Hey iPhone users, not enough excuses yet to abandon real life and run down your battery? Never fear, EA is here! Seems the uber-developer is readying a release of Sims 3 for the iPhone (and iPod Touch). Says TUAW:
it’s set for an almost simultaneous release on PC, Mac, the iPhone and the iPod touch. The popularity of iPhone apps may have done what Mac gamers couldn’t do for years: convince developers that releasing their games simultaneously on Mac and PC was worth it.
PC version set to ship June 2. No release date for the iPhone version yet, but EA claims Summer 2009.
MacRumors is reporting a… well, rumor, that Apple may introduce a new section to the App Store for “premium” games with a price point at (or above?) $19.99.
The rumors suggests WWDC in June as a likely introduction event, and it would be exclusive to big publishers and allow them to side-step the $0.99 domination of cheaper Apps (some awesome indie fare but also a lot of… well, CrApps) that suck all the air out of the current Top lists.
This could actually be an interesting solution, allowing for both the cheap games many want to consume, but also providing a viable business option for developers who want to invest more resources into bigger games. (Grand Theft Auto: Cupertino Chaos anyone?)
I’d be willing to pay more for really good, in depth, immersive, highly optimized, and expertly rendered games, and think it will continue to push the iPhone and iPod touch into Nintendo DS and Sony PSP territory.
Apple’s made a point to highlight gaming on the iPhone and iPod touch (the so-called funnest iPod ever), and six-months in, games still routinely dominate the App Store Top Ten lists. But what about outside the Apple ecosystem? How are iPhone/iPod touch games doing in the greater gaming ‘verse? TUAW lets us know:
the iPhone more or less owns the finalist list for the 2009 Independent Games Festival Mobile category. 11 of the 14 contestants aren’t on the Nintendo DS or PSP — they’re built and played on the iPhone and the iPod touch.
While Apple’s taken (justifiable) hits for policing their store, we’ve heard before that it’s nothing compared to hoops developers need to jump through to get in on the PlayStation or Nintendo action. Add to that a phenomenal SDK, great hardware, and that little App Store icon on every single iPhone and iPod touch (no UMDs or cartridges need be found here), and it makes for not only a killer offering, but pretty much brings the next, next generation in gaming home now.
Illuminations is developed by Killer Robots and is an interesting shoot-em-up type game. It is based around the idea of a firework show. You have to shoot rockets that come up from the bottom of the screen in order to make them explode, if you miss too many, then the show is over for you. You also might find enemies that might spawn at random to keep you from “giving a good show,” these also must be eliminated (and added to the show).
Black Out by 1026 Development is an iPhone homage to the classic Tiger handheld puzzle game, where your goal is to turn all the lights off, even as every light to touch switches all the lights around it. Why Black Out and why for the iPhone? Said developer Jeremy Curcio:
I loved the handheld game and was cleaning out my attic when I saw it sitting there. I then realized how smoothly it would port to the iPhone platform. That day I started writing this app. I’m really proud of how it turned out, and I think many others will enjoy it as well.
Black Out will be in the iTunes Store soon(ish?) for $0.99. Check out the video above and let us know if you’ll be picking it up…
Monopoly is a classic game, and it was just a matter of time until it appeared on the iPhone. I remember playing this in the summers with my sister when we were out of school. We would get games that lasted months as we would finally run out of money in the bank!
So finally Monopoly comes to the iPhone! The game is visually appealing, and is based on the Monopoly: Here and Now version with updated locations, dollars amount, and random cards. There is a lot of animation in the game, including rolling the dice, moving the pieces, and various cut scenes while running the app. That graphics are nicely done, and there was only a little stutter now and then with the animation sequences.
Apple’s VP of iPhone and iPod Marketing, Greg “Joz” Joswiack, chatted with the UK’s Edge Online about all things iPhone (and iPod touch!) gaming, and he once again shows us the power of perspective. While some might find the iPhone SDK limiting in terms of Apple’s tight control and opaque approval process, Joz argues that, in some ways, its far more open than gaming handsets:
some of the game guys have told us that they love the experience here because, on a product like a DS or a PSP they’re very limited in what they can do, because they have to get the permission of a Sony or a Nintendo who might say, “No, we don’t want another example of that game,” or maybe because they’re creating such a game themselves, so it’s a lot more tightly controlled. Here, if they’ve got a great idea for a great game, they can just go for it, and that’s actually worked very much to our favour.
Joz shares his thoughts on the design of the iPhone, the SDK, App Store pricing, and many other issues as well. Given that the App Store has just passed 15,000 applications and half-a-billion downloads, with games no doubt accounting for a high percentage of those, the entire article is definitely a worthwhile read.
Check it out, and let us know whether you agree or disagree with Joz’s point of view…
Here we have Gathorc, Dwarf Paladin from the Skullcrusher server
(Gathorc gives a big shout-out to Guild Benevolent!). Sure, he’s one of those annoying Alliance toons, but nevertheless to our eyes he’s definitely got some bragging rights: getting exalted with Stormpike takes some serious grinding time, maxing out Herbalism is nothing to sniff at, and check out the list-o-purple, below!
If you have no idea what the previous paragraph is getting at, move along, nothing to see here. If you’re proud of your World of Warcraft Toon and want to be able to show it off on the go, might we recommend our favorite of the iPhone WoW apps, Warcraft Characters (iTunes link, Free).
You can search by character name without having to specify your server, get full views of Basic info, Stats, Combat Stats, Gear, and Reputation, and of course save your favorites to more easily show them off.
Because, honestly, we know that you can’t stop thinking about WoW and are going to bring it up the next time we’re out — you may as well have the ability to explain why in the name of the Earthmother you spec’d your Tauren Hunter Marksman instead of Beastmaster. Seriously, don’t you read BigRedKitty?
Game time! Topple is a quick, tower building game that is theoretically simple yet surprisingly addictive.
The goal of Topple is simple – build a tower to a goal line without having it fall down.
Sounds simple enough…especially in the first few levels when you have pieces that look like they belong in Tetris. However, as the levels progress, the pieces get more and more complex – including small octagonal pieces, pieces that have triangular sides, etc. Added is the fact that as your progress, the “base” upon which you build your tower is no longer flat, and the goal line is farther away.
Well, suffice to say, I found myself yelling at my iPhone a few times…”No, no, lean this way, no, don’t fall!!……$%@#$”. I got a few strange looks.
