Apple To Enhance iOS Gaming, But Has Competition On Its Own Operating System

A photo of a purported third party gaming accessory made for the iPhone has leaked. Made by Logitech, it could be the first officially sanctioned gamepad for the iPhone to be released.

According to gaming site Kotaku, which received the image and published it on Sunday, the controller is large enough to fit an iPhone 5. Kotaku writes "with Steve Jobs no longer around to tell us these things aren't elegant enough for his device, it appears we'll finally get a proper gamepad for the iOS this year." The site goes on to identify the purported iPhone gamepad as a Logitech device.

From the look of it, that particular gamepad will only be available for iPhone 5 models, which sport the Lightning data and power adapters, a shift away from the larger 30-pin models that Apple had put on all previous mobile devices. The left side features a circular joystick-form directional pad, while the right side of the controller accessory has four buttons in the common gaming "diamond" configuration, and another button, which may be a start/pause button. Only this image leaked, and from just this angle, it is difficult to see if there are right and left triggers or buttons lining the top edge of the accessory. If the resolution had only been a little clearer, it would be easier to tell if the slight bulges around the top edge on the right and left side of the controller were buttons, rather than pixels bleeding into the background texture.

At WWDC, Apple had a session with makers of game controllers, revealing that Logitech and Moga were slated to release game controllers in fall, 2013, around the time of the release of iOS 7. Then last Friday, Apple released some images on its developers website giving a brief overview of what it has in mind for third party controllers for iOS 7, according to UK site PocketGamer. The guide includes both "form-fitting" controllers that physically encase the iPhone and feature a joystick, pause button, and the diamond configuration of the purported Logitech leak. It also includes a d-pad, thumbstick buttons on each side of the device, so that may be a possibility on the Logitech accessory or others, which are soon to come.

A standalone "extended gamepad" which is not attached to the device was also spotted on Apple's developer's website by Apple Insider. It would not be attached to the device and would include all of the features of the wrap-around gamepad, but also feature two additional shoulder triggers and a possible LED array, presumably for multiple gamepad support.

According to Time's Techland, Apple is planning a their new game controller support for both iOS 7 and OS X 10.9 "Mavericks." "The new Game Controller framework, added in iOS 7 and OS X v10.9, makes it easy to find controllers connected to a Mac or iOS device. Once discovered, your game reads control inputs as part of its normal gameplay." Gamepads and controllers have to be optional, meaning users will be able to play games without them, but Apple looks to be adding API support for gaming to enhance users' experiences across the board, meaning Apple-supported controllers will work with all games and not just a few here and there. Apple's moving into supporting gaming accessories is a big deal, as it has traditionally considered games to be just another app.

With games being the most popular and prolific category of iOS apps, the move into more options and a better user experience for iOS games makes a lot of sense, but Apple - interestingly - will not have the only corner on enhanced iOS gaming. That sounds ridiculous, given Apple's usual total control over the hardware/software environment, but it's true.

On Friday June 7, up and coming virtualization software maker BlueStacks  announced that it would bring iOS games to the television screen in a console experience. BlueStacks makes the low cost GamePop console, which already supports playing Android games with game controllers on a big-screen TV. But in June the company announced it would be using a proprietary iOS emulation software called "Looking Glass" to bring iPad and iPhone games to their $129 console as well.

BlueStacks claims its virtualization process means the company is not in danger of running into legal trouble with Apple. "We don't use any of Apple's bits" said Suman Saraf, CTO of BlueStacks, "the developer just gives us the app and we make sure that it'll run on GamePop."

While GamePop and the iPhone with controller accessories are different forms gaming media, and not necessarily competing on the same playing field, GamePop is a good example of what happens when Apple drags its feet on providing official gaming support: you wait long enough and someone will do it themselves.