iPod as a Gaming Platform?

I've owned an iPod Touch for about three months now and I think I've seen enough games on it to call whether or not it's got any future as a gaming device, at least enough to compete with the likes of Nintendo or Sony.

But since the games range in price from free to $20 (and that doesn't include the $100 price for the in-game stat boost in iMob!!), the kind of games your going to get are radically different than you'll find on the DS. The couple of games I did play that managed to cross over were Terminator: Salvation ($5) and Hero of Sparta ($1). Both of these games have on screen touch joysticks and buttons to touch mash. While they're impressive for the platform, the touch controls just feel awkward because of the lack of physical feedback. I find myself looking down at the controls to see where my thumbs actually have ended up on the screen after a couple seconds of playing and realizing I'm not hitting the on-screen buttons anymore. Aside from that, there's also the feeling that because these games offer a pretty decent (and not to mention) cheaper alternative to the DS or PSP, they are a little under developed. Terminator's controls were sluggish and Hero's animations and hit detection were sloppy.

But what about the other games? There a digitally tons of apps duplicate online website flash games over and over again. Some are free. Most are a dollar. It's very easy to drop a few bucks on some of these games and realize that they're completely unoriginal and have better online counterparts. Will they do in a pinch while your waiting in the drive-thru or at the prescription pick-up line? Definitely. But you'll quickly realize that you get what you pay for. Cannon Challenge, GloBall, Paper Toss, Star Shower and Wild West Pinball (a fantastic, simple table) are great for places like that.

There are, however, really good games on the Apple Store. Really good. Aurora Feint (block matching with screen rotation), Car Mania (a path drawing game), Cataica (motion controlled Asteriods with better weapons), Flight Control (another path drawing game), Monster Pinball (multi-table and cute), Pew Pew (Geometry Wars meets Rez) and Zombies and Me (run and escape) are a few of the games that I bought and thoroughly enjoyed. They're original, if not at least evolutions of console games, and seem to fit perfectly on the iPod.

I can say one thing though, the iPod is a platform for gaming which I am happy to drop a few bucks a month on in experimentation. My job inherently leaves me sitting around for bits at a time throughout the day waiting for something technology related to break, so if I'm  not checking email or researching a troubleshooting problem, my iPod will be a savior from the endless internet time sink.