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NYCC 2009: iPhone Title Coming From Bethesda

Zach Lott — Sat, 07 Feb 2009 20:52:14 -0600

Joystiq is reporting Bethesda's Todd Howard announced at a New York Comic Con panel that the developer is working on an iPhone game, though he did not reveal any other details.

Could it be a Fallout or Elder Scrolls spinoff, or is it an original title? What do you guys think?

Super Monkey Ball On iPhone Sells 300k

Zach Lott — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 22:32:02 -0500

It has been just a month since the launch of the iPhone's new App Store gave people yet another new version of Super Monkey Ball, but sales for the game are already flowing in, as it has sold 300k units, according to the Wall Street Journal.

This is big news for proponents of game development on the iPhone, who have argued that the system is capable of competing with the DS and PSP for market share of the handheld gaming industry.

"That's a substantial business. It gives iPhone a justifiable claim to being a viable gaming platform," said Simon Jeffery, president of Sega of America. Sega grossed nearly three million dollars from the game by selling it for $9.99.

Keep your eyes open for news on the performance of other iPhone games, as their success (or failure) will have an interesting impact on whether or not the iPhone will truly emerge as a third viable handheld.

GB Review: Crash Bandicoot Nitro Kart 3D (iPhone)

Aaron Dunlap — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 18:03:10 -0500

Crash Bandicoot Nitro Kart 3D is one of the handful of major studio games now available for the iPhone (or iPod Touch) through the newly released App Store. It's a decent time waster, sure, which is what you'd expect from a cell phone game, but given the power of the iPhone and the hefty $9.99 price tag, this game is a waste of time and opportunity. I would wait a bit longer for more impressive, and better controlling games to come around.

Click here for an explanation of our review and scoring format.

A pocket review for a pocket game:

Nitro Kart 3D is a rather quick port of "Crash Bandicoot Nitro Kart" for the Xbox, PS2, GameCube, and N-Gage. Like the other kart game on the iPhone (Cro-Mag Rally), controlls are stripped down to the bare essentials. Acceleration is automatic, or rather, perpetual, and all the player must do is steer by tilting the phone side to side.

The control can be frustrating and take quite a while to get used to. Not being in control of acceleration feels a bit strange as well, like being the passenger in a car and leaning over to take over the wheel. I don't think developers have gotten a handle on the iPhone's accelerometer yet, and so using it will feel a bit flimsy until the programmers have it hammered down.

Controlling the karts always felt sloppy to me, but it can be managed by adjusting the sensitivity. Game modes available include standard "Cup" mode, a pretty simple Story mode, and Time Trials. There is no multiplayer.

This is one of the very first 3D games for the iPhone, so it's hard to gauge the graphics, but from what I've seen of other games they're already a tad sub-par. Textures in the distance appear to manifest before your eyes, and there is a very annoying attempt at a lens flare effect that has watered down to nothing but an indistinct series of blobs that do nothing but block your view.

Again, for the money, you should expect more. This may be one of the best 3D iPhone games, but that's not saying much. Treat this game like a launch title and keep your distance until the real games show up.

E3 2008: SCRABBLE For iPhone Screenshots

Tim Grube — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 12:47:27 -0500

SCRABBLE screenshots for mobile platforms including iPhone.

Launch Gallery: SCRABBLE

(32 images)

iPhone Monkey Ball Earns $63k in One Day

Aaron Dunlap — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 19:38:44 -0500

The iPhone 2.0 software update isn't even "officially" out yet, but Super Monkey Ball, the most anticipated iPhone game has already sold over 9,000 units.

The App Store was only available this morning via workarounds (it's now available through iTunes directly), so there's been a less-than-24-hour window where apps can even be purchased.

The Monkey Ball game is currently the #1 download at 9029 downloads as of this writing.

According to Apple, when you sell an application in the App Store, you get to keep 70% of the price. Assuming SEGA gets the same deal, that means for every $9.99 unit purchased, they get $6.99. Multiply that by 9,029 and you get $63,112.71.

Not bad for single-day sales for a downloadable title when the software that supports it isn't even officially available. Imagine how the game will sell after tomorrow when everybody and their brother gets an iPhone 3G with the App Store already installed.

iPhone 3G Release Tomorrow At 8AM

Tim Grube — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 07:56:34 -0500

Its almost time. In one day, Apple will release the iPhone 3G (July 11) for a suggested retail price of $199 (US) for the 8GB model and $299 (US) for the 16GB model in both Apple and AT&T's retail stores and requires a new two-year contract with AT&T for qualifying customers.

The App Store will be available beginning today via iTunes 7.7 and part of the free iPhone 2.0 software update for all iPhone customers on July 11. iPhone 2.0 is also available for iPod touch users for $9.95. Apple also announced today that more than 500 native applications will be available on the iPhone's App Store when Apple's iPhone 3G goes on sale tomorrow.

"iPhone enables The Associated Press to deliver news in a way that simply wasn't possible before," said Benjamin Mosse, director of Mobile Products, The Associated Press. "Taking advantage of iPhone's revolutionary location-based services, our Mobile News network can capture and store local news stories that can be read by users even when they're offline and our award winning photography and AP video are displayed in stunning clarity on its high resolution screen."

Yes, we know this is a gaming blog but many of our fans use or are interested in the iPhone. Heck, we even may be covering user-created games for the device in the future!