iPhone 15 Pro is shaping up to be a pretty good gaming console, but Apple has a tough test ahead
Several really powerful games are heading towards the iPhone 15 Pro. The question is, to what extent is this due to Apple, and to what extent due to exceptionally favorable circumstances.
Sep 29, 2023 | updated: 9:09 AM EDT, October 5, 2023
Resident Evil Village, Resident Evil 4, Death Stranding, and Assassin's Creed Mirage. This is a list of announced AAA games that will be playable on the iPhone 15 Pro within the next few months.
Does this mean that iPhone is becoming a serious competitor for PlayStation 5? Not necessarily.
Games announced for the iPhone 15 Pro have one thing in common
Every one of the AAA games announced for the iPhone 15 Pro will also be available on last generation consoles. As it happens, the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One are devices from 2013.
On one hand, it's impressive that the phone can handle fresh titles from big publishers. Fortunately for Apple, it has worked out that these fresh titles from big publishers are designed with 10-year-old hardware in mind. And that's a phenomenon.
Because as you can see - although it's been 3 years since the PS5 launch, the availability of this console was greatly limited for a long time due to chip shortages. This made it more profitable for large studios - which aim to reach as wide an audience as possible - to keep 10-year-old platforms alive rather than exclusively focus on the latest hardware. As a result, new titles don't have excessively high hardware requirements, which makes their porting to mobile devices easier.
However, such a state of affairs will not last forever and eventually, publishers will forget about PS4 and Xbox One. And then, porting new games to the iPhone may not be so easy. If it will be possible at all.
Apple faces a tough test
The new Assassin's Creed on the smartphone is impressive, but it's important to remember that the game market conditions are exceptionally favorable for Apple at the moment. In the coming years, maintaining the image of the iPhone as a serious gaming console may be quite challenging.
I see two possibilities: either a chip will be strong enough to handle games designed exclusively for the latest generation consoles will be built into future iPhones, or games for iPhones will sell well enough for publishers to find creating less demanding versions of their productions for this platform profitable. Otherwise, Ubisoft, Capcom, or Sony may soon forget about the iPhone.
