2009 was the coming out party for the iPhone/iPod touch gaming. There were certainly quality games in the App Store in 2008, but excellent releases like Alive 4 Ever, Bookworm, iDracula, Magical Drop Touch, Skee Ball, and Strikers 1945 Plus showcased the variety and quality of titles available on Apple’s handhelds. The games were immensely entertaining, visually dynamic, and for the most part, sonically satisfying. The only gripe? The controls.

I hate to divide our brothers and sisters in the gamingverse into separate camps drawn by superficial lines, but I’m going to do just that. Casual gamers, in my experience, are far more acceptable of the flaws of the virtual D-pad. They play in brief spurts during their commutes, doctor visits, and post office waits, so some of the movement issues may not seem as pronounced. The more hardcore (or as one of my former editors would say, “The Nerds”) have to deal with inconsistent input detection during our marathon sessions. Those of us that are continually frustrated in battling the virtual D-pad need a solution, and it may come in the form of Apple’s rumored iPad.

An introduction for those who have had better things to do this past holiday weekend than to stay glued to the technology blogs. Apple, for several years, has been rumored to be working on a tablet Mac behind closed doors. In fact, the rumors appeared every few months, which I suspect coincided with certain sites’ need to get links and a traffic boost.

Up until a few days ago all of those rumors appeared to be residents of Bullshit Blvd., but recent rumbling have (finally) lent some legitimacy. Apple appears to own the islate.com URL; Apple apparently will have a product announcement in a month’s time; Apple is said to have purchased 7-inch and 10-inch displays from Innolux. That’s all that’s need to be known for the scope of this piece.

If this Apple iPad tablet does finally make its long-awaited appearance in late January, it may very well change the way we game on Apple’s platforms by birthing an accessory market that would eliminate the multi-touch issues we’ve been experiencing. Ponder the idea for a minute.

A 7-inch or 10-inch Apple iPad is far too large to be considered a handheld gaming platform; in fact, it removes the possibility of one-handed gaming. Pick up a book or magazine, turn it sideways, and try to imagine playing your favorite 2D game with one paw, or even two. It would be too wide and cumbersome, no matter how much Apple sexiness oozes from every inch. Apple certainly wouldn’t allow a revenue wave like the games in the App Store to suffer.

Over the summer, Apple stated that third-party game accessories were coming, but other than a few prototypes and mock ups, we haven’t seen the hardware. The Apple iPad, however,could very well be the grand opening of the controller market which would, in theory, also be offered for the iPhone and iPod touch, improving the the gaming experience for all.

Bluetooth-enabled, wired, it doesn’t matter. Controllers are need to help the Apple iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch truly compete with the Nintendo DS and Sony PSP mobile gaming platforms. Gamers would sing a song of joy to finally have the option to use physical buttons. Developers wouldn’t have to rely on multi-touch programming, which may open the door to a flood of games that were once only available on the Nintendo DS and Sony PSP. It would be a win for all.

Of course, this is all speculation, but should all the pieces fall into place, the mobile gaming space in 2010 will be very, very interesting.