Daniel Eran DilgerAustralian developer Firemint has announced it will be supporting 1080p direct HDTV output from its Real Racing 2 HD title on iPad 2.
Unlike Apple's standard video mirroring mode, which can display any iPad 2 game or other app on a big screen, the new title will provide full resolution output without the black letterboxing bands or need for resolution scaling.
The developer says it's the first iOS app for iPad 2 to take advantage of custom 1080p video output, and can use an external HDTV display to show the main action of the racing game while the iPad 2 itself depicts a map of the racetrack.
Users play using the iPad as a controller, making use of its multitouch screen and motion controls, as iPad 2 now includes both accelerometer and gyroscope sensors.
New HDMI and existing VGA output adapters for iPad enable games to leap from the tablet to an external display for a console-like gaming experience, further entrenching Apple into a market it has long ignored.
This winter, the developer of World of Goo reported that its iPad launch exceeded its previous sales and revenue records for both Nintendo WiiWare and Steam desktop gaming, as well as the indie markets for Microsoft's Xbox Live Arcade and Sony's PS3 PlayStation Network, establishing new legitimacy for Apple's iOS as a significant gaming platform.
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171 Comments
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This is pretty cool stuff.
I can't help thinking how ridiculous it looks having that unwieldy HDMI breakout adapter hanging off the side of the iPad. A wifi connection between the iPad and TV would be so much more elegant.
If this can be achieved using AirPlay with AppleTV it will be something even at 720p. We will get a whole new gaming market.
1st place. What did I win?
A swift kick in the pants...
This is nice to see in iOS games... Looking forward for more implements...
1st place. What did I win?
This is pretty cool stuff.
I can't help thinking how ridiculous it looks having that unwieldy HDMI breakout adapter hanging off the side of the iPad. A wifi connection between the iPad and TV would be so much more elegant.
It would be more elegant, but we need to consider the max bit rate and latency that would occur from pushing this content over your home?s WiFi, through a router and into an AppleTV to process. Even over 802.11n I worry about this being an issue.
That said, I think there is plenty of room for incorporating the iOS-based iDevices used in a home with an AppleTV over WiFi and hope that Apple will be surprising us with an AppleTV SDK and App Store this year.
Perhaps it?s still too soon to have an HD racing game with 4 drivers all using their iOS-based iDevices to drive while the main screen is transmitting 4 different section, one for each driver?s car, but thinking smaller, displaying stats of ?a? race and an overhead view of the track on the HDTV would likely allow for 1080p content with only the simplistic data of position on track and stats being relayed to the AppleTV to project in real time.
There are plenty of other games that would be better suited for a ?family? environment and be very simple to make. Scrabble? has already done this with the iPad. You can use a single iPad for the game board and iPhones, iPod Touches and iPads as the 4 tile boards. You flick the letters to the main board and then arrange them. It even remembers what side of the board you are on after you rotate the screen once on your turn. This and many other games seems like it would be trivial to adapt to this model.
Somehow it seems to me to need a steering wheel! It does look fun on a large HDTV screen! Come a long way since playing Atari's River Raid with my Dad.
And I agree, I think the HDMI adaptor looks rather inelegant for an Apple product. Although, Apple has a penchant for selling all sorts of adaptors for $30-$40.
The iPad 3 no doubt will have an HDMI port.
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