Friday, 3 August 2007
Using the N95 as a games console - Video & Article
I've recently tried a selection of different games on the N95 using its TV Out feature, made a video of all of them in action (which you can see above), and written an article about them for AAS which you can find at the following link:
http://www.allaboutsymbian.com/features/item/TV_Out_on_the_Nokia_N95-Part_2_The_N95_as_a_games_console.php
Overall, playing games through TV Out is a really good idea, it works really well. The N95's QVGA resolution is surprisingly good on a large screen, and at least one game (System Rush Evolution) seemed to be outputting at VGA resolution, although I can't confirm this. TV Out easily crosses the "good enough" threshold, it makes a totally plausible home games system, and while it will never catch up with the technical abilities of the latest dedicated home consoles, perhaps it doesn't have to. The Nintendo Wii didn't even try to match the graphics of the Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3, yet it is now outselling both of them put together several times over.
One thing the N95 is missing as a games console is a proper controller. Yes, you can use the phone's own controls, but the TV Out cable is quite short. Alternatively you can use the bluetooth keyboard, but a bluetooth controller would be even better. It wouldn't be that difficult to do either, it could use the same Bluetooth standard that the keyboard does.
TV Out on S60 smartphones will be made even more useful to gamers when the Next Gen N-Gage platform launches in this Autumn. Hopefully they will all look as good on television as the System Rush Evolution demo.
In related news, a new slimmer version of the PlayStation Portable is also due out in the Autumn which will feature a TV Out socket. Hopefully that will help bring TV Out gaming well into the mainstream where it deserves to be, because it's a really good idea. IMHO, portable gaming systems will gradually take over from non-portable ones, even in the home:
http://www.allaboutsymbian.com/features/item/Will_portable_gaming_replace_home_gaming.php
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2 comments:
Re: game controllers - have you tried this device? http://www.smartgamepad.com/
I'd seen those on Ebay, but I didn't get one as it wasn't clear if it worked on S60 3rd Edition phones. It does work though, according to an All About Symbian reader who also posted about this controller.
The problem is that it doesn't have as many buttons as a phone, and many games use the entire phone keypad so they couldn't be properly controlled by the Smart Gamepad.
It's very good for emulated console games though, apparently.
Ideally what's needed is a Bluetooth controller with a full keypad on it.
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