe Danger compulsively) Smartphone games have put Nintendo on the defensive, so instead of putting out cheap/fun/silly/quirky games, Nintendo (and the industry as a whole) are putting out bigger released on the 3DS. Which is great, but man, I'd kill for another Brain Age-esque surprise. I still think the 3DS does a great job of putting out no-bullshit games. Big releases like Super Mario 3D Land offer a rewarding experience if you play for 5 minutes/hours. The PS Vita looks cool, but I'm holding out. The current releases are still too "like a real console game! " for my tastes. (also that thing is massive, and the battery life is even worse than the 3DS, which is already pretty shameful) My hope is that indie games will make the Vita a must-buy system for me. Sound Shapes already looks like it'll do it for me. Sorry for the long rant of questionable relevance.

No, I don't like doing this either, but... http://www.metacritic.com/game/playstation-3/la-noire http://www.metacritic.com/game/xbox-360/la-noire It was really well received. 89/100 based on 80 or so reviews is pretty damn close to "universally hailed".

I thought the game was mechanically broken beyond forgiveness. I'll normally let mechanical issues slide if a game has a great storyline and/or art style, but I just wasn't feeling it with LA Noire. I'd ramble on, but I've already done so in blog form. Read here... http://caffeinemonster.tumblr.com/post/8034320486/how-l-a-noire-failed-to-learn-from-a-generation-of ... and if you're too lazy to click, the general idea is that "L.A. Noire is a terribly broken game, not because it tried to be new and different, but because it failed to learn from a generation of adventure games." [/shameless]

Unfortunately, this stuff is straight-up impossible because the games were designed for a zero-latency cable connected environment. Wi-fi will *always* have some latency, so your multiplayer games would either be very stuttery, or would unsync/break really quickly.

I think they scaled it down because they realised the initial concept was too ambitious to work on budget. That it made the Xbox conversion much easier was just added incentive.

Pro-tip: just play it on Easy. I played through one or two sequences on Normal and just lost my patience. Don't get me wrong, I love a hard game (I spent yesterday playing through the Gears 3 campaign on Hardcore w/ a friend), but Uncharted is just not that game. It's a reasonably good shooter, but an amazing "hey here are some jumpy bits, and explore-y bits, and story bits game". Playing on Easy means having fun with all of that without having to deal with the shooty bits. Also, I'd probably skip Uncharted 1, because the shooty bits do get frustrating, even on Easy.

Looks great, a nice new direction for Naughty Dog, and I'm sure it'll be a great game, but... ... I can't help but feel that they could have done better. I just played through Uncharted 1 & 2, and I kept thinking that I'd enjoy them more if they had less shooting. And that's a very rare feeling in action games. If anyone could make a mainstream game with little to no shooting, it'd be Naughty Dog. I'm just disappointed they decided to play it safe, I guess.

This is basically what I bought a 3DS for (on launch day too :/) and it's totally been worth it. More on it later, I suspect, but so far it's been fantastic.

This sounds about right. I was completely dazzled by LA Noire for the first two or three days, but the cracks started showing, and the whole thing fell apart soon thereafter. What's especially damning is that if you look beyond the release-day reviews, the reception is much more critical. In particular, I'm thinking of Kirk Hamilton's article (for Paste, I think), and RPS's review. To be fair though, release-day reviews are tough, the cracks wouldn't have shown given the timeframe (a day or two, I'd imagine). The failings here lie more with the publications than the journalists themselves.

C-Monster = Kieron Gillen = 1/4 founder of Rock, Paper, Shotgun.

LA Noire earned the distinction of being the only game I've ever traded in. And I wasn't even bothered to finish the game.

But it isn't that easy. It's not about locking a bunch of writers in a room, it's about the writing team working with everyone else in a natural/organic manner. "Bring in better writers" is exactly how we end up with "stopping every ten seconds for exposition". But I agree with you in theory: Like yeah, totally. And I think growing up with LucasArts spoiled me in this regard. But back to GTA, I think the real difficulty with telling a deep story is in the pacing, both because of its sandbox nature and because the game is so damn long. I recall during the middle/late bits of GTA IV I couldn't even remember Niko's background story and why it was relevant. You bring up TV shows, which sounds like a great format for GTA stories to work within. GTA V would, theoretically, be made up of 24 shorter stories which shared the same story arc. That might work.

Honestly, I'd rather have Houser-style dialogue, than a less cliched storyline. There are very few writers who can pull off quick and punchy dialogue, while maintaining an interesting narrative, like the GTA series has excelled at. Apart from GTA, only the LucasArts adventure games have done this well. People bring up Bioware/Mass Effect as a milestone in Video game storytelling, but I can't agree. I had to stop playing ME1 because I was frustrated out of my mind over the long periods of exposition and backstory.

It's an unfortunate side effect of this console generation going so long. Frankly, I'm pretty impressed with all the crazy workarounds developers have come up with to squeeze more power out of these ageing machines, moreso than generations prior. Still, it's impressive from a technical point of view, but really crappy for the user experience. Roll on, next gen consoles...

What miffy said. Also, sorry for not replying sooner. I'm legally required by Canadian law to apologise for everything. It's funny you mention it though. I had a fairly straight-faced description written for the longest time. But I wanted to get across how competitive the game really is, and it's a difficult thing to do. I mean, "Feature: mind blowingly competitive!" (--ign.com?) doesn't exactly cut it. So at 2am a night or two before Orbit1 went live, I just started typing whatever nonsense was in my head (uhhh, also while brushing my teeth). And I dunno, it all came together really nicely. After reading it all over, I was like, "man, that's just like watching hockey!" and that was that In more game-y news, I'd love to hear what you lot think if you've downloaded it. Also, I'd really appreciate some written reviews on the AppStore. I've got tonnes (tonnes!) of downloads, and lots of stars (yay!) but not many written reviews. Sorry for all the self-pimping. (see legal requirement above) Cheers, Mo

I mentioned this in the Eurogamer Expo thread, but I figured if I'm going to shamelessly pimp my shit, I might as well do it right. Orbit1 is a "hyper-competitive multiplayer game played with just one button". The neat part is that it's played with the iPad laid flat on the table, board game style. It works best with more (up to four) friends huddled around the iPad, leading to all the competitiveness, laughing, yelling and swearing you'd expect. Good, wholesome, family fun. Best part: It's totally free, no strings attached. As in, no ads and no in-app purchases. App Store link, screenshots, and trailer/video: http://www.caffeinemonstersoftware.com/orbit1 Enjoy

Ha, I didn't realise you hosted the thing! So what ended up happening with the mobile games, anyway? I don't think there were any on show...

I was almost going to make it. My new iPad game Orbit1, was selected for the Indie Arcade, but as it's a mobile game they required me (and my iPad) to be there. I seriously considered flying over for the weekend, but then common sense took over. Stupid common sense.

Agreed! The biggest issue is portability, and I think accessibility is also worth pointing out. It wasn't so long ago when Nintendo got up on stage and said, "modern console controllers are too complicated for normal people", and yet, here we are with two analog sticks on a handheld. Given that the DS was so successful largely because of how accessible it was, I find this all very puzzling. I'm of the belief that games should be design around the hardware they run on. I was so dumb-founded by the PSP's lack of games designed around that hardware. Why Metal Gear couldn't have taken on a top-down perspective a la MGS1 I'll never know. On the flip side, Super Mario Land 3D gets the camera stuff right. video games are basically an elaborate work-around. These days, it's more about working around the limitations of Unreal engine vs the actual hardware, but the point still stands. Design is about making the best work arounds given the platform/engine/whatever limitations. Mo

We understand that portable devices are suppose to be portable, right? I don't care how much that thing costs, there's no way I'm going to buy one. I don't get the obsession with two analog sticks. It really is possible to make a game with a decent camera that doesn't need constant adjustment, especially on a handheld console! If I wanted to play console games, I'd play them on a console. The argument worked during the DS/PSP generation, and I don't see how things are so different now. Mo

Two points: 1- a price cut this early is not completely unheard of. The iPhone launched at $599, and cut the price by a whopping $200 just two months after release. Early adopters were eventually rewarded with a $100 of store credit. It may seem like a crummy thing to do, but it makes sense in the long run. Hardware needs to sell to succeed. Would you rather the 3DS maintain its $250 price but have no game support, or deal with the pricecut and (hopefully) have many more games to play? 2- shameless pimping time... I wrote an article on what Nintendo needs to do for the 3DS to succeed. The TL;DR version is that there's no way a 3DS could replace a smartphone, but if the hardware is convenient to take around people will carry them both. That to me means smaller, thinner, lighter, better battery life. That ultimately means the 3D screen going away. I think it's going to happen, and I honestly won't miss it, given all the benefits. The other thing is that they need an appstore that can rival Apple's in terms of usability, and Xbox Live in terms of quality and price-point. Cheers, Mo

Commandos 2 walkthrough: throw pack of cigarettes in front of lone guard. Wait for it... Stab guard in the back. Recover pack of cigarettes. Goto step 1. (Loved the game, mind)