I've been thinking about the implications of the iPad as a gaming device. The iPad appears to me, a person who has never owned an Apple product, as more of a toy than the past iterations of iPhones and iTouches and variations thereof. I hear about and sometimes get to try out iPhone games because they're popular amongst several of my friends, but that is the extent of my experience with Apple, which may color my opinion.
 
Nevertheless, I immediately began to think about the type of games that a touch screen of this size would be good for. I didn't see this as something to carry around, but rather as a fancy tablet to use on the couch. That's probably how I would use it, specially considering the price point. I immediately thought of games like Civilization, Settlers of Katan, RISK. Turn based, with a big pretty map and touch screen controls to navigate through a (hopefully) competent interface. But then I began to think beyond the immediately obvious, and started to think.
 
What about Sam & Max? Monkey Island? Those weird Indigo Prophecy type adventure games I never get around to on my PC because the game library on it is too attractive to have it anywhere near the top of the list? With a simplified Telltale-esque interface and touch control, along with a relatively easy-to-run engine allowing for a decent frame rate, I think it would be an attractive option, particularly if these type of games migrate even further into an episodic format. I wouldn't mind laying around on my couch for an hour or two and beating a new Monkey Island episode. 
 
However, moving forward into the realm of the more difficult to accomplish, I started thinking about RTS games. And while I don't think a touch interface would be able to compete with the speed needed for something like competitive Starcraft play with it's heavy reliance on hotkeys and 3 clicks per second madness, I think that slower paced games such as Supreme Commander, Sins of a Solar Empire, and even the Total War games might work well. Because a good part of these games involves navigating through tech trees, charts, tactical maps and the like, a touch based option could be viable.
 
Further influencing my enthusiasm in this particular matter, the seemingly open-ended nature of the development market for this platform appears a boon to both its longevity and potential library. Of course, this is particularly optimistic, but I think it's not completely unlikely. I'm cautiously curious about this one, as I am with most Apple products, since I've never actually bought one for myself. 
 
I don't want another gaming gadget. At least, in theory I don't. But truth be told, I like having a variety of consoles and toys that do weird things around the house, and this is definitely something I would like to have around. As someone who once bought a Neo-Geo, there are worse $500 dollar decisions I've made in the past.