Disney is no stranger to mobile games and content, but it seems the animation giant sees more potential in the iPad than any medium it's looked at in a long time.
Speaking during the company's quarterly earnings call, chief executive Bob Iger spoke about Disney's intentions to bring gaming, TV, applications, web content, and comic books together on the iPad, and expand on the experience for each.
"We find that iPad has a lot of potential," explained Iger. "We think it could be a game changer in terms of enabling us to create essentially new forms of content. [The] interactivity that it will allow ... is going to enable us to really start developing products that are different than [those] you typically see on an internet-connected computer, or on a television set."
Of course, what's particularly exciting about Disney's interest in the iPad is the fact that it recent bought Marvel Comics, giving it access to some of the most beloved superhero IPs ever created. Let's just hope we see some Spider-Man and The Punisher action on the iPad, eh?
Perhaps this shouldn't be a surprise, given that Steve Jobs is Disney's biggest individual shareholder.
So which games do you currently own on your iPhone or iPod touch you want to see reworked and optimized for Apple’s iPad? I’m sure everyone has their favorites, share them in the comment section.
My 5 games I want to see optimized for iPad’s larger screen:
Looks like the concept is really old, but the technology is brand new. I remember playing racing games like this for the old nintendo, the name of a particular game scapes me for the moment, but it used to be a arcade machine too. You were the blue car on a maze where you had to collect the flags, and there were a sometimes one red car or more who were determined to look for you and crash. Well, this game does not function like that it seems, but after seeing the trailer I was reminded of it somehow.
Great graphics on this one, and another good thing about it, is that is for the Playstation family it seems. I mean it will be exclusively for the PSP and PS3. I wish to play this game when it comes out soon.
This iPad game called MLB baseball was introduced by Steve Jobs on the launch of the device. It was picked on purpose because the game demonstrates the truly amazing graphic capabilities of the iPad. The game is not complete yet and according toMLB website it should be launched on iPad and iPhone during 2010. This game should be a direct punch to playstation on a niche completely dominated by Sony. we will have to wait and see if the iPad game live up to the high expectations.
E.A has demonstrated the first game for the anticipated iPad , The game is "Need for speed", and the results seems a bit undercooked, yet promising. They actually demonstrated a demo not a playable version of the game and the graphics seems to be excellent, it is not an iPhone version being blown up but a custom made game for iPad. We will continue to update this page when more details arise.
THQ recently reported that they have returned to profitability after a difficult year. In addition, they will be opening new studios dedicated to digital development for consoles as well as Apple's iPad. Unfortunately, THQ will also be laying off some employees as part of the process.
Returning to profitability The good news (for investors) is that THQ's profits for Q3 2010 are in line with expectations. For the nine months that ended December 31, 2009, THQ reported net income of $1.4 million, or $0.02 per share, compared with a net loss of $334.2 million, or $5.01 per share, in the prior-year period.
On a non-GAAP (Generally Accepted Accounting Principles) basis, the company reported net income of $8.3 million, or $0.12 per share, compared with a net loss of $65.4 million, or $0.98 per share, in the same period a year ago.
We are pleased to report solid profitability in the third quarter and we are on track to achieve all of our fiscal 2010 financial targets that we announced at the beginning of the fiscal year. This marks a significant turnaround for THQ in just one year and underscores the success of our focused strategy and reduced cost structure. --THQ President and CEO Brian Farrell.
Game releases and licenses THQ also confirmed Warhammer 40,000 Dawn of War II: Chaos Rising for the PC for a (fiscal) Q4 2010 launch. (The fiscal Q4 ends September 2010.)
THQ also announced that they have entered a new agreement with WWE to develop WWE-based games. In addition, THQ has acquired exclusive worldwide rights to develop and publish games based on Dreamworks animation films, including Kung Fu Panda: The Kaboom of Doom, Puss in Boots, and the animated TV show The Penguins of Madagascar.
Lawsuits settled In December 2009, THQ, World Wrestling Entertainment and JAKKS Pacific, Inc. reached settlement agreements regarding the WWE video game license and the termination of the THQ/JAKKS Pacific LLC joint venture. As a result, THQ reported a one-time settlement of $29.5 million, which is included in the venture partner expense line in its GAAP financial results for the fiscal 2010 third quarter ending December 31, 2009.
New Studios opening In addition to returning to profitability, THQ will be opening two new studios dedicated to digital distribution and online games. THQ has 'refocused' its Juice Games and Rainbow Studios development studios toward the creation of games for digital distribution for consoles, as well as the recently announced Apple iPad.
The studios will now be called THQ Digital Studios Warrington and THQ Digital Studios Phoenix, respectively.
THQ anticipates the first games from THQ Digital Studios Warrington and Phoenix to be released in fiscal 2011. The games are in development for all major digital platforms, including Xbox LIVE® Arcade, PlayStation® Network, iPhone and iPad.
Layoffs pending Unfortunately, as part of 'refocusing' its studios, THQ will also be laying off approximately 60 people.
Comparison pics have been released showing the Apple iPad's various game viewing modes.
Developer Kevin Ng made comparison pics of his game, WordCrasher running on tablet at native iPhone resolution, using the iPad's zoomed-in "2X mode" and in full, native iPad resolution.
The result is that obviously the native iPad resolution looks much better than both the blurry zoomed-in mode, and tiny iPhone res.
Ng says the iPad's use of OpenGL ES 2.0 allowed him to "use bump maps and other shader techniques to present more realistic materials."
The iPad may not have a built-in camera, multitasking capabilities, or support for Flash, but it does have a 9.7-inch high-resolution touch screen that many expect will be conducive for gaming. And though Apple only showed off a couple of games at the iPad launch event, the company made it clear that all iPhone apps--including games--would run on the iPad and that it expected many developers to create updated versions of their games that would take advantage of the device's larger display.
Of course, it remains to be seen whether developers will charge you extra for the iPad version of an iPhone game you've already bought (we suspect that at least for some games the iPad version will be a separate purchase). However, we're not going to worry about all that right now; instead we're just going to take a moment to imagine what iPhone games will really benefit from making the move to the big screen, and which PC or online games would be ripe for iPad treatment.
As always, feel free to agree or disagree with our picks and make suggestions of your own. Click on any image to start the slideshow.
We were the first to report that the Apple iPad will certainly prove to be a strong force in mobile gaming. Apple has been successful in dominating the handheld gaming market with the App Store for iPhone and iPod touch.
As Apple announced the iPad it made complete sense for Apple to extend the App Store to iPad. To show the capabilities of the new iPad Apple invited EA Mobile and Gameloft to showcase their popular games Need for Speed Shit and N.O.V.A on iPad.
Electronic Arts have reworked Need for Speed Shift for the iPad and made the game fully touch enabled. The graphics appeared alot better than on the iPhone. Just tap inside the car to see from inside, you can swipe up and down change gears, and tap on the mirror to look behind you. Awesome!
Gameloft presented a new version of their popular game N.O.V.A. To control this game you can slide the D-Pad up and down the screen or move the controls around. The game will also feature multi-touch gestures like sliding two fingers across the screen to throw a grenade. This will be a huge success for Gameloft.
We received an urgent update from Firemint saying “we are already building our next generation of games for higher definition, more powerful devices than are available today. We imagine what the devices of tomorrow will be capable of, and invest in bringing our games to the next generation of hardware, like the iPad!” Firemint confirmed that Flight Control will be available for iPad on release.
Today, SGN also confirmed on Twitter that they would be modifying their games like F.A.S.T and Skies of Glory for the iPad.
Stay tuned as we bring you all the latest in iPad games!
