webOS is no good for gaming, says an iPhone developer

Although we knew that games are in development for the Pre, it seems the the webOS platform still has a long way to go until it is ready to support high-quality graphics and complex gameplay elements, such as those found in certain games for iPhone (let alone the 3GS). The main reason for this, as iPhone dev Craig A. Hunter states, is the web-oriented environment provided by the current webOS SDK beta, which got available some days ago. Actually, the biggest problem is that developers do not have access to OpenGL as of now, although the Pre supports it. In addition, the current 4 Hz sampling of raw accelerometer data seems to be pretty insufficient, compared to the required minimum of 20 Hz for accelerometer-controlled apps.

Have no fear though, as PreCentral has got a Palm job listing unearthed, revealing that the company is seeking for a Game Frameworks Engineer who would help improve the platform’s gaming capabilities. With that said, we should also point out that Apple didn’t have the breathtaking visual up and running right from the start either.

Palm Pre Specifications | Review

source: Craig A. Hunter via EngadgetMobile and PreCentral