60beat gamepad for iOS might be the solution gamers have waited for
I’ve often whined about how controlling games on touchscreens is a pain and how I think that major game developers like Gameloft should do something about it by releasing a game pad. While the iPad isn’t as eager to use any gamepad as Android, there are after all still ways of making custom accessories that would do it. The 60beat gamepad is just one such accessory, and it actually utilizes the headphone port for connecting to the device via cable. This is possible by using the microphone pins in the headphone port and relay button presses via what’s simply put advanced morse code. It’s the same system that accessories such as the Square reader uses, and it’s a rather straight forward solution to device communication that is often ignored in favor of the docking port.
The downside of this system is that developers will have to add support for the controller. Only two games work so far, though more have been promised. It is however unlikely that the major companies like Gameloft will add support for this, as they seem rather oblivious to any sort of advancement in accessories that would greatly benefit them. Gameloft in particular has tons of games for Android yet no option to configure gamepads. The controller is available from the company’s website for $50.
[Engadget]
