The iPad 3 has finally been unveiled, and whilst hardcore gamers may keep on dismissing it as a serious gaming device for its lack of compatible controllers its specs does make it impossible to ignore. With the power that its quad-core A5X chip brings, and the unbelievable resolution of its Retina display, there’s just no question that the iPad 3 (or simply the new iPad as Apple calls it in its website) is more than capable of running any game and giving justice to even the most graphics-intensive game.
“This new device actually has more memory and higher screen resolution than an Xbox 360 or Playstation 3,” said Mike Capps, CEO of Epic Games. “So, these guys [Apple] are redefining mobile gaming again.”
Of course, “casual games”, which are really the most popular sort of games you’ll find played on iPads don’t need the power boost. However, we can expect even these games to look so much better with the increased resolution display of 2047 by 1536 pixels (compared to the iPad 2’s 1024 by 768 pixels).
So with the new iPad powerful enough to handle even the most power-intensive PC games in the market right now, we’re back to the old problem of controllers. As Scott Stein of CNet put it, “Graphics can only take you so far. My recent experience with Mass Effect: Infiltrator wasn’t a let-down because of graphics; no, at least half of the problems arose from my fumbling with the awkward controls.”
So even if Razerzone’s Project Fiona won’t be out till the end of the year, by virtue of having a built-in controller alone, it might still end up being the go-to tablet for hardcore gamers. However, as my non-gaming husband reminded me, “You can’t compare a shipping product to a Concept PC Gaming Tablet.”
Image via Apple
