I like my phone, but I’ve never really thought about it as a gaming platform before now. I bought SuperMonkey Ball when it was released which is pretty good, and I’ve since bought a couple of the pool games, ...but the rest of the stuff I’ve downloaded has predominantly been free of lite versions of games. If I’m only going to play for a couple of minutes at a time then why would i buy full games? I wouldn't and don’t. There's so much to choose form already and the game sizes are so small that i can download several new games daily and spend the time that i do play games on my phone experiencing something new. That being said, it's definitely an interesting platform for developers, both professional and amateur alike. The guy that created iShoot [LINK] has been making $20K+ daily (after Apple has taken their cut) and looks to be a millionaire by the end of the year. The game itself isn’t actually anything to write home about and yet he's already make a ton of money and is in a position now where he doesn't have to work for a couple of years should he choose not to.
 
Many of the games that have been available so far have been extremely basic or rudimentary cash-ins, but some developers and publishers have started to take the platform more seriously and games like the newly released Sway [LINK] and Zen Bound [LINK] are generating a lot of attention, both in terms of what the platform is actually capable of and in terms of the device as an actual viable gaming platform. Apple appears to have succeeded where Nokia failed so miserably. Since all of the iPhone's calling plans include unlimited data allowance the fact that the games are 100% digital downloads isn't a hindrance for anybody. The small game sizes mean that over wi-fi you can download 80% of apps and games in seconds. Some games like the awesome GTA close Payback clock in at a couple of hundred meg but over wi-fi that obviously isn't an issue. Anything under 10 meg (which is 80% of all the stuff currently available can be downloaded over 3G or EDGE, so it's easy to just download new games pretty much anywhere you are. It's a great business model.
 
I think i have maybe 12 or so paid for games, but none of them cost more than £2.99. Most actually cost either 59p or £1.19, and so it's not like the cost of software is off-putting. A few days in the top 25 can easily net a developer in excess of $100,000 which is why i have a game in development myself. It's one of the ways forward for the industry as a whole, and while it's certainly not going to replace physical formats for home consoles any time soon, ...it's definitely creating waves throughout the mobile gaming industry. Nintendo might still have a stranglehold over the handheld gaming world, but i'm not sure Nintendo are forward thinking enough to change with the times. I can't see them offering a 100% digital download service for handheld games any time soon. I don't even think (and correct me if I’m wrong) that games available on the Virtual Console can be transferred and played on DS. DSiWare looks interesting, but they need to be doing more as far as I’m concerned or they'll be left behind.

Sony however, i can see embracing a 100% digital format. I'm hoping that the next PSP hardware revision is indeed UMD-free (as claimed by David Perry... and as hinted by SCEE's Ray Maguire in THIS interview) and that all games are made available digitally. They've already started offering PSP games through PSN, alongside PSone games. They'd have to offer UMD games in parallel for the people that already own PSP's with UMD drives but it would create a solid basis for their next handheld console. Same thing with PSN titles. Those that can be made to run on PSP should. We already know that Sony are interested in bringing non-Playstation era games to PSN [LINK] and so why not just make them transferable to and playable on PSP? The vast majority of people who use custom firmware, homebrew and jailbroken hardware start off by simply looking for ways to run emulated (Snes, MegaDrive etc) games.

I know Eddie has an iPod Touch, but what about the rest of you? I'm not really taking about DS and PSP games, but iPhone/iPod Touch games, the App Store and digital download services in general, be it XBLA, PSN or STEAM. In what ways do you think the increase in these types of provision will mould the future of the gaming industry?

Very good post.  I don't have an Iphone, to be honest I'm not much inclined to spend money on it when I get a free contract phone and I have PSP and DS.  I did have a shot of monkey ball on one and was well impressed though!  And that's my tuppence worth.

As far as digital only media goes for PSP, I like physical.  The few games I've bought for PS3 via download (Wipeout and Warhawk) are great, but Warhawk I would have traded in or sold on Ebay by now if I had the physical copy.

I'm selling my PSP games on Ebay just now anyway.  May not get much for them but even a fiver is a fiver back for something I don't play any more.

Assassin's Creed 2 may be well underway, but it's not the only AC game on the horizon, as it's been announced today that mobile port specialists Gameloft will be bringing the series to the iPhone. Apparently the gameplay will still feature free-running over city rooftops and across multiple cities, though we'd think these would be smaller in scale than the game's console counterparts. Still, nice to hear Gameloft are at least trying to capture some of the main game's feel, instead of just sticking Altair behind some sandbags and have him throw knives all day.
There's no word on a release date or price as of yet.
Oh, fun fact: Assassin's Creed is owned by Ubisoft. Ubisoft is run by Yves Guillemot. Gameloft is run by Michel Guillemot, Yve's brother.

http://kotaku.com/5169788/assassins-creed-discreetly-shivs-the-iphone-in-the-back

This is exactly what is happening right now, and what will continue to happen in the future. I am not saying that devs will go completely away from console or PC gaming, but it is smart for them to go where the money is. The App Store has made it even easier for the quite un-quite casual gamer to get their hands on some pretty good games, and some games that should be left where they belong and that is in the trash. Futhermore, the App Store is now spawning copy cats as RIM have announced that they will bring their own version of the App Store to their Blackberry customers.

Mobile phone games will never replace the PSP or the DS, but they are already pretty popular and will only get bigger in the future with titles like Metal Gear Solid Touch in the works. Identifiable games like that and Assansins Creed will in some ways make mobile phone gaming a little bit more legit per se.

I'm not one to care about owning a physical copy of a game, so digital distribution and the associated theoretical savings on price for both dev and consumer is definitely how I want things to go.  I have little sympathy for the retail store as well - they can still concentrate on selling hardware.

Although Steam has been around for a while now, I applaud Apple for making the first move into the mainstream handheld market, since it is a risk, but surely most of the main players now will have a reason to follow suit.  It was always about timing, but I really didn't expect Apple to be the first.  Having an unlimited data allowance contract certainly helps.

I dont have an iphone (or any other apple products for that matter) but I look forward to the day when both casual and core gaming becomes accessible wherever I am at the touch of a button.

Course before that happens the UK needs to catch up and implement a decent, widespread, fast and cheap WiFi/broadband network.  Too much to ask for?


Regarding casual games, of course we've seen they can be very profitable, much more so than core games - or they can be forgotten easily.  They're like fad toys.  Although I hardly play casual games, even on handhelds, I am playing a lot of a game called N+ at the moment.  Very addictive!

Steam has more potential than iTunes for handheld games, or at least they should.  The problem is that the market is fragmented.  Everyone wants to own the store.  But iPhone/pod Touch apps are very promising for developers.  I don't even think its too late to jump on the bandwagon if you have something compelling.


If Valve can convince phone manufacturers to use Steam as their official source for digital downloads it would be a huge success. 

choupolo


I'm not one to care about owning a physical copy of a game, so digital distribution and the associated theoretical savings on price for both dev and consumer is definitely how I want things to go.  I have little sympathy for the retail store as well - they can still concentrate on selling hardware.

Although Steam has been around for a while now, I applaud Apple for making the first move into the mainstream handheld market, since it is a risk, but surely most of the main players now will have a reason to follow suit.  It was always about timing, but I really didn't expect Apple to be the first.  Having an unlimited data allowance contract certainly helps.

I dont have an iphone (or any other apple products for that matter) but I look forward to the day when both casual and core gaming becomes accessible wherever I am at the touch of a button.

Course before that happens the UK needs to catch up and implement a decent, widespread, fast and cheap WiFi/broadband network.  Too much to ask for?


Regarding casual games, of course we've seen they can be very profitable, much more so than core games - or they can be forgotten easily.  They're like fad toys.  Although I hardly play casual games, even on handhelds, I am playing a lot of a game called N+ at the moment.  Very addictive!

yeah N+ is one of the best XBL games.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GjjPJq2QHAM&fmt=18