The iPhone

The iPhone is an internet-enabled multimedia phone made by Apple Inc. The iPhone has a multi-touch screen, camera, built-in iPod, and a bunch of other nifty stuff.  But we're here for the games. Thanks to the App Store, now it is easy to get games onto your iPhone with the new firmware iPhone 2.0. Major players such as Gameloft, THQ, Namco Bandai and others have committed to the iPhone. And games, like Super Monkey Ball, have been released for the iPhone.

Specifications

The iPhone is a very capable platform in terms of processing power. It has a 620MHz ARM 1176 (albeit underclocked to 400 MHz) processor, 128 MB DRAM as well as a PowerVR MBX graphics processing unit. This allows it to run 3D- and sprite-based games which put most phones' graphical capabilities to shame. Graphics are run through OpenGL, however it is the less-powerful Embedded System version. The iPhone is an attractive platform for independent developers due to the App Store. Members of the Apple Developer Program (membership costs $99) can distribute applications on the App Store and charge whatever they want. It is free to distribute free applications and developers receive 70% of profits from commercial applications.

There are some issues for running games on the iPhone, the main one being a lack of input. The iPhone is controlled via a combination of a touch screen which can recognise multiple points of contact as well as an accelerometer which can sense movement of the device. These methods of input work well for many genres, including racing, puzzle and adventure games. However the lack of button-based input inhibits more traditional action-based games, platformers, etc.  Unlike the Nintendo DS, the iPhone's screen is not sensitive to physical pressure, but only disturbances through bioelectric contact such as skin.  Using a plastic stylus or inorganic object will not register input.

The iPod Touch

The iPod Touch looks a lot like the iPhone, but there are a few key differences between the two.  The most noteable of these differences is the fact that the iPod Touch does not have a phone built into it, and therefore can only get on the internet through the use of Wifi.  It also does not have a built-in camera or microphone, but the second generation (2008) of the hardware does include an internal speaker.  It runs a very similar version of the iPhone's system software, allowing users to play the same games from the App Store as on the iPhone.  The iPod Touch can be used as a non-subscription based iPhone, simply for playing games...and coincidentally, as a music player. 

iPhone - Recent Games

		Name	Platforms	Developer
		Tiki Towers released on Dec. 22, 2008	IPHN, WSHP	Real Networks, Inc.
		Puzzle Quest Chapter 1: Battle of Gruulkar released on Dec. 18, 2008	IPHN	TransGaming Technologies
		Dropship released on Dec. 9, 2008	IPHN	ngmoco
		Rolando released on Dec. 8, 2008	IPHN	ngmoco
		i Love Katamari released on Dec. 7, 2008	IPHN	NAMCO BANDAI Games Inc.
		Alan Probe: Amateur Surgeon released on Dec. 4, 2008	IPHN
		Warfare Incorporated released on Dec. 3, 2008	IPHN
		Dr. Awesome, MicroSurgeon M.D. released on Dec. 1, 2008	IPHN	ngmoco
		Topple released on Nov. 26, 2008	IPHN	ngmoco
		Aurora Feint II: The Arena released on Nov. 21, 2008	IPHN
		Need for Speed: Undercover released on Nov. 18, 2008	IPHN, PSP, PC, PS2, PS3, DS, WII, X360	EA Black Box
		Flick Fishing released on Nov. 6, 2008	IPHN	Freeverse, Inc.
		Parallel Kingdom released on Nov. 4, 2008	IPHN	PerBlue
		Tap Tap Revenge: NIN Edition released on Oct. 31, 2008	IPHN	Tapulous
		Trace released on Oct. 21, 2008	IPHN
		Jelly Car released on Oct. 20, 2008	IPHN, XBLM, X360
		Tangram Puzzle Pro released on Oct. 18, 2008	IPHN
		MazeFinger released on Oct. 17, 2008	IPHN	ngmoco
		Fieldrunners released on Oct. 5, 2008	IPHN
		de Blob released on Sept. 22, 2008	IPHN, PC, DS, WII	Helixe, Blue Tongue Entertainment Pty, Ltd.

iPhone - Upcoming Games

		Name	Platform	Developer