Posts Tagged ‘Apple’
Mass Effect iPhone Game Gives Exclusive Content
The iPhone might not be taking off as the next big thing in portable gaming, but some companies have figured out how to use the App Store as an effective marketing tool. A short time ago EA announced that iPhone and iPod Touch owners could get a little hint of what was to come in the Mass Effect sequel by downloading a prequel game called Mass Effect Galaxies.
Now we find out via AppGamer that if you play through the game it gives you an option at the end to log in with your EA account. If you do, you get this message: “Your reward for completing the game is already waiting for you in Mass Effect 2“. I’m sure EA is hoping the story will spread and prompt some people to buy the iDevice game, but I somehow dbout that it’s anything terribly exciting, possibly a new skin or some minor perk or stat boost.
Apple Says New iPhone Superior To PSP
Despite every cellphone company these days creating their own touch screen smartphone with more bells and whistles than Santa’s reindeer and a RAD class put together, the iPhone remains one of the most popular and easily recognized of the bunch. Ever since the successful launch of the App Store Apple has been hailing their own device as the eventual future of handheld gaming.
With their recent unveiling of the iPhone 3GS smack talk is being spread around with a broad brush. This time it’s not anyone from Apple; the culprit is mobile developer Fishlabs. The company’s boss, Michael Schade has claimed that the OpenGL support for the handheld will push its graphic capabilities far beyond that of Sony’s system, though he does point out that initial costs for developing Apps for the device will be expensive.
Unfortunately the issue most gamers have with the iPhone and iPod Touch has nothing to do with the graphical capabilities. The biggest complaint is the limited number of control schemes imposed by the touch screen. There’s only so much you can do with a tilt screen and cramming loads of buttons onto the touch screen leaves little room for graphics. It would theoretically be possible to create an attachment which would add more buttons, but would that really catch on? The people who want a gaming handheld likely already have one (or two) and the crowd who like the more simple games won’t need it. Will the new iPhone deliver a superior visual experience? Sure. Is it going to deliver a better gaming experience? Not at all.
Apple AppStore Games Not Selling As Claimed
Since the launch of the iPhone and iPod Touch Apple has pointed to the high volume of games and other applications being downloaded as a sign that the devices are the wave of the future. Many Apple spokesmen have come out and claimed that the iPhone is going to drive the DS and PSP off the market altogether.
There’s a wide range of pricing for applications on the digital distribution store; many apps are free while many others charge a mere few dollars. Some games charge more and there are some more functional apps that can cost as much as twenty to thirty dollars. The marketplace is incredibly hyped with stories of people making small fortunes on the sweat of their brow (or fingers) being talked about as if everyone’s doing it.
Unfortunately according to a successful appstore developer, it’s not exactly the gold mine everyone’s hoping for. Developer Rick Strom has several applications that are highly ranked, including one which is #34 on the social networking listing. He points out to the public that there was a general ‘race to the bottom’ as soon as the app store debuted. After all when you’re looking for a tower defense game or movie listing application, why pay five dollars when there’s one for less than a buck, or even better, completely free? Though Apple boasts incredible numbers of downloads, they haven’t said how many of those downloads are of free applications.
While there are some people making money from hard work and successful apps, Strom points out that it’s like winning the lottery: the potential is there for it to happen to anyone, but more likely you’re going to walk away disappointed.
New iPhone rumored to include graphics chip
This year’s Apple WWDC (World Wide Developer Conference) is days away, which means the usual Apple rumors are building up. Most of those rumors are about the iPhone, which is expected to bring another hardware update. Among the rumors, is that the new version of the popular phone (and its iPod counterpart, we suppose), will include a 3D graphics chip, which would make games a serious contender in the handheld market, and challenge the DS and the newly announced PSP Go. WWDC kicks off on Monday with a keynote from Apple.
EA working on 30 iPhone games
Just yesterday we heard the seemingly ridiculous rumor that Apple was prepping to buy mega-publisher Electronic Arts and now this — Word has recently gotten out that during an investor call EA announced that they were working on an extensive iPhone lineup of 30 games.
Now this may just be an attempt by EA to mend the $1 billion they lost last year or perhaps its a conspiracy between the two companies to keep their newfound alliance under wraps.
Okay I may be jumping the gun a bit but it could happen, right?
Read (Destructoid)
Silly rumor: Apple to buy EA
Put this in the pile of silly, perhaps straight out dumb, rumors: Apple might be looking to take over EA Games. Apparently, some financial analysts are talking between themselves, sending out bits of info that Apple might be taking over EA Games. This is done all the time on Wall Street, to bump the stock prices a bit, either up or down. Clearly, a rumor like this would shake a lot of things on Wall Street.
However, there’s absolutely no indication that Apple would (or could) ever buy EA.
Reznor Rants Against App Store Censorship
Recently the inevitable issue of censorship came up regarding the App Store, Apple’s online distribution platform for tools, games and various applications for the iPhone and iPod Touch. A baby shaking game was pulled after some public outcry, but Trent Reznor’s band Nine Inch Nails submitted an official band application which was rejected.
The application was designed to allow fans of the band to access the forums from their mobile devices, locate other fans via the GPS and upload their own NIN photos, but Apple said no because the app contained ‘objectionable content’ from the 1994 Downward Spiral album.
Mr. Reznor was upset of course, citing the hypocrisy inherent in the fact that a free application can be rejected while the album is available for purchase from the iTunes store, comparing Apple to Wal-mart who while refusing to sell music with profanity still sells films and video games with similar content and yet more objectionable content.
While Apple does have every right to police their own marketplace, it would be advisable for them to create some rating system or rubric of content that they’ll accept and reject, since a reactive approach to censorship is likely to be incredibly inconsistent.
Mass Effect iPhone Bound
A survey revealed the existence of a new marketing device for Mass Effect 2: an iPhone game. It’s a stand-alone title called Mass Effect: Jacob’s Story and it’s intended to set up both the plot line and customer lines for the sequel. It’s a top-down shooter with a cartoon based art style and should take about two hours of play time.
The protagonist Jacob Taylor is of course a “biotic powered super soldier” who stumbles across an evil plot to terrorize galactic civilization. Of course he’s probably not going to have much of a chance to stop this plot, because to do so would doom your character in Mass Effect 2 to be stuck on guard duty for the whole game. Jacob’s Story will cost a mere $2.99 and though no release date has been announced a good guess places it at anywhere from a month to a week before the release of Mass Effect 2, since it’s quite obviously set up as a marketing device. The survey however suggests that this title could just be the first, with others set in the Mass Effect universe and possibly even Dragon Age games for the iPhone as well.
More iPhone Game Protests
Apple is beginning to discover the downside of dipping your toes into the vast ocean of the video games industry: it’s full of protesters who’ll nibble at your toes in outrage. They’ve already dealt with one controversy over a baby shaking iPhone application and now another game is coming under fire.
Many video games put you in a position of godlike power, while others actually put you in the role of a deity. One such title is ‘Pocket God’ for the iPhone, one of the dozens of games which cost ninety-nine cents and offer a few minutes of entertainment. Players are put into the role of a god who has dominion over ‘primitive islanders’.
The Pacific Women’s Information Network has taken umbrage against the game, claiming that the developers modeled the primitive people the player can endlessly create and destroy after Pacific Islanders. Group spokesperson Elaine Howard asked: ‘how do you think people would react if you created a game where you were God and you could create and kill as many Mexicans as you wanted? Or Asians? People would be outraged.’
The developer of the app, Bolt Creative, denies that it intended to depict any ethnic group in the game, though it’s impossible to argue against the claims that the people in the game look Polynesian.
iPhone Baby Shaking Game Causes Controversy
Browsing through the Apple app store can be a bit tedious when looking for quality content. Many companies have jumped on the popularity of the portable device by releasing floods of cheap games that are simply knock-offs of flash games or other iPhone games. Generally they utilize either a touch screen interface, tilt controls or a combination of the two, but a few games have utilized a shaking option, one of which has stirred up a hornets nest of controversy.
The game has you shaking your iPhone (or iPod Touch) in order to quiet a crying baby, an act which if carried out in real life would result in death or severe injury. As you might expect as soon as people got wind of this a fair amount of stink was raised. Apple has since pulled the application from the store after the waves of criticism from various baby shaking prevention groups.
This has since raised other controversies, including a New York Times blogger who raises the question of how far Apple will take their censorship. Unfortunately while I agree that Apple should limit censorship to truly tastelessly offensive materials the fact remains that the app store is owned and run by Apple, giving them not only the ability but the right to censor or ban any content they wish. The big question that arises out of all of this is whether or not Apple would be so quick to pull something that was generating a much larger revenue stream.
Metal Gear Solid Touch completed, free update issued
It seems that the original release of Metal Gear Solid Touch for the iPod Touch and iPhone wasn’t complete, ending almost randomly leaving players in the dust.
Well, Konami has announced that the game has official been finished and an update has been sent to the App Store for all to download for free
Joystiq reports that the update adds 8 new stages along with new unlockable wallpapers and a bunch of bug fixes.
Casual Gaming CEO Says iPhone “Freaking Out” Sony and Nintendo
A few years ago the trash talking and constant speculation about whose gaming system was superior was limited to consoles. The Nintendo DS and PSP had for the most part kept to their own audiences, releasing games and brightening the commutes/lines of gamers everywhere. Recently a self proclaimed competitor has arrived and has ushered in a whole new wave of inflammatory statements.
If you hadn’t guessed I’m talking about the iPhone (and iPod Touch). Since Apple launched the device and its App store they’ve been saying that the handheld will eventually push both Sony and Nintendo out of the portable gaming market. Now another company is jumping in on Apple’s side. Digital Chocolate’s CEO Trip Hawkins has said that the iPhone is more than capable of challenging the DS and PSP and says that he thinks the unit is “freaking out” Sony and Nintendo since it has “ only penetrated one half of one percent of its total market.” However with some simple calculations given the 30 million iPhones sold he’s including the more than six billion people on the planet as possible iPhone buyers.
Unfortunately as with everyone proclaiming the iPhone as the doom of all other handhelds, he’s neglecting the fact that the lack of buttons limits the number of possible control schemes, thus limiting the possible range of games. The games offered on the Apple App store are just too simple to hold the attention of serious gamers for long. We thirst for strategy, complexity and storylines, not another block breaker game.
Live Poker for iPhone Now Available
If you loved playing poker with your Facebook account, Zynga just made the whole thing better especially if you have an iPhone. Zynga (www.zynga.com), one of the largest social gaming companies, announced today the availability of “Live Poker” with support for Facebook Connect on Apple’s App Store. “Live Poker” features Facebook Connect for iPhone which allows players to bring the social gaming experience available on Zynga’s top Facebook game Texas Hold’Em Poker with them on their iPhone or iPod touch.
With “Live Poker” and Facebook Connect, users can login with their Facebook account through a user-friendly interface designed specifically for the revolutionary iPhone and iPod touch. Users can play poker against their real Facebook friends when those friends are playing “Live Poker” on an iPhone, iPod touch or Texas Hold’Em Poker on Facebook. With the integration of Facebook Connect, users can also see how they rank among their Facebook friends who play “Live Poker” or Texas Hold’Em Poker on Facebook.
“Live Poker” is now available for free from Apple’s App Store on iPhone and iPod touch or at www.itunes.com/appstore. Additional “Live Poker” versions are available from $0.99 to $59.99.
(Source) Press
Seaman DS Coming, Apple Does Not Like iPhone Game
Going by a rough translation of Seaman creator Yoot Saito’s blog by Offworld, a DS version of the classic Dreamcast game is currently in development.
Originally released for the Dreamcast, Seaman was a virtual pet-style game centered around a fish with a human-like face. Players could interact with the character by using the console’s microphone support.
The blog also suggests that an iPhone version of the game has been finished for some time, but that the game could not be released due to Apple having “expressed displeasure” with the unique gameplay.
iControlPad Ready for Production
Have you discovered the gaming potential of the iPhone or the iPod touch? Both devices can be used for playing quite a few games on the go, but what they both lack is the actual physical inputs very much needed to turn any device into a gaming platform. The iControlPad is a case with buttons on it. You know, exactly the inputs we require to play games on the iPhone. The pictures shows the final prototype which was sent to production. There are no news about the actual price and the availability date, but by the time the control pad is finalized, Apple will offer full support for it. We’ll keep you posted!
via ubergizmo