Archive for June, 2009

Apple’s iPhone is a video player. A convenient way to download podcasts at the touch of a button. A media player subject to the owner’s “taste in music.” An ebook reader that lets you catch up on literature you’ve missed. And especially, much to the chagrin of many a hardcore player, a gaming device.

The iPhone is the most accessible platform to develop for and play on. Sure, it has its share of crap overflow but what traditional system doesn’t?

Even if Apple doesn’t want to recognize it as such, it has become a, potentially, capital thorn to the DS’ dominance in portable gaming. People are resistant to change and I can understand why gamers are rejecting the notion that Apple can be a contender in an already saturated market.

After all, it’s hard enough to keep up with three consoles and all the various portables, right?

Still, there’s so much about the iPhone that makes gaming on it so attractive that I don’t see where the arguments to cover them as part of a gamer’s diet come from. Countless of podcasts, including Listen UP, belittle and set aside any title for it as a marginal note.

Simon Jeffery, formerly President of Sega of America, doesn’t see them as such — evident in him jumping ship to ngmoco last week and, most importantly, developers don’t see them as such when they quit their 2K Australia jobs for the indie scene that the App Store encourages.

Th App Store creates a market where the gamer is in direct control over how applications are priced. There’s a reason why there’s awesome games for cheap and those companies that try to force feed at high costs need to try new strategies to sell their games. For example, Popcap found that their rehashing of Peggle needed to come down $4 (from $4.99) to make a splash on the charts.

The recent OS update’s focus is on making it more gamer friendly but, for the most part, iPhone is already there. There’s a “bone” controller to make it more LEGIT, but the gaming device has already transcended its music and video functionality without it.

Why do you think the iPhone is/is not worthy of the, apparently, coveted “game system” title?