Cheap Android Development

[XanthorXIII]

Here's an interesting idea for us.
http://www.joystiq.com/2011/05/26/evo-2-console-puts-android-in-a-box/

[erico]

Weird!

[XanthorXIII]

Think of it as a way to get involved with Console Game Development.
Pretty neat I'd say.

[Slydog]

I still think Apple is missing out big time by not marketing (and upgrading to make possible) their devices as home consoles also.
They have the customer and developer base already.

An iPhone or iPad is plenty powerful enough for some fun and cheap games.
They need TV out (iPad 2 now supports this) plus a type of controller.

It'd be neat to use your iPod/iPhone as a controller to an iPad (heck, even to another iPhone!)
Or have wireless video with a separate device that hooks into your TV that your iPhone 'talks' to via WiFi or something.
Or a very cheap (no display?) accelerometer controller with a touch pad style surface with additional arcade buttons perhaps.

[PaLe]

I still think Apple is missing out big time by not marketing (and upgrading to make possible) their devices as home consoles also.
They have the customer and developer base already.

An iPhone or iPad is plenty powerful enough for some fun and cheap games.
They need TV out (iPad 2 now supports this) plus a type of controller.

 

[Slydog]

OMG! Genius!   
I'd be nice if something like that would take off and developers start adding support for it for their games.
Even allow two (or more for multi players!) sticks at once that you can place anywhere, but just tell the game where they are somehow. (or auto detect position based on 'touch' location)

After playing games on touch screens for a while now I really don't like having no tactile feedback.
I had a car deck that was 100% touch screen, but the volume up / down was to make a circular motion at a certain location.  Try doing that when you're driving!  Needless to say I returned it after a few close calls.

[Edit] i guess this could be a universal device for games that already have a d-pad input area, like lots do.  If this does this or not, but a device could have little 'fingers' that touch in the direction you move the stick, but just sit a small distance above the touch surface when not used.  The game wouldn't know any different and think a normal finger is touching the d-pad (except for the obvious large touch for the suction cup!).  You'd only have problems with games with different sizes or layouts for their d-pads.
[Edit2] Or instead of 'fingers', have a circular rubber ring that circumferences the touch radius but sits just above the touch surface.  Then it would act like a analog stick (and work as a d-pad too), by rolling the physical stick around, the rubber would touch the surface in the appropriate location.  Ha, very off-topic!
[Edit3] Dang! I think that's how this device works!  I had thought that it was game specific, and the game had to support it.

[erico]

I have seen the rubber ring solution for a joypad, but not this chrome joystiks, they are great.
http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2011/01/stick-on-joypad-upgrades-ipad-gaming/

[matchy]

Sort of reminds me of:

and

[bigsofty]

Here's an interesting idea for us.
http://www.joystiq.com/2011/05/26/evo-2-console-puts-android-in-a-box/

This combined with a good emulator could be a lot fun!