iCade Core, Jr, Mobile, Gametel controller make appearances at CES
Game controllers are really starting to take off on iOS these days, with the 60beat controller already being outed and more to come. At CES this week there are several other controllers being shown off, bamely from Gametel and iCade. iCade is the name of the arcade controller cabinet that started as an April Fool’s joke and went on to become reality. At CES there are three new versions being shown off: the redesigned iCade (aka iCade Core) which drops the cabinet part of the original, the iCade Jr. which is just a smaller version of the original made for iPhones, and the iCade Mobile, which is more of a straight forward game controller.
The Gametel is a similar deal to the iCade Mobile, but it has the advantage of having been on the market for a while – albeit only for Android (not that you need specialized hardware on Android). It clamps onto your device (if said device is small enough, not really likely for tablets) and essentially gives you the Xperia Play look in a more detachable manner.
Unlike the 60beat, these all connect wirelessly, likely emulating a Bluetooth keyboard in the process. That should make implementation easier, and make them at least somewhat universal. Still, you need apps that support these in order to use them, so you can’t just run out and buy one and expect it to work on all games. It’s an interesting development to see how the game controller market is seemingly exploding, and I wonder if we might perhaps see some OS-side implementation of game controllers in iOS at some point, like Android is now doing.
[Engadget 1, 2 | technabob]
