As iOS 7 rolls out to millions of devices, there is plenty of analysis of the numerous changes in Apple's new, flat mobile operating system. Gaming will see some big changes because of iOS 7, though many of them won't be evident for a few months.
Apple executives mentioned at this year's WWDC that iOS 7 would be compatible with Apple-sanctioned mobile gaming controllers. While third-parties have tried to create peripherals for mobile games on iOS, none have really taken off, and none have had the blessing of Apple.
See also: The 15 Best Free iPad Games
While controllers didn't roll out with iOS 7's launch, Apple has already released guides for developers on how to incorporate game controls easily into their apps. These will support controls with directional pads, bumpers, joysticks and four action buttons: A, B, X, and Y. An Apple developer showed Mashable the spec sheet with guidelines on adding controller support.
First off, developers are told a game must still be playable through the touch interface, and cannot rely solely on controller support. They are also told controllers must support pausing and unpausing the game from a button.
The spec sheet shows layouts for three potential controller types that can be connected to "a Mac or an iOS device." Two fit around the iPhone — one features more buttons than the other — and the third is a separate controller paired with the phone, presumably with Bluetooth.
  A spec sheet design of the iOS controller
  The spec sheet designs for two controllers that surrounded the iPhone.
These controllers would be designed by third parties working with Apple, though it's not clear yet which manufacturers are working with the company.
While there have been several solutions for Android gaming control schemes, including the MOGA cases, this is a monumental occasion for Apple's gaming ecosystem. Usually games make their appearance on iOS first, or remain there as an exclusive, so this will open controller makers to a larger market of gamers.
It will also mean that game formats that didn't work well on touch screens, like platformers or first-person shooters, will become more widely available. In the past, developers have tried several ways to adapt these games to the touch screen, some more successfully than others. Virtual joysticks were the first solution, but thankfully have been discarded in favor of creative touch schemes.
This might inspire more traditional publishers to bring titles to iOS. While publishers like Activision, Square Enix and 2K have been creating a lot of great mobile games, we could see even more experimentation if the controllers become widely adopted by players.
This also could open companies to releasing more classic games on mobile if they don't have to recreate the control schemes, especially since the pirate emulation market is huge on mobile devices — though that is restricted to Android and jailbroken iOS devices.
There also are a couple of games out now that have future-proofed designs to incorporate Apple-supported controllers. One of those is You Don't Know Jack Party [iTunes link], in which up to four players can use any Apple or Android device to play along with a trivia game being output on a television. The game's button schemes exactly mimic the buttons found on Apple's controller design.
What do you think of Apple's decision to support mobile controllers? Share your thoughts in the comments.
Image courtesy iStockphoto, ymgerman.