The Slate of Play

iPad games & prices leaked

Ringo — Sat, 27 Mar 2010 00:31:08 +0000

Previously unannounced titles have been revealed along with their expected prices. This includes Real Racing HD.

Flight Control HD – $4.99
Labyrinth 2 HD – $7.99
Real Racing HD – $9.99
Bugdom 2 – $9.99
Cro-Mag Rally – $9.99
Otto Matic for iPad – $9.99
Enigmo Deluxe – $9.99
Igloo Games Arcade – $6.99
Sparkle HD – $2.99

These join a list of other leaked games including the comparatively quick port of “Plants vs Zombies HD”

We’ve been wondering how the pricing structure would play out on the iPad – and here’s our first indication. More pixels will (and probably should) cost you more – and in a move reminiscent to day one of the iPhone App store, the prices are high as early developers to the iPad exclusive store are hoping to at least cash-in in the early days.

iPad Games Preview – Gameprom’s Pinball Games

Ringo — Mon, 22 Mar 2010 11:48:22 +0000

iPad day, or April 3 as it’s also know, is coming along fast. So it’s time for The Slate of Play to serve up some iPad game previews to you. When the iPad launches we want our readership to live up to their reputation, as discerning and intelligent gamers, we want you to be in the know, so you have some kick-ass games to show your iPad hating friends and so after handing over at least 500 clams, you don’t waste money on any crappy games.

Gameprom, the creators of the excellent iPhone pinball games; The Deep, Wild West and Jungle Style pinball have revealed artwork from their upcoming iPad ‘best of’ collection. It contains all 3 games and is simply titled “The Pinball”.

But the Ukraine based app developers now have a dilemma on their hands. Like most other developers, Gameprom doesn’t have iPad hardware on hand yet and doens’t know the limitations of the device. They have both an enhanced and un-enhanced version of the game ready to go but need to decide which version to submit to Apple.

And the last time we checked, the Ukraine is not in the US of A. This means they will have to wait until at least late April until they can get iPad hardware in their hands and do some thorough testing.

Everyone here at theslateofplay.com are big fans of Gameprom’s pinball games. We wish them well and hope that we will see the iPad version of the App at launch (even if it is before they do).

Gameprom on iTunes: itunes.com/apps/ooogameprom

But what will the iPad App Store REALLY look like?

Ringo — Sat, 20 Mar 2010 14:07:54 +0000

Apple updated the iPad section of their site to coincide with pre-orders and some good nuggets of info were buried in the new pages. One of these is that the App Store will have a dedicated section for iPad exlcusive Apps

“…iPad apps appear in a special section of the store, so you can find and download them easily…”

This image appears next to that text but the eagle-eyed among us have noted the blurred Requirements text shows this is for an iPhone and iPod Touch compatible App.

Apple has just started accepting iPad App submissions and we’ve been told this includes screen shots that are a different size than the iPhone and iPod touch Apps. Some sources say that like the iPhone these images could be the native screen resolution of the device (which would be 1024 x 768).

Does this mean the iPad section of the App store will have a very different look to what has been revealed so far?

Will iPad App buyers be able to see full screen shots of their prospective purchases?

April 3 isn’t far away now.

iPad Apps are go!

Ringo — Sat, 20 Mar 2010 13:44:52 +0000

Apple has finally opened the App Store to receive iPad Apps.
But developers need to be quick to be considered for the iPad April 3 launch.

March 27 is the date that iPad developers are now racing to submit their apps by, and again this is just to be considered. Apple needs some quality iPad exclusive content at launch and a lot of hopeful iPad developers are crossing their fingers for an App Store gold rush 2.0. We’ve heard a lot of industry talk saying that numbers of iPad developers are going to be big, so getting seen in the iPad App Store could even be a challenge on day 1.

Now things will really start to heat up as developers switch from keeping their Apps under wraps to trying to get their ideas in front of as many people as possible for launch.

If you are an iPad developer wanting to show of your App, contact us (Email Address: theslateofplay [at] gmail [dot] com)

iPad Delayed. Update: Non US date is late April

Ringo — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 00:26:08 +0000

The iPad has seen a slight delay from the original “late March” release, but now we have solid dates on when we can get our hands on the iPad.

March 12, pre-orders begin.

April 3, iPad launch, in the US.

UPDATE: theslateofplay.com readers from the UK and Australia have told us that the iPad is now delayed until “late April” and there are still no prices or a pre-order date.

iPad’s A4 = Cortex A8, Not A9?

Ringo — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 11:13:28 +0000

Could the inside of the iPad be a giant iPod touch too?

Rumors abound that the new iPad A4 processor could in fact be based on the same tech as is in the iPhone / iPod touch.

Yes it’s faster at 1GHz (compared to the 600Mhz processors found in the iPhone and iPod Touch) but why Apple would choose to use a chip from the past rather than the futuristic Cortex A9 is a good question (money is a good answer)

The good news is, the similarities may mean leaps and bounds for future iPhone processors.

Source: Macrumors.com

The Slate of Play Comic: iPants

Ringo — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 12:58:37 +0000

How will you carry your iPad around? Well here’s one suggestion, the new iPants.

Some critics call the iPad; a giant iPod touch that you can’t put in your pocket. But a new genre-breaking device needs equally genre-breaking fashion. Sporting one giant pocket may look odd at first but once it’s filled with an iPad, you know who’ll have the last laugh.

The iPad doesn’t need a camera?

Ringo — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 08:43:22 +0000

One of the no-brainer, expected features of the iPad was a camera. But when Apple gave us a look at it’s device there was no camera to be seen. Or was there?

As macrumors.com reports, images of a rumoured iPad enclosure have surfaced and it has space for a camera.

Repair company Mission Repair has posted images of what is supposedly the iPad outer frame. While the iPad is not yet shipping, the company seems to have gotten a supply of iPad parts through unofficial channels. Identical photos have been circulating on other websites. Assuming these are actual iPad parts, it appears that Apple did build in a space for a camera at the top of the device.

As the DSi, PSP and even the iPhone prove, a camera could have opened a lot of options for iPad games, ranging from putting an image of your face into a game through to Augmented Reality.

The latest iPod touch is also said to have space for a camera but was omitted just before release. Some speculate this was because of last minute issues.

All we have for now are questions.

Did someone at Apple think the iPad is cool enough without a camera?
Was the performance not up to the Apple standard?
And why does the much cheaper iPod nano have camera?

Flight Control on iPad

Ringo — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 09:02:02 +0000

Flight Control has been (and still is) a huge success on iPhone and iPod Touch. Over 2 million people have tried their finger at directing air traffic and handed over 99c for the privilege.

So it comes as no surprise that Firemint have announced Flight Control will have an iPad specific version.

We’ve heard whispers that this could mean controlling multiple air fields at once or even multiplayer on the same device.

Nintendo’s Hypocritical Response to iPad

Ringo — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 11:52:53 +0000

The iPad will have a strong entry into an already crowded portable gaming market and one of the handheld gaming heavyweights, Nintendo have given their somewhat hypocritical thoughts about Apple’s new larger device.

Nintendo, meanwhile, is less than impressed.
President Satoru Iwata said the new iPad delivered “no surprises” and added the new device was too similar to Apple’s other products, the Associated Press reported.

“It was a bigger iPod Touch,” Iwata said.

The company recently released the Nintendo DS XL in Japan, and like the Apple iPad, is also just a bigger DS Lite with no new surprises.

Source: IGN