Shortly after the launch of the original iPad, the guys at ThinkGeek put together one of their annual April Fool’s Day pranks that went over just a bit too well. Known as the iCade, it was a shell that supposedly turned an iPad into a miniature arcade cabinet. Well, demand was so high that the product eventually became a reality, and now the guys at ion audio, who wound up creating the actual device, have taken things a step further.
The new device, dubbed the iCade Mobile, is a controller shell for your iPhone or iPod Touch, giving your games physical controls and buttons. Wrapping around your iOS device in either landscape or portrait mode, you can have a two-axis d-pad, four face buttons and four shoulder buttons via Bluetooth connection. Now, it’s not compatible with every game, developers have to add the appropriate hooks in their code to enable the iCade Mobile, but currently over 130 games support the device with more on the way.
What’s great about the iCade Mobile is that it gets out of the way of your screen. Aside from the lack of tactile controls, the other thing that gamers have often complained about with touch controls is the fact that their fingers are just plain in the way. The iCade Mobile gets fingers out of the way and provides those tactile buttons which enables them to play on their phone more like a standard gaming device.
The effect this has on iOS games is obvious, but it’s totally great to see it in action. So many great iOS games are needlessly difficult because of tenuous controls or simply not being able to see what’s on the screen, so removing that obstacle makes things so much better. It gives life to several great older games, and makes new games designed to work with the device even better.
The downside to it is that it’s not particularly portable. The two sides of the device increase the iPhone/iPod’s size footprint by about 75%, which while sill pocketable, is hardly comfortable. And while it doesn’t drain your iOS device’s battery, it has its own battery which means yet another device to keep charged, which can be a pain. But for dedicated iOS gamers, the iCade Mobile is a great addition to their arsenal and is a must-have for serious high score addicts. Check it out!
I like the concept but the price is a complete turnoff - $80 is just insulting.
It should be around half that price and include two analog sticks (or at least one).
Well, it's way better than those Fling sticks. They get in the way, and tilt pretty easily, making it hard to keep contact with the screen. iCade Mobile may be pricy, but it's easily the best device of its type out there.
ha ha eighty dollars what
I agree with Lae. At beast this is something I'd use occasionally, certainly not for every game, so why pay that much?
I'm also curious what the eventual compatibility list will be, as while the iCade is a neat product (if crazy crazy expensive too) it's not supported by very many games.