OneMoreLevel.com publishes comprehensive comparison chart
Some say it’s like comparing apples with oranges, others see it as a crucial challenge to Adobe’s ubiquitous web player. The debates over Flash versus HTML5 rarely subside.
Apple co-founder Steve Jobs made a key intervention in the battle of the browser when prohibiting Flash web players across all iOS devices. Since then, armies of web and game developers have publicly supported Adobe’s tech.
In a bid to draw a line under the debate, OneMoreLevel.com has put together what could be the most comprehensive side-by-side comparison of both technologies.
The Infographic can be found below. An even bigger version can be found here
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I can't help but feel that the infograpic is quite biased. The technology section stands out quite a bit - why is it an Advantage to flash? Plug-ins are a huge disadvantage, running in the browser directly is a huge advantage. The 3D side is laughable as very few worthy flash titles utilise 3D and sound support is "limited" how? I mean, do you really need more than 2Channels for the majority of games? I'd say the advantage is narrowly for HTML5 in this respect, although I'd happily call it a draw.
The HTML5 Rendering Engine uses more power than the flash plugin as stated above, making it less efficient. As for the sound, they mean not all browsers support HTML5 sound so it isn't universally available like flash's sound. Flash is going to die, atleast thats been the word online for atleast 4 years now and it maybe the case however HTML5 is not going to replace it, the language has to many flaws, it's a markup language not a programming language and thats how it needs to stay!
Yeah, right, HTML5 is killing Flash because Flash is better in every area. Makes sense. NOT.
Playing a flash game through a browser actually requires an HTML, CSS (and sometimes javascript/java) layer too. So most of the sections where they comment on deployment being a single .swf file are grossly inaccurate. The swf is just a container, and it requires standard web technology to be consumable...
If you wanted to make HTML5 like flash, you could code a browser plugin with full support for the spec, and write something to compile all that HTML, Javascript and CSS into a single file playable through the browser.
That would be pointless though, what is trying to be achieved is an open, consistent system for development and consumption of media. If you choose to develop for that platform you don't really view the openness as a limitation!
1. october 1998 blah blah
2. april 2006 even more blah
3. june 2009 and another blah
but where is
4. november 2011. adobe killed flash for mobile
But it _is_ a bit like comparing apples with oranges. For sites HTML 5 is the way to go, but for games it's Flash.
Plugins - mixed blessing. The upside is that Adobe can do updates themselves because they're not completely dependant on the browser and developers don't have to consider the browser that much either.
3D rendering - http://youtu.be/IykhED4lAWM 'nuf said.
Don't get me wrong, HTML5 has it's place, Flash is just better for most games.
I think you've missed what they were saying. Everything listed in the Technology section is a negative, but it's two negatives versus three for HTML5.
HTML5 was a great and somewhat logical extension to HTML.
However, the late Steve Jobs used it as a pawn because he saw Flash as a threat to app stores. I doubt few people will chase HTML5 games in their mobile browsers when they can get simple games largely for free in app stores. But one must ponder that some of the more heavyweight flash titles - and particulary the new 3d flash games - could genuinely provide a similar experience to some of the games in the app store, given time. You may point out that it was Adobe that axed Flash for Mobile but with increasing pressure from other bans (Windows 8 Metro) and being hit hard by the need to lay off workers Adobe seeked to turn fighting for a free plugin to a potential to now push everybody onto HTML5 authoware instead.
Back to the end user, whilst being distracted with HTML5 vs Flash discussion people are waking up all too late to realise that they are now paying 30% more for stuff they may otherwise been able to access without that tariff.
There was one time that everybody was aiming towards doing everything in the browser. Just look at Google Docs, Office via the browser, and of course gaming. But HTML5 is going to seriously curtail that due to it's limitations - particulary when you consider HTML5s lifespan isn't to be set in stone until 2022 - meaning we'll have to use use old fashioned technique known as installing software after all.
Haven't seen such a biased "infographic" in a while. Did this come from the adobe marketing dept?
