How The Rise of the Mobile Device has Challenged Traditional Dominance

Screenshot from Epic Citadel on iOS, based on Unreal Engine

The release of the iPhone changed a game, but it wasn't a game mere mortals were playing. Big changes in the game space came from the releasing the SDKs for the various mobile platforms allowing even start-ups to get up and running in app development very quickly. Even then apps were initially fairly limited, and it wasn't until it was possible to use technologies like Open GL ES 1.0 and now 2.0 that we've started to see mobile devices like the Samsung Galaxy and the iPhone putting games in the hands of whole new audiences and I'm not talking Sudoku. People who had never played games before are definately playing them now, on the bus, on the train or even at home.

It wasn't too long ago that the dominant powers in gaming were Microsoft and Sony, between PCs and their respective consoles. Fast forward to 2012 and there were more iOS and Android devices sold globally than PCs and consoles, and more of the same is expected for 2013. Couple this with the lacklustre performance of Windows 8 both tablet and desktop and you've got Open GL running toward an open goal, with not even the keeper to beat because he's too busy trying to figure out what "metro" really means. Regardless of whether you're looking at Core Profile or Embedded Open GL, the reality is for indie devs it makes more and more sense.

Beyond this the next stage has to be the lounge room, I've been saying for a while that all I want is games on my Apple TV. Unfortunately the closest I can get to this is OUYA, initially a stupidly successful kickstarter project, it is basically an Apple TV with balls, or really a different focus. Sure with Apple TV you can airplay from your iDevice to your TV screen, but a purely touch interface in this environment is somewhat clumsy, like feeling around in the dark for a switch except all you can feel is glass. There are examples where this works and works well, but they're the exception and not the rule. The Ouya is geared towards the casual gamers, the price point is definately appealing against even the current generation consoles and there are set to be a good number of ports of successful titles from other Android devices and possibly iOS.

Ouya Console and Controller

The only problem I see with the Ouya as a developer is that I have yet another hardware spec to support, but it's one that should be supported for the sake of the Super Meat Boys of this world. Having said all of that I am still keen to see what may come from the Apple corner, and unlike many I don't hope for a TV as I've already got a few of them of the Samsung and Sony variety. I really don't see the need for a "smart TV" if it's already connected to smarter things, if I really want a crippled web browser on my TV screen I'll just use my X360 and the Internet Explorer app and despite having bought into Apple's ecosystem, I'm not a fan of a big chunk of glass forcing me into either UPnP or Zeroconf.

I'm more interested in the current STB, the Apple TV and whether it'll have apps and by extension games. I know even the ATV2 is capable of running OpenGL ES 2.0, the only thing absent from the picture is gaming peripherals, and even then you could do the old Fifa-like phone app to control the big screen action. Of course if you're a developer, all this is just a jailbreak away with the Apple TV 2 and a little effort. I believe the big winner of the next console war will closely align itself to mobile devices from integrating the devices themselves, to direct ports and an app store style approach where the next Angry Birds can be bought for 99 cents.