Namco Bandai Labor Day sale on Android/iOS games

@Gooblechev
Eh, I don't care for phone games for the most part (some are decent)

But I'd be lying if my 3DS (and DSi XL) and PSP didn't give me hand cramps.

I've yet to meet the perfect portable yet, but I agree that buttons are a must for most games.

@Mmmmz I've never had the hand cramp problem with my 3DS (Which I think it awesome), but I can see how that would kill the experience. :\

@Mmmmz
Vita. It's so big it's comfy

@Rain
That's what he said.......wait....

@Gooblechev

Agreed.

Touchscreen controls? Yuck. Even the D-pad is a poor substitute for a proper arcade joystick. I have at least a dozen home and handheld console versions of Pac-Man, yet the last time I got to the ninth key was at an arcade. No wonder these kids today think that Tempest and Centipede and Donkey Kong are lame. Rant rant rant.

@Gooblechev Don't miss buttons or mice -- at all. Those IS for Consoles and puterz; much prefer using touch which feels more natural for RTS and RPG games -- not "right bumper plus X plus Z' = vomit on hill giant"..

@JCat It's cool that you can adapt to practically no physical feedback, but us neanderthals gotta game too.

I mean, for games that utilize touch smartly, I'm all for it! Zuma on the iPad, for instance, totally makes sense. But onscreen buttons and D-pads? No thanks!

@Gooblechev

It is entirely dependent on the genre. I'm perfectly decided that phones WERE meant for gaming! ....But only specific kinds of gaming.

The problem is that certain developers feel you can somehow create a game like Sonic or Halo for a phone and it's acceptable. It's not. There will never ever be an FPS with purely touch screen controls that works as well as a console or PC title. On the iPad you can do a lot better thanks to a bigger screen, but even that only takes you so far.

The Xperia Play is the only device out there that successfully bridges that gap... But, unfortunately, it needs to do it better.

@Dark Mirage Agreed, to a point.

Trouble is, there aren't many games that have used a phone's cabilities well that I want to play. XD I'd just rather not bother.

Phones in general annoy me though, so whatever.

@Gooblechev For you, maybe, but for MILLIONS of others it works just fine, and is actually better for some games. Loads better.

Carcassonne. Any other board game. Match 3 games. Endless runners. Physics games (Angry Birds, Sieger, Coin Drop, Peggle), Racing games, Card games, Word games, Music games... All work MUCH better on a touch screen.

Games with a d-pad, well I don't like them and I generally don't buy them. Other people find they work just fine, or purchase (which I did) Fling controllers for their iPad/iPhone/whatever which in turn simulate having physical controls.

But if you're not interested in any of the games I've mentioned - then no, not having physical buttons will be far less intuitive and responsive on a touch screen.

However, think of this argument - do you remember how many people complained that using a dual analog controler (Xbox, PS2, et al) for FPS or TPS games was terrible, and that a mouse was the ONLY way to roll? How many people are playing these games on the PS3/Xbox? Millions and millions. It's completely dwarfed the mouse-based gaming. So who knows what the future brings in the coming hardware/advances in touch screen tech.

Anyway, my point, to summarize, is that touch screen gaming isn't the best for everything, but for some things it blows physical controls out of the water.

@andsoitgoes Yea, never disagreed with that. :P

@Shadowbender
I was attracted to it but, meh.

@Shadowbender
It really dragged me down.

@Shadowbender
Gravity is a law. Lawbreakers will be brought down!

@pluupy

I wasn't blown away

@pluupy

Don't spread lies. It is the Theory of Gravity. The only place you could consider it a Law is in Newtonian Physics, which is full of flaws.

@Anticrawl Smartphones aren't used exclusively for business anymore, they act like all-in-one pocket computers more than anything. And modern LiPo batteries can hold a long enough charge to last the day.

@Anticrawl

I don't understand mobile phone "gaming."

- A lot of people do. A LOT. I am one of them, and have virtually eliminated all other forms of gaming. And if the games are coded properly, which most of the top shelf games are, you do still get decent battery life out of them. And add-on batteries are so cheap that if you really want to commit to gaming, you will have no problem doing so while keeping your battery charged. Maybe you need to try it.

If you have a smart phone didn't you buy it for productivity and making calls? Playing any game for any length of time will rape your battery.

- See above regarding the battery. And no. If I wanted that, I'd get a basic, boring, non-iOS/Android phone. I have a phone to keep me busy while on the bus, waiting for... well, anything. Bathroom breaks. Break breaks. Music. Video. It's for everything, it works for everything and is downright fantastic. I never thought I'd game much on any sort of device like a phone/etc until I got my iPad, then an iPhone. My primary use is fun, gaming, mail, texting. I occasionally make a phone call, and when I need to it works just fine. If I need to schedule an appointment or manage my calendar, it also does that just fine. Actually far better than my old Windows Mobile phone that was about as useless for anything other than texting and making calls.

I never enjoyed a phone until I got my iPhone. It's been a dream.

@FuriousMailman

http://30.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_kxa5vtEhlo1qzo4t5o1_400.jpg

@listerfeend I just downloaded it, for iPad. Loved the first one.