Oh, I get it. Because it’s shaped like a bone. I was thinking of something else. Here’s the GameBone Pro, a gamepad for the iPhone and iPod touch. It connects via Bluetooth or 30-pin dock connector and features a built-in battery to provide a little extra juice to your device while gaming, plus a built-in speaker and headphone jack.
All in all, I’m intrigued. I have an iPod touch, but I’d buy this thing more for use with my T-Mobile G1 — specifically for playing NES and Genesis games. The controller will come with an “iPod touch / iPhone stand supporting vertical and horizontal positions.”
So when will it be available and how much will it cost? The product’s website says it’ll be available in mid-September 2009. As for pricing — get this — the company is “currently open to pricing suggestions from the public.” Everyone suggest $5!
As for game compatibility, games made for the iPhone and iPod touch will need to be programmed to actually use the hardware so the company, 22moo, will be making a free SDK available shortly. Now as for using this thing with other devices, I’d hope that the buttons would be programmable to keyboard keys.
The gamepad itself features a D-pad, four main buttons, and two shoulder buttons. The company is located in Australia but it does ship internationally and is looking for distributors all over the place.
GameBone Pro : iPhone 3.0 Game Controller + Battery Pack [GameBone via Kotaku]
I would gladly pay $15-$20 for an Touch/iPhone Add-on that will allow me to play games better than ever. Thats the main issue with gaming on such a device, the controls are just limited. With an “official” add-on, gaming would be a pretty nice dream!
They should just place the iPod in the center of the controller, sort of like a Wii Wheel or something of that nature.
Really, this new gamepad should not be more than $10. I don’t think it would sell that well if it was much more. (I know I wouldn’t get it)
why wouldn’t it sell if its more than 10 bucks? cases for the iphone range from 15-30 bucks and they still sell like hot pie. i think $20 is a good price for something that will slow down the battery drain. of course this should come with an app that would allow for each of the buttons to be programmed