Apple has finally gone official with the white iPhone 4. It will be available online and at retail on April 28, 2011. Despite the new exterior, the iPhone 4’s internals are a bit old compared to the new dual-core processor phones available in 2011. That said, it offers the best software and entertainment ecosystem on the market.
Any of you picking up a white iPhone 4? Are you an Apple fan that feels that “if it ain’t white, it ain’t right”?
EA is having a pretty excellent sale on select Android, iPad, and iPhone games. A lot of the games have been slashed from $9.99 to $0.99! I’m downloading Dead Space, Max and the Magic Marker, Scrabble, and Pictureka as I type. Check out the games and let me know if you pick anything up (please).
Gaming is at a crossroads. Big changes in the business are already underway and even bigger changes are on the horizon. What do you think of all the change that’s happening in gaming? Will you change with it?
Welcome to Coffee Talk! Let’s start off the day by discussing whatever is on your (nerd chic) mind. Every morning I’ll kick off a discussion and I’m counting on you to participate in it. If you’re not feelin’ my topic, feel free to start a chat with your fellow readers and see where it takes you. Whether you’re talking about videogames, Steven Tyler dropping F-bombs on American Idol, Dr. Dre defeating Death Row, or your favorite Zamfir performance, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.
Gaming is at a crossroads. Big changes in the business are already underway and even bigger changes are on the horizon. Epic Games’ Dr. Mike “Busta” Capps recently chatted with Industry Gamers about the changes happening in the gaming business. While they’re exciting from a gamer’s point of view, they’re scary to developers and publishers:
We have not been this uncertain about what’s coming next in the games industry since Epic’s been around for 20 years. We’re at such an inflection point. Will there be physical distribution in 10 years or even five? Will anyone care about the next console generation? What’s going on in PC? Can you make money on PC if it’s not a connected game? What’s going on in mobile?
Tons of really scary things… It used to be, ‘Well, of course PlayStation 3 will be successful because PS2 was amazingly successful.’ But can you say for sure that you know everyone’s going to jump to the next generation? I sure hope so — I’m going to try to make some great tech that will make everyone want to. But it’s scary.
If there’s anything that’s killing us [in the traditional games business] it’s dollar apps. How do you sell someone a $60 game that’s really worth it … They’re used to 99 cents. As I said, it’s an uncertain time in the industry. But it’s an exciting time for whoever picks the right path and wins.
Digital distribution, mobile gaming, and social gaming are challenging traditional game makers and publishers. These relatively new forces are also challenging traditional gamers. I’m reminded of friends in the ’90s that loved PC gaming, but couldn’t adapt to a console world. I’m reminded of friends that loved 2D fighting games more than anything, but couldn’t deal with the shift to 3D. These friends are no longer the gamers that they once were.
What do you think of all the change that’s happening in gaming? Will you change with the times? Or are you perfectly comfortable with the disc-and-console model? Will you resist change and hang on as long as you can? If you don’t like what the future holds for gaming, will you look for another hobby? As for me, no matter what happens in gaming, I’ll be like Jefe from The Three Amigos: “I’m still here El Guapo!”
Congressman Jesse Jackson Jr. delivered an inspired and amazingly uninformed rant on how the iPad is killing American jobs. This has skyrocketed to the top of the list of the dumbest things I’ve heard in 2011. Apparently the iPad is the scourge of book makers, librarians, Borders employees, etc.
Sure it’s made in China, but the millions of iPads sold in 2011 equals millions of dollars of tax revenue. American workers at thousands of retail outlets have to sell the devices. “Geniuses” employed by Apple have to support iPads after they’re sold. Thousands of people are employed by American companies to create and market iPad software. I could go on, but I think you get the point.
I’m going to watch the video again so that I can have a lovely migraine….
2K has pulled a Nintendo on me. By that I mean that it has me on the hook for three versions of the same game. Hell, I don’t even remember how many times I’ve bought Super Mario Bros. for various…
Welcome to Coffee Talk! Let’s start off the day by discussing whatever is on your (nerd chic) mind. Every morning I’ll kick off a discussion and I’m counting on you to participate in it. If you’re not feelin’ my topic, feel free to start a chat with your fellow readers and see where it takes you. Whether you’re talking about videogames, Paul McDonald’s unfortunate exit from American Idol, Scarlett Johansson moving in with Sean Penn, or Manny Pacquiao possibly fighting Kermin Cintron, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.
I’ve played more than a thousand hours of Civilization Revoltion for iPhone. I’ll play more than a thousand hours of Civilization Revolution for iPad. If 2K releases an Android version, I’ll buy that and play the hell out of it too. 2K has pulled a Nintendo on me. By that I mean that it has me on the hook for three versions of the same game. Hell, I don’t even remember how many times I’ve bought Super Mario Bros. for various Nintendo platforms.
Several of my friends have bought multiple versions of Super Mario Bros., Final Fantasy IV, Chrono Trigger, etc. From the originals to portable versions to digital downloads, it’s kind of astounding that we’ve bought the same game over and over again. How about you? Have you bought the same game multiple times? Or are you free of this madness? If you’re among the afflicted, please list the titles (and platforms if you can remember them) that you’ve bought over and over again.
Today’s poll was inspired by RPadholic Sandrock323. He mentioned that he never uses his Nintendo DS while…uh…making a deposit in the bathroom. He believes that his DS is too sacred. Do you agree? Is it okay to play some DS or PSP while doing the #2? How about web browsing on your Android phone or iOS device? Kindly take today’s poll and elaborate (hopefully not in a gross way) in the comments section.
[poll id=”111″]
I can’t stop playing Civilization Revolution for iPad…but I must. I’ve only scratched the surface of Superbrothers: Sword and Sworcery EP and I really want to play more of it. The game is so clever and stylish. It brings me back to glory days of point-and-click adventures. I’d also like to play more Final Fantasy III on my iPad. Unfortunately, it’s only optimized for iPhone, so I have to double the resolution. It still looks pretty good…and job systems frickin’ rule.
How about you? What’s on your weekend playlist?
The iPad is such a fantastic device for reading news. It offers a reading experience that blends magazine/newspaper browsing with the interactivity of the Internet. I’ve been playing around with several news apps on my iPad 2 and love that I can flip through pages as if it were a magazine. I also love that I can click on a video or slideshow that illustrates a news story. It’s such a delightful way to consume content.
Here are my five favorite news apps. If you have any suggestions, please let me know. I’d love to check them out.
1) CNN — I love the default setting for this app. You have blocks of images with headlines that lead to text articles or videos. The content is strong and diverse (who knew that CNN would be a great source for entertainment news?!?). I think this is a great example of serving up a simple magazine-like experience with Internet features.
2) Flipboard — This is a fantastic app for flipping through news and social content. It initially generated buzz for offering a visually pleasing way to read links and view photos found on your Facebook and Twitter feeds. It sets it up in a newspaper-like way that lets your flip through batches of content. The app also has channels you can add, such as gaming and tech, that pull content from a variety of top sources. There are even site-specific feeds. For example, reading TechCrunch on Flipboard offers a more visually appealing experience than going to the web site.
3) BBC News — This is a straightforward app that offers an elegant touch experience and fantastic content. I highly recommend reading BBC News (by any means) at least once a week. It gives you a nice “outsider” view of world news and American politics. If you miss what news reporting used to be and are tired of the heavily opinionated news cycles that dominate America then you should definitely catch BBC News. The iPad app is clean and convenient way to browse the outstanding content.
4) Huffington Post — I’m familiar with the “slide” version of HuffPo from using it on Chrome OS. It’s definitely on the busy side, but it lets you browse through a ton of content quickly. It’s easy to sift through dozens of opinion pieces, videos, slideshows, and aggregated content using the iPad app. This is much easier to use in landscape mode. You really need the additional width to see all the content.
5) The Daily — This is one of the most ambitious “digital magazines” for iPad. I like where it is and love where it could go. The content quality is uneven, but the delivery is super slick. It uses images and touch in a way that’s dynamic and elegant. News Corp offers a free two-week trial before charging $0.99 per week or $39.99 per year. While I love how it takes advantage of the tablet experience, I’m not sold on the content quality just yet.
My pals at Area 5 have launched a new iPad magazine called Atomix. I saw a bit of it during GDC 2011 and was really impressed. Of course I’m biased because they’re my friends, but they do awesome work and I expect Atomix to be very popular. If you have an iPad, I’m sure those guys would appreciate your support. It’s only 99 cents an issue. I’m going to try to buy it thrice….
The war between Apple iOS devices and traditional gaming machines is heating up! According to ModMyI, Toys ‘R Us will start selling the Apple iPad 2 in May. The site received a view images from an employee training sessions and they’re all about familiarizing Toys ‘R Us reps with Apple’s latest tablet. Here’s more:
We received a tip this morning from a Toys R’ Us employee that the venerable children’s toy store will begin selling the iPad 2 next month. Although there have been rumors in the past about Toys R’ Us possibly carrying the iPad at some point in the future, this is the first we’ve heard from an actual employee that an iPad launch at the toy store is imminent.
And there’s photographic evidence to back up the claim. Obtained during an employee training session, the pic clearly illustrates the iPad 2 presented in some form of employee training and testing process — something that would naturally take place shortly before a new product launch.
While it’s easy to find iOS devices and gaming machines at Best Buy, Target, and other broad retail outlets, videogames have ruled the roost at Toys ‘R Us. Do you think Toys ‘R Us is a good fit for the iPad 2? Should Microsoft, Nintendo, and Sony be worried?
