Star Wars : Force Unleashed for iPhone

On September 9th, Apple introduced more than just updated iPods. It also started positioning the iPod touch and the iPhone as a credible portable gaming platform. After dominating the mobile music player scene, Apple is moving into the territory of established players like Nintendo and Sony.

How does Apple measure up? The Nintendo DS retails around US$130, and the entry level PSP sets you back at $170. Apple’s lowest priced offering would be the 8GB iPhone 3G ($200 with contract) and the 8GB iPod touch ($230).

The iPhone Blog has a couple of posts comparing the iPhone to the Nintendo DS and Sony Playstation Portable (PSP). In both cases, the iPhone compares favourably with the dedicated gaming devices.

Hardware-wise, Apple’s offering are just ok in terms of power. The iPod touch is slimmer and sexier than anything else available, but it’s not a device which is designed for games. There are really two innovations that Apple brought to the table : incorporating an accelerometer, and smart pricing of applications and games.

The accelerometer has given rise to many different type of innovative controls. From straight up racing like Crash Bandicoot and Cro Mag Rally, tilt-fests like Labrynth and Super Monkey Ball, shaking in Motion Poker X, gestures in Star Wars : Force Unleashed, flying in the X-Plane flight simulator, swimming in Spore Origins and a simple tapping to music in Tap Tap Revenge, developers are really embracing this new style of gaming.

The previous paragraph mentions just 9 games from a very active developer community, for a platform which did not even exist two years ago. We have well known games brands like Electronic Arts, Sega and Gameloft as well as one-man shows like MooCowMusic (who does the terrific Band).

The other smart thing that works for the App Store is the pricing. Whether this was planned / dictated by Apple or simply the natural growth of the market, we have seen premium games max out at US$10, compared to twice or more for other platforms. We have also seen prices dropping to even more reasonable levels in just a few months (e.g. Cro Mag Rally, which was introduced at $10, is now just $2).

Apple makes it so easy to browse and evaluate (through peer reviews, not trials) games through its App Store, now standard on all iPhone and iPod touch devices.

In a relatively short time, Apple has managed to grow a customer base (to probably more than the targeted 10 million this year), a developer community with thousands of applications and millions of downloads.

Nintendo and Sony may still be safe now, but how long will that security last?

Filed under: Games • Mobile Content

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