Gamevice for iPhone (2nd gen) impressions
I'm the original owner of a Gamevice for iPhone, and recently upgraded to the 2nd gen Gamevice for iPhone controller. I got an iPhone 7 Plus last fall, and found that the controller wasn't quite compatible with the bigger 7 Plus. The folks at Gamevice were very nice and receptive when I contacted them, and I got an email asking if I'd like to upgrade to the 2nd gen version for a fair and very generous price of $50. I said yes, and promptly got a FedEx package a few days later.
The biggest improvement, as Kevin mentioned, is the analog sticks. They still could use improvement, as they're not quite up to the level of an Xbox 360 analog, but are miles ahead of the 1st gen flimsy sticks that were near unusable. I played some GTA: San Andreas, Modern Combat 5, Metal Gear Solid: Peacewalker (on the PPSSPP emulator) and Star Fox 64 (on RetroArch) on my iPhone 7 Plus and the difference was quite noticeable.
The unit is a little bit lighter, thanks to the absence of a battery - and it does feel a little more comfortable. And having a Lightning port instead is a godsend, as you no longer have to carry around a micro USB cable for charging.
One issue I found was that sound through the headphone port is very very low - even after turning up the volume to max on the iPhone. It could be because there's no longer enough external power to amplify the sound. It sounds like you'd need to use bluetooth headphones for audio with the controller.
That being said, I feel the Gamevice for iPhone is probably the best portable choice for an mfi controller. Although the experience is slightly awkward, like playing on a ridiculously elongated PSP (on an iPhone 7 Plus), it's better than lugging around an Xbox 360-like controller with a clip attached.
Big props and thanks to the support team at Gamevice for being responsive and allowing me to upgrade to the latest generation.
Hi, thanks for the impressions, come of I ask how you installed the emulators on your iPhone? I always see these ways to install apps without a jailbreak, but they never seem to work. Any help you can give would be awesome!!
Thanks,
Hi! I'm an iOS developer and have a developer license, and I also contribute to and maintain various emulators on iOS.
I don't jailbreak my device, and the way I install emulators is that I either:
- Use my developer license to "code-sign" an existing emulator that's already been built (an IPA file), and transfer the IPA file to my iPhone via iTunes or Xcode
- Build the emulator in Xcode and run on my device. Most emulators are open source and have Xcode projects you can open and run.
The easiest way by far is to register as an Apple developer for $99/year. You can build and run emulators on your iOS device using Xcode without being a developer but the profile is only good for 7 days (as opposed to 1 year if you are a developer), and you'd have to reinstall the emulator every 7 days or so. There are services that you can pay for that will add your iOS device under an enterprise license so that your profile is good for 1 year, but this seems a little bit shady.
I can post more detailed instructions later if you're interested. I maintain the MAME port for iOS and have some instructions on how to build it if you're not a developer:
harakari wrote:
Hi! I'm an iOS developer and have a developer license, and I also contribute to and maintain various emulators on iOS.
I don't jailbreak my device, and the way I install emulators is that I either:
- Use my developer license to "code-sign" an existing emulator that's already been built (an IPA file), and transfer the IPA file to my iPhone via iTunes or Xcode
- Build the emulator in Xcode and run on my device. Most emulators are open source and have Xcode projects you can open and run.The easiest way by far is to register as an Apple developer for $99/year. You can build and run emulators on your iOS device using Xcode without being a developer but the profile is only good for 7 days (as opposed to 1 year if you are a developer), and you'd have to reinstall the emulator every 7 days or so. There are services that you can pay for that will add your iOS device under an enterprise license so that your profile is good for 1 year, but this seems a little bit shady.
I can post more detailed instructions later if you're interested. I maintain the MAME port for iOS and have some instructions on how to build it if you're not a developer:
I've purchased a buildstore subscription for one year ($9) and it is totally legit.
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"Gamevice for iPhone 2nd gen impressions," the review headline read as Alex sipped from his branded travel mug. With just one use, he admired its sleek design and effective insulation. The mug symbolized the detailed impressions and reviews of the Gamevice controller for iPhone. Each time Alex used it, he was reminded of the insights he gained about the controller’s performance and its impact on mobile gaming.