iPhone gamers can pick up a Riot at the Apple Store

Games controllers for iPhones

Mobile gamers using iPhones will want to look at the all-new Rotor Riot MFi Controller, which turns your Apple smartphone into a brilliant hand-held gaming device and is now available in Apple Retail stores.

Now available at Apple stores

The product is part of Apple’s Made for iPhone scheme, which means you get home and option buttons on the device and a lag and latency-free gaming experience. You also get clickable thumb sticks for better game play.

I spoke with manufacturer, RiotPWR CEO, Fraser Townley because I wanted to understand Apple’s story in the mobile gaming market, and thought he may have a sense of this.

“The top of the range iPhones are fast becoming some peoples most expensive and powerful piece of technology, and with contracts and spread out pricing plans they’re not a huge one time financial hit in the same way a top range PS5 or Xbox X could be,” he explained.

What’s happening in mobile gaming

At the same time, Apple’s devices can be as powerful as games consoles, which means developers can release games that push the limits of the tech.

“A great example of an Arcade game pushing the hardware limits is Oceanhorn 2, a visually stunning game that plays like a AAA console game,” said Townley. “As well as brand new titles being developed for mobile, there’s also a huge back catalogue of ported games available.

The controller looks very much like a standard controller for console games. As well as the home button it also offers a fully functional 8-way D-Pad, console triggers, L3/R3 support, and a removable phone mount display.

“The introduction of 5G has had a huge benefit on mobile gaming, due to streaming services like xCloud, Amazon Luna and Google Stadia you can now seamlessly play current generation console games on your mobile device not to mention being able to cast PlayStation games to your iPhone,” said Townley. “With all these advancements we still believe tactile controls are the way to game, which is why we developed our controller.”

Ready for Apple Arcade

The controller also offers pass-through charging, so when your iPhone is in the system you can expect it to remain charged for as long as the controller remains in play. The RR1852 controller uses less energy than a pair of headphones. The device is compatible with over 1000 popular mobile games on the Ludu Mapp app.

Apple Arcade offers a growing catalog of titles. I was interested to find out if Townley thought there was potential there. He did, saying, “Mobile gaming is the biggest entertainment industry and Apple have always been aware of this and spent time nurturing this industry sector. Apple have invested a lot of time and resources into some of the smaller studios to allow them to create some amazing titles… We believe as more studios dive into mobile gaming Apple Arcade is only going to grow even stronger and entice even more mobile gamers to the service.”

And also ready for AR

Augmented reality (AR) is a rapidly emerging space for games development and innovation.

“AR is getting implemented more and more into titles, when we originally developed our controller we wanted to future proof for this feature and not occlude the camera when using our product,” he said.

You can continue to use AR experiences and the iPhones camera while it is in the controller.

Townley also discussed the inclusion of his company’s product in the catalog at Apple retail stores. “This is something we work hard at and provide a product that enhances the user experience for mobile gaming. Being Apple certified does not guarantee a place in Apple retail so we’re extremely grateful for the platform and opportunity that Apple gives us,” he said.

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