As part of their latest software package update, Apple has just released the Game Center, which is essentially a gaming network for the iPhone, iPod, and iPad. This new service will include community-based features, such as leaderboards, friendlists, and achievements.
Apple has indeed taken notice of the increased role of gaming in online activities and communities and is setting out to be a more established player in this area of the market. Many of Apple’s customers are casual gamers (i.e. more used to a social networking setting) and some have been highly involved in online gaming in browser-based communities for years.
Gaming on the iPad — once more developers create games for it, that is — in particular will no doubt be a new and innovating way for players to be immersed in browser-based games. Only time will tell what Apple has in store. We’ll make sure to keep you updated on any new developments.
With the recent release of the Apple iPad, game developers have been in a rush to create gambling apps for the device. March 27th was the deadline for any game developer that wanted their game to be ready in time for the iPad’s big debut.
21 Online Casinos claims that a device like the tablet PC would provide a great opportunity for online gaming sites, particularly because they provide a more comfortable and realistic experience for the player. They’re much easier to read and navigate than a mobile phone, yet not as bulky as traditional laptop technology.
According to 21 Online Casinos, “The truly exciting thing about the iPad is the potential for more interactive online casino games. For instance, players can actually push the buttons on the slot machines themselves or rub the screen to play scratchcards. The format would allow players to interact with games in the same way they would at an actual casino and would also allow for a more user friendly gaming experience.”
One potential downside is that because the iPad would still run on Apple’s operating system, download-based casino apps can’t be accessed on the device, only browser-based applications. But who knows… maybe a successful online gambling experience will influence Apple to think about modifications in the future.
HTML5 is currently in development as the next revision of existing HTML and it’s rumored to be good for more than just basic video. A team of three developers at Google who have had some spare time on their hands (actually, Google has a 20% time policy, whereby Google engineers are allowed to spend 1/5 of their workday on projects that aren’t necessarily in the scope of their formal job descriptions) are working on Quake II, a video game involving demanding graphics that will be able to run in a browser window.
The initial plan is for the game to be run in either the Google Chrome or Apple Safari web browser. The video game will use an HTML5 canvas and WebGL for graphics acceleration.
The Quake II project was revealed on April 1st, and reports have said that the project is already successfully underway. If you’re interested in learning more about the game, check out the video below.
The Apple iPad was released today and companies are interested in new and innovative ways to allow consumers to view video content on these multimedia machines. Most of the current computing technology makes use of flash players, but Apple and Adobe don’t get along quite so well. On the contrary, Apple thinks that Adobe software crashes too easily and consumes way too much memory.
Considering the facts, Apple’s argument makes sense. The process for creating a flash video with Adobe’s Flash CS4 is a relatively straightforward process, but the code used to create such a video takes up 318 lines. Using HTML5 to complete a similar task would only take one. Unnecessary lines of code is one of the factors that contributes to the high crash rate that Apple is referring to.
HTML5 is still relatively new technology, but it will have a significant impact on the way content is viewed in web browsers in the future. Jeff Whatcott from Brightcove, a video publishing platform, says that “HTML5 is about video in the browser, and today it is primarily about video in web browsers on mobile platforms like Apple iPad, iPhone, and others.”
CTXM, a European-based software developer for online games, has recently added three iPhone-based casino games (Blackjack, Roulette, and Casino Hold ‘Em) to its already existing mobile browser-based games lineup, which includes Video Slots. These new CTXM games are accessible through the iPhone’s Safari browser.
According to Udy Yosha, CEO of CTXM, “The iPhone is the first mobile platform which shows real scalable commerce. We see the conventional internet range merging with mobile gaming through platforms such as the iPhone and believe there is a great potential for gaming in this area.”
Currently, CTXM has created 10 game applications for the iPhone, which are available through Apple’s App Store. Within CTXM’s new Safari-based casino games, players are able to play both for real money as well as for gaming account management.
Apple, Browser-Based Games News, iPad, iPhone, iPod | JJ | 
April 9, 2010 2:27 pm | 
Comments (0) 
Subscribe