During the WWDC 2009 Keynote, Apple announced that over 40,000,000 iPhones and iPods touches had been sold to date. We know what that looks like in the smartphone market space, but now Gizmodo has done some research and shown us what that might just look like in the gaming platform space as well. (See graph above).
Might explain why we see so many games already, and as Gizmodo points out:
Combine this with the fact that the faster graphics support in the iPhone 3GS is going to make it a pretty damn good gaming device, you’ve got a juicy target for game developers to hit.
With all the talk recently about Peggle, I was surprised that it hasn’t been reviewed (although it did get a “quick app” and a pick of the week) so I thought I would download and give it a try. And, well, Peggle has managed to crack my “regular game rotation” that currently consists of only a few other games.
We’ll avoid the obvious question (why live in a SIM world when you can live in the real one), and the metaphysical (maybe you’re just a SIM in someone else’s iPhone already…?) because, frankly, no one cares! The Sims 3 is — finally! — out for the iPhone and iPod touch:
Play with your Sim using touch and accelerometer controls while exploring stunning 3D open-world environments. Customize your Sim with personality traits and physical characteristics, as you decide whether to fulfill their destiny…or not. Do good or mischief. Fall in love or watch them get dumped. Pick a fight or make a friend. Good or bad, enjoy the ride with The Sims as they experience everything “real” life has to offer. ANYTHING’S POSSIBLE!
If you try it out, and manage to remember the rest of us still exist, let us know how you like the Sims 3 for the iPhone, okay?
ngmoco has gone and set up a little media tournament, taking place on Twitter, with their hawt new game, StarDefense. Suiting up on TiPb’s behalf is yours truly, and you can follow my progress, and everyone’s progress, through the elimination rounds via @ngmoco or individually:
MVC (via MacRumors) is claiming that Microsoft’s head of Xbox Business Insights and Strategy, Richard Teversham, is leaving to join Apple.
With the unbelievable success of iPhone and iPod touch gaming, could Apple finally be taking the space seriously? Or could this be part of some bigger move, one involving those chipset buyouts, licenses, and hires we recapped earlier? Could Apple be working on…
Yeah, more likely iPhone, maybe iTablet, maybe even Mac gaming, but that next gen hardware power might just give the consoles a run for their money anyway…
ngmoco just sent over their latest trailer for StarDefense, coming in May for the iPhone and iPod touch, and we’ve uploaded it to YouTube and embedded it above for all to enjoy.
In Star Defense, players take control of the captain’s chair and travel to a series of planets invaded by alien S’rath forces. Twisting and spinning complete 3-D planets, players must examine the terrain to plan tower defenses, selecting from a broad range of turrets that unleash everything from burning hot plasma to high voltage decimation. With seven planets, five upgradable tower types and three difficulty levels available at launch, Star Defense will challenge players of all skill sets, from sci-fi fans to tower defense champions.
If this really combines the skills of ngmoco with the addictive qualities of tower defense, we’re already predicting a massive slowdown in postings here as we play review this baby for hours on end.
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?
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?
There’s so much going on in iPhone gaming right now, it’s almost as hard to keep up with that as with iPhone 3.0. Two large industry shows bookend much of the current news, iGames Summit and Game Developers Conference (GDC). With multiple awards, great discussions on the future, and a slew of upcoming product announcements, we figured we’d take a moment and round things up…
The iPhone Blog merged with the Phone different site in May of 2008. Both sites were founded on a premise that comes one from one of Apple's old slogans: Think different. The iPhone Blog: for people who dare to phone different.
