If rumors are to be believed, GameStop will begin offering the entire iOS hardware catalog in the very near future. This will include, as the word “entire” states, iPhone, iPad, as well as the iPod touch, which seems to have replaced the DS as the must have mobile gaming system for kids.
Several sources have leaked this news to 9to5Mac stating that it could initially roll out as a trade-in / refurb program before rolling out the latest and greatest new products shortly thereafter. This could start to happen as early as October’s release of the iPhone 5.
Gaming on iOS, which was initially a side note, has blown up as developers continue to push the platform to its limits. The 3D open worlds that have been made possible are truly shocking, and you sometimes forget you are seeing them on your phone or mp3 player and not a dedicated gaming system.
It’s nice to see Apple thinking strategically with the ibrand and putting a lot of thought into where the next steps may lead. Taking a cue from the immense popularity of mobile gaming, I’m happy that they aren’t keeping the hardware bottled up and are pushing it as far as it can go.
Two things are for sure. The hardware keeps getting faster, and developers keep taking full advantage of it. There is money to be made in the space and that will always fuel innovative titles.
It’ll be interesting to see if independent mobile gaming platforms vanish under the pressure of a demand for multitask devices. Such has been the fate of other landscapes too, including the slippery slope of point and shoot cameras which have become less and less prevalent in the market, replaced with higher feature micro 4/3rd and mirror-less cameras. If you get muscled out of an entry-level market, you have to bring more features to the table to make people want to take out their wallets.
Source: 9to5Mac
