We have covered the iPhone and gaming from top to bottom here at TiPb. The iPhone still has a lot of catching up to do in terms of the quality of the games and you can also toss in the lack of physical controls as a huge negative. All that aside, for the most part we’ve felt that if Apple plays their cards correctly, they could be a major player in the handheld gaming wars alongside the likes of Nintendo and Sony.
Maybe you’ve agreed with us, maybe you haven’t. If you’ve disagreed with our opinions and views that’s fine and dandy but maybe, just maybe, you will listen to Trip Hawkins. Who’s Trip Hawkins you ask? He started a little gaming company called Electronic Arts.
“The iPhone is by far our most effective platform. We make as much money with these games on one device as we do putting a game on 100 different cell phone platforms. Between the iPod touch and the iPhone, I think the platform is freaking out Sony and Nintendo.”
That is a pretty strong statement. It may be a great thing as more and more developers will take the iPhone as a serious contender and produce more and higher quality games, or it may prove to be one of the biggest pitfalls. It may encourage more developers to throw quality and innovation out the window and simply pump out below-average games just to make that quick profit. Up until this point we’ve seen a combination of some high quality games and some pure garbage. In the end, it’s about the almighty dollar and we get that. Hopefully game developers come up with ways to push the platform to the next level.
So where do you see this going in the long run for the iPhone as a gaming platform? Lets hear your thoughts!
Ever want to be a flight controller? The most stressful job (so I hear) ever? Well, if you want the fun, but don’t want the stress, Flight Control is the game for you.
With Flight Control, you play a flight controller who needs to guide planes in for a safe landing. You have two runways (red and yellow) and one helicopter pad (blue). As planes fly in, they are either red or yellow, indicating which runway they need to land on (helicopters can only land on the pad). Your job is to guide the planes to the appropriate runway while avoiding in-air collisions.
Sounds easy, right? Sure it is…when there are only one or two planes coming in at a time. But as time progresses, more and more planes enter the playing field, increasing the risk of close calls and collisions.
Jeremy will likely be back soon with your regular dose of Apps for Less, but as the Easter/Passover/Whatever your holiday of preference weekend begins, a couple sites are taking advantage of users likely to have some free time, and family avoidance needs, on their hands with special App sales.
First up, Easter App Sales has a score (20 for you digital types) of discounts listed for Hero of Zero, Nintaii, Tap Forms, Caddy.me, Memengo Wallet, Restaurant Find, Distant Suns, iBearMoney, Varinome, Grand Tour, iBearBrain, Twelve Steps Companion, Memory and Systems info, Japanese Phrases, Fast Food Calorie Counter, Currency Exchange Rates, iMissal, Doctors, and SleepStream.
Arnold Kim also points out via Twitter that AppShopper is keeping track of “lots of Easter Sales in the App Store”.
If you spot any super sweet deals to go along with our candy eggs, chocolate matzah, or non-religious sugar frosted truffles, let us know!
The Japanese term ‘nintai’ means “patience,” “perseverance,” or “endurance” – all three of these attributes will be needed to play the puzzle game Nintaii. The objective of Nintaii is simple: roll a rectangular block through the board activating switches and going around obstacles in order to deposit the block through the square hole at the end.
Okay, so the iPhone stole the Nintendo DS’ portability, touch screen (albeit capacitive instead of retro resistive), creative input methods (like blowing into the mic), and emphasis on casual, on-the-go gaming. And since all’s fare in love and console wars, is it really a surprise that the big N has decided to follow Apple’s lead — and the growing Google Android Market, RIM BlackBerry App World, Microsoft Windows Phone Marketplace, Palm (Pre Store?) conga line — with the launch of their own direct download DSiWare application store alongside their new DSi hardware.
Sure, DSi doesn’t have ubiquitous internet connectivity like 2G or 3G enabled smartphones, so it’s WiFi only (WPA if you can dig it out of the settings). You also have to buy credit in ridiculous $20 chunks (some things never change, eh, money-grabbers?), but this will no doubt appeal to gamers who want new stuff now, now, now, and developers who want to excise the the usual 75% retail+licensing cut, along with manufacturing, storage, shipping, and other physical media related costs.
Ars Technica has an excellent article up with all the details and developer comments, and it’s certainly worth the read.
Our question is, is the iPhone enough for your casual gaming needs or do you also carry a DS (and/or PSP) everywhere you go, and will DSiWare make you more likely to carry a DS in the future?
The fine folks over at Longtail Studios have been gracious enough to offer up a couple (2) promo codes for TiPb readers eager to get their submission holds on the hot new iPhone game, TNA Wrestling [iTunes Link]:
Get ready to experience Total Nonstop Action anytime, anywhere! Once players create their own custom wrestler, they can jump into the ring against 15 TNA greats, including AJ Styles, Kurt Angle, Samoa Joe and Sting, and compete in eight different match types such as Tag Team, Iron Man, Gauntlet and Lumberjack. The goal is to make it from unsigned rookie to TNA World Champion, while unlocking new moves, forging ring alliances, creating rivalries and making decisions outside of the ring that will affect what goes on inside of it.
Go grab it now. Or if you want a shot at the give away, well.. Cue the entrance music, make your way down the aisle to the hexagonal ring that is the TiPb App Forum and try to pin it down for the 3 count!
Ok, don’t worry, the above image is actually from Activisions version of Ghostbusters for the Apple II that appeared in 1984 and not from this upcoming version. Most Ghostbuster fans out there are aware that the Ghostbusters are making their comeback this June on all of the major video game consoles with the original cast doing the voice acting. Well, most of you will be excited to know that your favorite ghostbusting trio will be making an appearance on the iPhone this June as well. Details are pretty much nil at the moment though hopefully Sony Pictures does it justice.
Sony says the Ghostbusters iPhone game will see you playing as the traditional team from the Ghostbusters movies, tackling New York borough by borough, trapping pesky poltergeists and stopping innocent citizens from being slimed. Think Halloween Harry, only with Ghostbusters’ Peter Venkman deadpanning it all the way through.
It should be interesting to see how the developers take advantage of the iPhones accelerometer in terms of control. So what do all of the fans think of this comeback? This is pretty big for those of us who here at TiPb grew up in the 1980’s, so we’re pretty excited to this game is coming.
We’ve talked about this several times before on TiPb, but Jeremy Horwitz over at iLounge takes an interesting journey via the game Peggle, what it’s release looks like for the Nintendo DS at $30, how retail sales prices break down, and what it might mean for iPhone gamers if they’re forced by market conditions to give us a barer-boned $5 version.
We know Apple said “free apps stay free”, so there’s still no model for demos to get people hooked, but the idea of ScaleWare, so a low introductory price can be followed by a few level/feature pack upgrades is something we’re fond of. Horwitz rightly points out that if devs over use this, however, it could make things worse:
just imagine the commercials showing someone actually playing a full Sony or Nintendo handheld game alongside someone clicking on iPod touch dialog boxes to the sound of a cash register.
iLounge likes the idea of regular games (i.e. cheap) with the in-app option to upgrade to deluxe versions (i.e. full price). Sounds good to us. We want great games on the iPhone, and we’re willing to reward developers with fair prices for their work. Are you?
Cheese on bread, I find the concept of this game irie enough, though the lack of articulation in the eponymous character… nothing a go so. Shouldn’t a Rasta Monkey be a wee bit easier now star?
Rasta Monkey is set in the jungle of Jamdown. The gameplay is focused on a happy Rastafarian
monkey who swings around and grabs onto branches to move his way through different jungle
environments. Using monkey-swinging skills, players must snag some delicious fruit along the
way to score points and move to different levels.
If anyone has tried it out, let us know what you think. Nice and crisp, or go back a yard?
You remember those old flip books where you could mix and match the head, body, and legs from various animals and such? Well, preschool pals with Henry and Hailey takes this idea and turns it in to an app for kids on the iPhone.
When playing this app, the first thing you can do is go through and look at the various “preschool pals” as they are supposed to appear. They include things like a fireman, policeman, robot, ballerina, etc. You can look at each image, and hit the play button to have each one say something (just a sentence or two). Keep reading Pre-School Pals Forum Review…
My Beagle
My Beagle is a “create a dog” app aimed at young kids. The concept of this app is simple – you can create a picture of a dog with various…accessories (for lack of a better word) from a wide list of options. Starting the app is simple – you simply click on the play button and get brought to a blank slate with a generic beagle image. From there, using the dial on the left, you can choose various accessories or attributes – collars, food bowls, background, eye shape, etc. You get to design a beagle to your liking.
When creating your masterpiece, you choose each of the categories of accessory, and then can choose from different images by sliding a button left or right to show the options. For example, with background images, you can choose from some butterflies, some birds, some trees, etc. The wide variety of options means that there are plenty of ways to create a unique masterpiece on your iPhone. Keep reading My Beagle Forum Review…
