GDC: iPhone graphics eclipsing DS and PSP

By Ellie Gibson Published 23 March, 2009

Says man who makes iPhone games.

Ngmoco bossman Neil Young has said the iPhone is just as good for playing games on as dedicated handhelds - and even has better graphics.

Speaking at the Game Developers Conference he said, "[iPhone] is a really good device for playing games. Don't let the haters tell you that it sucks relative to the DS and PSP, because it doesn't.

"It's clear already that from a graphics standpoint that the quality of iPhone games is eclipsing its console counterparts," Young continued. "And that's even more acute when you compare and contrast to the prior generation [of mobile games]."

Young went on to suggest that developers look at the rivalry between the PSP and the DS for an insight into the handheld market.

"There's a lot that we can learn from Nintendo. If you look at the epic battle back in the day where the Nintendo DS was up against the PSP, on the surface it looked like the PSP had it in the bag," Young said, adding that the PSP had higher technical specs and more publisher support. But the DS had unique dual screens and a load of games that would only work with its control system, and has become the more successful system as a result.

"You know the way the story ended. The DS, both in terms of software sales and hardware installed base, crushed the PSP. It didn't do it by competing on spec, it did it by competing on features and functionality," he said.

Young predicted that in the future, iPhone games will focus more on social networking, online multiplayer gaming and VOIP. "The challenge is to start thinking about how we bring all those ideas together into single play experiences," he said.

Also during his presentation, Young showed off Live Fire - an iPhone FPS where you can call on your friends to help you out and buy items such as rocket launchers in-game. But according to Young, those items won't be expensive - "We're not going to prioritise greed over gameplay," he said.

Picture of Ellie.

About Ellie Gibson

Since joining Eurogamer in the mid 2000s, Ellie has written about subjects as diverse as the fall of Gizmondo, the rise of Hollyoaks actresses in Red Alert games and the noise a bear makes under NSFW circumstances.

Read more articles from Ellie by visiting the Ellie Gibson archive page.

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Comments (37) Latest comment 3 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • Chufty #1 3 years ago

    Eclipsing. Lol.

  • lambtron #2 3 years ago

    Wishful thinking at best.

  • Burkey123 #3 3 years ago

    Ha! That's a good one.

  • imamazed #4 3 years ago

    are man people really playing games on their iphones?

  • Kiigan #5 3 years ago

    That's great news about the graphics! How's the battery life?

  • penhalion #6 3 years ago

    The graphics are better than a DS to be sure but, without the controls to match unfortunately.

  • -Hex- #7 3 years ago

    If I took Wipeout Ppulse, R&C Size Matters, Daxter or GOW: Chains of Olympus to him and said "Find something as visually stunning and rich in gameplay as this on the iPhone" I doubt he could produce anything half as entertaining

  • Wastelander #8 3 years ago

    HA!

  • SpaceMidget75 Verified Senior Software Developer, Minerva Computer Services #9 3 years ago

    What a tit.

  • Redeye #10 3 years ago

    "are man people really playing games on their iphones?"

    Yes, yes they are, and there's a substantial amount of wedge to be made from it, too. Which is why the number of said games available is increasing exponentially as all sorts of folk (not just publishers) jump on the bandwagon.

    As for iPhone graphics eclipsing the other systems...erm, perhaps not. It's a nice enough beastie, but it doesn't have anywhere near the grunt of the PSP.

  • notorious_roy #11 3 years ago

    I thought the DS already showed it wasn't about the graphics :)

  • Pirotic #12 3 years ago

    It's technically better than the PSP in terms of texture filtering, precision etc. But it doesn't have the grunt to have all the bells and whistles turned on while pushing a decent amount of polygons. It's very similar in a way to the dreamcast in terms of what it could do if it had the cpu speeds pushed up a bit more.

    The biggest problem I encountered was the lack of any real inputs other than the touch screen, kind of hard designing a game where you have to obscure your own view to control it.
    Edited by 1 at 23/03/09 @ 18:51

  • PrivateJoker #13 3 years ago

    I have an iphone and PSP and while there are some impressive iphone graphics in terms of 'mobile phone gaming' and some excellent games, e.g: Rolando, Drop7, ZenBound, the PSP is a far superior gaming machine, especially graphically.

  • Linkified #14 3 years ago

    I think hes been drinking so hard hes seen the green fairy.

    Note: Whoever names which drink they've been drinking will gain a cookie

  • drumbaby #15 3 years ago

    His pants are quite clearly on fire.

  • paul_haine #16 3 years ago

    Absinthe.

  • The_Programmer #17 3 years ago

    As far as I know it doesn't cost about £35 per month to run the DS.

  • El_Draque #18 3 years ago

    "As far as I know it doesn't cost about £35 per month to run the DS"

    Nope, but it doesn't cost you anything per month to have an iPod touch either. ;)

  • lambtron #19 3 years ago

    Depends if you buy it on credit or not.

    /pedant

  • El_Draque #20 3 years ago

    In that case you'd have to a pay little for the DS as well.

  • Triggerhappytel #21 3 years ago

    "It's clear already that from a graphics standpoint that the quality of iPhone games is eclipsing its console counterparts"

    Ha ha, unless this guy has clear evidence then this is obviously bullshit. Has he seen the likes of Chains of Olympus or Resistance PSP?! What a fucking liar.

  • BigJonno #22 3 years ago

    Give me a big, meaty RPG on my iPod touch so that I can progress through it whenever I have five minutes spare and I'll be happy.

  • raion #23 3 years ago

    I lenjoy how they keep thinking they can compete with dedicated gaming, selling games that are basically ports of free web based flash games. and it's not like the iphone can't browse, is it?

    just look at the amazing new mgs4 game! never seen THAT on newgrounds, eh?

  • Tweakmonkey #24 3 years ago

    He totally contradicts himself.

  • Razorus #25 3 years ago

    This guy is pretty funny.
    Perhaps some iPhone apps and games can have amazing graphics. Certainly better than DS, but not as good as PSP. But Neil doesn't seem to realise that memory plays an important part. An iPhone game with ridiculously good graphics will only have about 10 minutes of gameplay to it's name probably. But you can have a graphically inferior game on the DS with superior gameplay and longevity.
    To sum up: Neil Young is a bit of a tard.

  • septimus #26 3 years ago

    The next version for June will have the grunt to put both DS and PSP to shame.

    Lot of hate on the iPhone on this site. You'd think it was made by Sony.

  • Freek #27 3 years ago

    As a big publisher for the Iphone you'd think they understand that it's strenght is in being something else then the DS and PSP and try not to compete with them on the same terms.
    Make, quick, fun and casual games, don't try to be a traditional games machine, that's not what people are looking for in that device.
    More Rolando and less Live Fire, okay?

  • Xerx3s #28 3 years ago

    "Ngmoco bossman Neil Young has.."

    Who?

  • djed #29 3 years ago

    It is spelt Iphone.

  • Ryze #30 3 years ago

    lol wrong

  • Suttieb #31 3 years ago

    Rolando>Loco Roco

  • onyxbox #32 3 years ago

    i like my iPhone but it aint no PSP... trust me.

    (it has better graphics than DS tho')

  • des #33 3 years ago

    Wow,lots of PSP developers here,lol

    I remember John Carmack saying something similar,under the condition that you spend couple million dollars on its development.

    But i am sure that armchair developers know better...

  • floatstarpx #34 3 years ago

    he doesn't know what he's talking about.

  • Sunyavadin #35 3 years ago

    "Epic battle between the DS and PSP" was the bit where I started laughing. That was about as "Epic" as the Anglo-Zanzibar War.

    As for "We're not going to prioritise greed over gameplay" - that's a bit hard to believe when greed before anything else is 100% of Apple's business strategy.

  • monkeylite #36 3 years ago

    Never heard of this guy.

    Why is Eurogamer giving coverage to a nobody talking about an outdated mobile phone?

  • Nikanoru #37 3 years ago

    The biggest problem I encountered was the lack of any real inputs other than the touch screen, kind of hard designing a game where you have to obscure your own view to control it.


    I would have agreed with you until I played Phantom Hourglass on the DS. Never once did I feel the need to use what little button controls it had, that game really is a fully functional console experience without requiring a single button press. A game such as Professor Layton is another (although more obvious) example.