Theoretically, an add-on accessory could play some iPhone and iPod touch games more easily. For some popular gaming devices, the use of touch screen controls makes it difficult or impossible to play some of the elaborate game types on handhelds. The Apple accessory would add physical controls in the form of buttons, sticks and direction pads, then it can use for both more precise response and less cluttered screen space.
Talking about the Apple accessory, people would be expected to insert their iPhone or iPod into a shell, it is just like the headset concept Apple has envisioned. Some methods would be used to keep the handheld in place. The shell could also replicate components like cameras or extend options, for example, adding vibration feedback or a second display. The latter would make Apple have a great competition with Nintendo, which uses twin touch displays on all of its DS systems.
What is the Apple thinking about game controller? Now the new patent is something that would either plug in to the dock port or be included in a shell-like object that the device could slide into. Apple is also working on head concept game controller, and it’s possible that these two things could be used in conjunction — the buttons would provide tactile feedback, while the headset would bring in immersive audio and video. This is still an imagination. But we would expect one day it will come to the public due to Apple nails down the patent.
The iPhone and the iPad games are getting more and more complex, for selling those games, buttons will come in handy. To make their current hardware more accessible for traditional gamers and to make their former gamers more convenient to use is what Apple need to work on in the future.