The Potential of a Google Console

I feel like I’ve written this exact post before — about a tech giant potentially getting into traditoinal console gaming. In any case, I think the idea of Google stepping into the same ring as Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo has some potential that many might not initially see, mostly regarding the nature of Android.

Based on the current changing winds of the video game industry and Google’s recent announcements, I think we can be fairly certain that at the very least Google is doing something with playing video games over streaming. But other rumors suggest something more — that Google will go for a “traditional” console that will run games locally. Google doing that is where I see the real interesting possibilities.

Is There Still A Software Gap Between iOS And Android?

Almost as soon as the iOS-Android rivalry began there were guides, think pieces, and other talk about users switching between one and the other. I think Samsung’s entire smartphone advertising strategy has been about people switching to their phones from iPhones — how their phones get new features before Apple copies them. I’ve always had a problem with these messages, and it’s with how they almost always focus on hardware and operating systems to the exclusion of the software that runs on them.

Basically, I never really thought about switching because of how much iOS software I’ve paid for over the years that wouldn’t come with me if I left that ecosystem. Recently though I sat down and took stock of all those apps and what such a transition might actually cost me. I found that the difficulty is really dependent on what you’re using your device for and what kind of apps that entails.

Diablo Immortal: Where, And To Whom To Announce Mobile Games

Last week I did a post about mobile gaming and now there’s the anger surrounding Blizzard’s announcement of a mobile Diablo game. Let me just say I’m down for a mobile Diablo, and in fact have been waiting for such a game for quite a while.

The Real Difference Between Mobile And Console Gaming

When Apple unveiled its new iPads and MacBooks this past week it boasted the new iPad Pro can get graphics performance that rivals the Xbox One S. Whatever arguments may ensue about the differences between mobile gaming and console gaming, I don’t think hardware performance is the main factor keeping what some might consider “real gaming” from appearing on smartphones and tablets. Just being able to run Xbox games doesn’t mean you’re gonna start seeing the likes of Red Dead Redemption on the iPad. I think by far the biggest factor is the standard of pricing for mobile software. Even the touch-only interface isn’t that big a deal in comparison.

Yet Again We Anticipate An Apple TV App Store

Here we are once more, talking about the possibility of Apple unveiling an Apple TV that finally incorporates an app store. I’ve blogged about this and other people have talked about it like some kind of doomsday scenario for TV entertainment since iOS and the Apple TV have been around.

This new recent story out of 9to5Mac suggests gaming will be a big focus of the new Apple TV. That in itself suggests a lot of different possibilities. People have doubted Apple’s potential success with TV gaming for a long time but at the same time I think this article may be overestimating what may or may not happen.

What Is Happening To Portable Fighting Games

The current fighting game climate and a sale have me trying to do something I thought I’d never do: play fighting games on a mobile device.

It’s just about over as of this writing, but SNK is having a pretty good sale for its iOS games so I decided to grab a couple: The King of Fighters-i 2012 so I could maybe have a good mobile practice tool for King of Fighters XIII, and Garou: Mark of the Wolves because for some reason the mobile version is the only port that exists in the west outside the Dreamcast and Xbox 360. People keep telling me how accurate the mobile ports of so many of these old console and arcade games are, including Soul Calibur, but I still can’t understand people speaking so highly of touchscreen controls.

Mighty Switch Force! Hose It Down!, Summer, Slide Puzzles, And Me

I couldn’t come up with anything to write about directly related to the United States or Independence Day. The best I could think of is a recent event that’s vaguely related to summer weather. Maybe big gaming publications have already covered this, but the mobile version of Mighty Switch Force! Hose It Down! has made the switch to being a free, ad-supported game with a couple other changes. It’s one of a relative handful of “actually good” mobile games I’ve managed to pick up recently and subsequently neglect in favor of my 3DS, but I have played it enough to see what it’s about and recommend it for people who haven’t played it yet and can get it for free now.

What The iOS Game Removals Say About The Entire Store

Apple’s overreaction in the midst of the recent retail push against depictions of the Confederate flag has already generated some good articles before I had the chance to write or pitch anything. I seriously suggest you read the one by Mike Williams at USGamer. It get’s to part of what I see as the heart of the matter in regards to Apple — that it still doesn’t really care about video games. We’ve gotten this feeling for a while in regards to art and serious issues, but I think this is just another sign of what’s possibly the source of all the problems with the iOS game market.

What An Android-Based Nintendo Platform Actually Implies

Edit: Well here’s the straight-up denial I expected Nintend to hand down. This rumor didn’t even last a day.

I haven’t looked around much for reactions to this, but I imagine the recent rumors from a Nikkei source (usually reliable) suggesting Nintendo’s project NX — its next platform, will be based on Android have gotten some explosive reactions. Many of the reactions I have seen though have grossly overreacted based on a huge misunderstanding about what Android actually is and what this all might mean for Nintendo’s next platform if Nikkei is right.

The word “Android” of course brings up visions of mobile games and possibly all the different Android TV boxes that have come and gone. Based on what Android is mostly used for it’s easy to imagine this as another step towards mobile gaming or underpowered hardware for Nintendo. The Nikkei story however has nothing to do with the hardware of project NX. An operating system doesn’t actually have any bearing on hardware. Let me go ahead and put this in bold and on the front page so no one who reads this get’s confused: Android is an operating system, nothing more. Different companies can and have customized it to their own purposes.

Can iOS Finally Change The Set-Top Box Market?

I don’t remember if I caught this when the rumors first came out a few weeks ago, but the thing we were all afraid Apple would make finally seems to be about to appear at WWDC this June.

I’m pretty sure more than once on this blog, the last time two years ago, I talked about the possible effects of Apple eventually bringing the totality of iOS and its app store to the living room. Since then others have tried essentially the same thing with other operating systems but I still think Apple’s play could be different, and significantly change things.