What the iPhone 4S Means for Mobile Gaming

Apple unveiled the iPhone 4S at its Cupertino headquarters Oct. 4. Though offerings were a little sparse, there were some interesting moments for gamers.

Some of the best news is that the iPhone 4S is getting a power upgrade. The 4S is getting a dual-core 1GHz A5 processor with dual-core graphics. That means the 4S have comparable graphics to the iPad 2. Games are almost guaranteed to run smoother and faster on the new 4S, since it will be about 7 times faster than the old iPhone 4. However, gamers might not be able to enjoy the increased details due to the tiny screen size which stayed at 3.5.

To show off some of the iPhone's potential power, Apple had Epic Games President, Mike Capps, show off its new game Infinity Blade II. The graphics were pretty good, and the crowd seemed to love the demo.

Infinity Blade II was a good choice to show off the 4S' new graphics since the first is one of the most popular and stunning games on the iPhone. The game will be released Dec. 1.

The 4S also has facial recognition software, but there is no telling whether that will make an impact on gaming. The Kinect is one of Xbox360's most popular peripherals which uses a camera to capture gamers' movements. So there is some potential there.

Also upgraded was the Gaming Center App. It will feature more social connectivity, with friends being able to suggest games through it. The Center will also have more achievements available.

In terms of advancing mobile gaming, Apple didn't divulge anything mind blowing. The power upgrade is nice, but the gaming center has been pretty inconsequential since its launch during iOS 4. And the new changes don't do much to improve Gaming Centers' viability.

Gamers have had long-time complaints about the lack of physical buttons on the iPhone. Without them, touch screen gaming controls are just too clunky and imprecise for any real gaming.