Is it possible to get gyroscope on iPad 1 to play game apps? If not is there another option?

Correct, the 3-axis gyro was not available in the iPad 1. So if the game is coded to require that feature, then you need a new iPad. No way around that with the iPad 1.

Also, your iPad 1 can only be updated to iOS 5.1.1 so if the game also requires iOS 6, you are out of luck as well, regardless of any hardware issues.

No, the gyroscope wasn't included in the first gen iPad, and it can't be added - you won't be able to install it as it isn't compatible with that iPad.

This is strange because I have run an earthquake monitoring app (originally for iPhone) on my iPad 1, and it worked very well, quite sensitively registering any movements in both the x, y AND z axis.

There are far too many limitations, of which games or utilities which cannot run, unless you buy a newer iPad or newer iPhone, because they demand iOS 6.x

Recently, I tried to install a La Cie NAS program on my old iPad, only to get the error message, only for iOS 6.x while Western Digital's similar NAS program worked well. (They are utilities to access network storage at home)

Even iBooks, which is just for reading books, has a newer version only for iOS 6.x.

La Cie replied on my complaint, that new requirements from Apple made them have to exclude iOS 5.1 users, although there still were users out there using a previous version of the app, however which users who bought their La Cie NAS after the upgrade, could not download the old version any more.

This was just an example - game producers should consider that parents often would give the oldest iPad or iPhone to their children, thus make games compatible with them. Yes iPad 1 is slower and has less RAM than the later versions, however the screen resolution is also lower (no retina) so many games should still work ok, and since iPad 1 obviously has sensors in all three axis, so that the seismic program (the name was iseismo I think) can work, it should have been possible to use the LEGO Star Wars game any way, or make some workaround, in case the gyro is different somehow.

Thomas Henden wrote:

This is strange because I have run an earthquake monitoring app (originally for iPhone) on my iPad 1, and it worked very well, quite sensitively registering any movements in both the x, y AND z axis.

The iPad 1 does have a basic accelerometer. iPad's since then have come with both a basic accelerometer and a 3-axis gyro. The gyro is more sensitive, and provides finer grained and faster response for things like games that use motion control. If a game was coded to specifically use gyro feedback for its controls, it will not work on an iPad 1. Most games written for the the iPad2 and higher, especially flight and space simes, like the OP was asking about, offer 3D controls that simply were not possible with the original iPad.

an old article - http://www.stuff-review.com/2011-03/what-is-the-gyroscope-inside-the-ipad-2-and- whats-in-it-for-you/

Ok, thanks for making that clear!

It is amazing, anyway, how sensitive miniature accellerometers and gyros have been, like in Nintendo Wii and Playstation Move, also. Seems like helmet VR will have some chance to reenter the arena, literally, because of this!