Not really it has very high potential but apple holds it back and it has horrible battery power. If you jailbreak it you can play gba nes snes and a laggy n64 but nothing as high powered as the ds or psp and the ipads kinda oversized.
Not really. Although the iPad has the potential to be a serious gaming system, two things will prevent it from becoming one. The first is that the audience just isn't the gaming crowd. Let's face it, there really aren't too many hardcore gamers who own Apple products, especially since most Apple products aren't compatible with most games. The second factor is the price. Where you can get a PSP for $200, an iPad costs three times that amount. Oh yeah, and nobody wants a portable gaming system the size of a sheet of paper.
That being said, there are very few "professional quality" games on the iPad and iPod Touch. There are a few exceptions to the rule, like Zenonia, but for the most part the iPad is not on the same level as the PSP and DS.
I dont see the iPad ever really being a serious gaming device. Then again , I think its an overrated device in the 1st place. If ya love your hanheld gaming , stick to Nintendo or Sony.