Has Apple Created the Perfect Board Game Platform? 531
Posted
by
kdawson
from the triple-word-score dept.
from the triple-word-score dept.
andylim writes "recombu.com is running an interesting piece about how Apple has created a 'Jumanji (board game) platform.' The 9.7-inch multi-touch screen is perfect for playing board games at home, and you could use Wi-Fi or 3G to play against other people when you're on your own. What would be really interesting is if you could pair the iPad with iPhones, 'Imagine a Scrabble iPad game that used iPhones as letter holders. You could hold up your iPhone so that no one else could see your letters and when you were ready to make a word on the Scrabble iPad board, you could slide them on to the board by flicking the word tiles off your iPhone.' Now that would be cool."
Uh huh. (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:Uh, no. They didn't. (Score:5, Interesting)
Problem is most "cardboard" games are getting nutty pricey. I have seen many new ones retailing for $100 or more.
Cardboard with OLED. (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:Uh, no. They didn't. (Score:4, Interesting)
The most expensive "board" game (i.e. NOT a tabletop game) that I have bought was Hero Quest. It was worth every penny.
I dunno...I mean, i could see how SOME board games might work ok on an iPad, and I could definitely see board games made specifically for it...but, much like reading digital comics isn't quite teh same as the real thing...
Board game? Maybe. Audio Controller? Yes. (Score:4, Interesting)
I can see people having fun with board games on the iPad but I'm not sure it really trumps a real board game. Most board games aren't overly expensive as it is.
But what I do think the iPad could be really good at is custom audio controller interfaces. More and more of these interfaces are starting to show up on computers, but much of the mouse/keyboard input doesn't really match the real life use of tweaking knobs and levers. Multi-touch on a larger screen is a much better translation of this, and given how much physical audio controllers can cost, a few software reproductions of them could end up being a cost benefit for users.
iFail (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:Sure thing (Score:4, Interesting)
Napoleon in Europe cost me $80, Diplomacy cost me $60, Settlers of Catan with expansions cost me $180 ($45 x 3 + $15 x 3), Through the Ages costs $70 right now, History of the World was $65. Some of us like good board games. (I own all of those except Through the Ages and History of the World, which a friend owns).
I have not even mentioned any games by Games Workshop. If you include them, the iPad + Phones would be cheaper...
http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/3518/napoleon-in-europe [boardgamegeek.com]
http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/483/diplomacy [boardgamegeek.com]
http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/13/the-settlers-of-catan [boardgamegeek.com]
http://www.eaglegames.net/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=CBG001 [eaglegames.net]
http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/224/history-of-the-world [boardgamegeek.com]
Re:it's not a big ass table, so no (Score:2, Interesting)
The iPad would give me a chessboard I can carry around with me anywhere, and do other things on. The big ass table does everything the iPad does, but it's too freakin' big to take anywhere. I don't think the point of the article is "buy an iPad for a portable chessboard." But if you have an iPad, why would you take a chessboard anywhere? That's more space, pieces that can be lost, ect. The article doesn't suggest that the iPad is going to be pigeonholed into a digital board game market, but the fact that it can do those things too just adds value. It also probably has Parker Bros. et al rushing to Apple for their SDKs.
The problems with the Surface are highlighted in the video you provided. "Instead of using one of today's more compact devices to get directions where you're going, why not use a device the size of a small car, to do the same job?"
Re:Uh, no. They didn't. (Score:4, Interesting)
From my perspective, owning an iPhone, the iPad is just 'meh' for me. I like the bigger display, but I work from home (telecommute), so I've already got a 27" screen for big stuff, and my iPhone for mobile work. No real need for anything in between.
That said, pop an extra $250 bucks, and you get kindle capabilities + everything that the iPhone offers (sans the voice cell capabilities), meaning music, video, games, apps, location tools/utilities, etc. To my mind, that at least makes for an interesting combination. I think it's largest market will be in games, and books, and maybe a smattering of video and movies for those folks on the go (travelers or mobile babysitters to keep occupied on long trips). If board games become a common app for this, instead of paying $20-$99 bucks for them, you could easily end up with a $5-$10 dollar app store equivalent. Buy more than a few, and you've paid for your investment.
It's just a more versatile than a piece of cardboard.
Will I buy one? No (see above for 'meh' factor). I just don't have a need for it, but I can see the appeal.
Re:I just don't see it as a game platform (Score:2, Interesting)
Yeah, but you can't take the XBox/PS3 with you so the kids can play in the back of the car on a long ride, or (realizing that some people have cars with TVs in them), over to grandma's, what with all the cables, controllers, disks, to hook up to her tv just when she wants to watch "The Andy Griffith Show", on a 13 inch screen, in black and white, complaining about the "DTV adapter" she had to buy.
The utility isn't what you can do with it... it's that you can do it portably.
multitouch + handheld game system (Score:1, Interesting)
Re:Uh, no. They didn't. (Score:5, Interesting)
You're missing the point. No one is trying to convince you that it's a good thing. You have made up your mind, and that's cool
Oh, plenty of people on here have tried, lol.
The point is, your opinion isn't necessarily all that meaningful in the context of the use cases of this device.
That is not true at all. I was actually really excited about this thing, because I've been wanting a straight tablet with no keyboard for a while now. It would be quite handy for diagnostics in the garage, great for gaming/browsing the net while watching TV, double as an e-comic reader...pretty much everything I want in a tablet, the iPad offers.
That being said, I'm not paying $500 or more for a locked down device with no expansion, no external ports, and no multitasking. I'll just wait for some other similarly priced (or cheaper!) tablet that doesn't require permission from the company that built it just so I can use whatever program I want.
Am I the target demographic for the iPad? Not since it's details have been released, I'm not. I certainly was, but I'm not now.
Re:Uh, no. They didn't. (Score:3, Interesting)
>And yet you correctly state that the iPhone OS (and the iPad version is the same) don't do multi-task/threading.
Actually, I stated the exact opposite, that the iPhone OS is capable of and almost always has more than one application running at once. Additionally, almost every single app made for the iPhone is multi-threaded.
>And it's one more reason why the iPad isn't even close any kind of ultimate game machine.
Actually, I disagree with this. What benefit does it bring to a game to be running in an OS along-side other applications? Off the top of my head, I can't think of a purpose-built gaming machine that allows you to switch between multiple running applications.
Re:Uh, no. They didn't. (Score:5, Interesting)
I think he meant to say, dedicated board gamers. The kind of people who go to boardgamegeek.com or hang out in the Fantasy Flight forums. People who know the difference between German style boardgames and American style board games.
These are people for whom the board game is the first resort, not the last. People who will deliberately make time for board games. (Think John Locke on Lost.)
Monopoly is a dreadful board game, and I don't understand why anyone ever plays it. Scrabble seems good though.
But seriously, next time you are thinking of playing Monopoly, go out and buy a game of Cosmic Encounter. Then throw your copy of Monopoly in the garbage or the nearest compost heap.
Not the Point for Some (Score:2, Interesting)