Google wants a lot of people to be biting into its Ice Cream Sandwich, but perhaps none more so than mobile gamers.
Eagle-eyed developers have dug through the code for Android 4.0 and found a menu that allows users to attach an external game controller.
In the menu, titled “Views/Game Controller Input,” there are references to joysticks and buttons, as well as Qwerty keyboard controls.
Of all the major smartphone trends of the 21st century, gaming is arguably the most important, with some developers now focusing as much time or more than they are with traditional game consoles.
And when it comes to gaming smartphones, the iPhone has garnered almost all the love, leaving Android somewhat in the dust. For most game makers, the mindset is “we’ll make it for iPhone. If we make a profit we’ll eventually port it to Android just for kicks.”
But it looks like Android wants to step up the game a bit, pun intended. One of the frustrations that continues to exist with smartphone gaming is the lack of physical controls. While games like Angry Birds are fun and easy to play with only touchscreen commands, titles like Final Fantasy lose something when they’re converted to a platform that has no physical buttons.
So with Ice Cream Sandwich, will we start to see officially licensed game controllers alongside the chargers and USB cables on Best Buy’s mobile accessory shelves? This development makes us curious to find out.
