Gamers in the house will be well aware that Mass Effect 3 is launching next month, and it will be adding a lot of new tricks to the established sci-fi game franchise. One of those tricks is going to be a third-person shooter for iPad and iPhone called Mass Effect: Infiltrator, and playing it will not only be a lot of fun in its own right, but will advance your progress in the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC game as well. As far as I’m concerned, this is the single best implementation of cross-platform gaming I’ve seen to date.

I’ve seen way too many game developers simply try to drag and drop the experience from consoles and PCs to mobile, but it’s obvious that Mass Effect’s developer, BioWare, understands that gaming on mobile is a different experience. Infiltrator looks like it will still be action-packed, but the fact is, gamers aren’t going to be spending hours on end playing it as they might on their proper gaming rigs. Datapad in particular looks like it will be a great way to stay involved in the game even if you can’t dedicate the laser focus needed for pitched combat. The closest any other developer has come to giving this high-quality interplay between gaming platforms is Call of Duty: Elite, and even that hinged on a subscription service to get the full functionality.

Mass Effect: Infiltrator involves rescuing prisoners from a human supremacist group on a hostile arctic planet, while collecting evidence to advance a war effort spanning lightyears. You’ll find a bunch of the same weapons and powers in Infiltrator as you would in any Mass Effect game, and likewise, you’ll be able to unlock items in the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, or PC versions of the game by playing on your iPhone or iPad.

Gameplay in Mass Effect 3 will be extended in multiple directions through a system they’re calling Galaxy at War. The game’s single-player story involves you fighting an intergalactic threat called the Reapers. By playing Mass Effect: Infiltrator on iOS (or co-operative multiplayer in the full game) you increase a score called Galactic Readiness, which will ultimately influence the final conclusion of the core campaign against the Reapers.  There will also be an iOS app called Datapad to keep tabs on your Galaxy at War progress, and allow you to deploy troops to particular regions of space, as well as get messages from in-game characters.

Combined with the cool Xbox Kinect controls Mass Effect 3 is going to offer, I’ll be having a really hard time saying “no” to this game when it comes out March 6. Be sure to check out some of the sweet trailers at BioWare’s site.

Source: BioWare, IntoMobile, Kotaku

EA is running a series of Daily Deals that includes discounts on many of their popular titles for iPhone and iPad. Many of these discounts are even offering the games for free! Now, we know how much our readers love a good deal, so we’ve gathered them all up for you – here they are!

• Flight Control for iPhone, Free – App Store link
• Dead Space for iPad, 50% off ($4.99) – App Store link
• Mirror’s Edge for iPad, Free – App Store link
• Scrabble for iPhone, $0.99 – App Store link
• TETRIS for iPhone, 30% off select in-game content – App Store link
• Flight Control HD, Free – App Store link
• Mirror’s Edge for iPhone, Free – App Store link
• Scrabble for iPad, 50% off ($4.99) – App Store link
• TETRIS for iPad, 60% off ($2.99) – App Store link

I’m going to be honest and say I’m a little confused about how EA is running these deals. They’ve implied that it’s one app per day, but all of these deals are available now! So go grab them all!

Source: EA Mobile

Firemint has finally released its latest game which is called Spy mouse. It was announced way back in February this year.

Play as Agent Squeak and navigate over 70 levels spread across six unique worlds with an advanced arsenal of gadgets, gizmos, and power-ups. Outwit fiendish hench-cats in his quest to liberate tasty treats without winding up one himself! This tiny package packs in a wealth of content including achievements, secret levels, and more updates to come.

• Sneak, scamper and snack your way through 70+ deviously challenging levels!
• 6 unique worlds, full of adventure, each with their own diabolical hench-cat to outwit.
• Run circles around your feline foes using all manner of zany gadgets, gizmos and power-ups!
• Cat trouble? Recruit the help of the exotic Kiska and get your mission back on track.
• Forever fun with achievements, secret levels and thrilling, action-packed updates!

[App Store link]

Have an app you’d love to see featured on TiPb? Email us at iosapps@tipb.com, tell us about your app (include an iTunes link), and we’ll take a look.

Lodsys, the troll previously suing independent iOS and Android developers for infringing on a fax-machine era patent they claim covers in-app transactions such as upgrades and upsells, has now modified the suit to go after Angry Birds developer Rovio, SIMS developer Electronic Arts, Atari, Final Fantasy maker Square Enix, and 2K sports developer Take-Two Interactive. That takes the number of developers involved in the suit from 7 to 11.

FOSSPatents points out that this might mean:

• Lodsys isn’t afraid to go after “deep pocket” developers.
• Is content targeting Android as well as iOS
• Isn’t intimidated in the least by Apple legal
• Due to their existing licenses, Apple and Google might be precluded from trying to invalidate Lodsys’ patents as a means of interceding.

Apple is still trying to intervene based on patent exhaustion, though that may or may not prove successful. Some developers, meanwhile, have removed their apps from the US App Store to avoid any potential suits.

For more, listen to our special edition iPhone Live 160: World War Patents.

[FOSS Patents]

Today marks the first day of July, which means Independence Day is only a few days away. To celebrate, many developers have put their apps on sale and we’ve rounded up some of our favorites to tell you about!

1. EA Games: All games up to 90% off. [EA - iTunes link]

2. Gameloft Games: Select titles on sale for $0.99 for a ‘limited time’.

   • NOVA 2 [iTunes link]
   • NOVA 2 HD [iTunes link]
   • Asphalt 6: Adrenaline [iTunes link]
   • Asphalt 6: Adrenaline HD [iTunes link]
   • Dungeon Hunter 2: [iTunes link]
   • Dungeon Hunger 2 HD: [iTunes link]

3. Private Info: On sale until July 4. $1.99 for iPhone [iTunes link]. $5.99 for iPad [iTunes link].

4. Photopod: Free on July 2-3 [iTunes link]

5. QuickMark – QR Code Reader: Sale on July 4 [iTunes link]

6. Create a Monster HD: $0.99 until July 8 [iTunes link]

7. Boom Boat: Free until July 5 [iTunes link]

8. DataMan Pro for iPad with 3G: $1.99 until July 4 [iTunes (link].

9. Trucks and Skulls NITRO: Free today [iTunes link]

10. Zen Bound: $0.99 until July 11 [iTunes link]

These are only some of the sales, so make sure you check the App Store for more and share with us what you find! If you pick any of these up, let us know what you think!

Electronic Arts is worried you may not have enough to keep you busy over the long weekend and they’re willing to put their iPhone and iPad apps where their concern is — with a big holiday sale.

If there’s any you recommend, and if you spot any other great weekend sales, let us know in the comments!

You can find EA full iTunes catalog via the link below. Full list of games on sale after the jump.

[iTunes link]

EA iPhone and iPod touch Games on Sale

• Battlefield: Bad Company™ 2 $0.99
• Dead Space™ $2.99
• FIFA 11 $0.99
• Fight Night Champion $0.99
• Heroes Lore™ $0.99
• LITTLEST PET SHOP $0.99
• Madden NFL 11 $0.99
• Mass Effect™ $0.99
• Mystery Mania $0.99
• NBA Jam $0.99
• Need for Speed™ Undercover $0.99
• Need for Speed™ Shift $0.99
• Need for Speed™ Hot Pursuit $0.99
• R-Type™ $0.99
• SCRABBLE $0.99
• Tetris® $0.99
• The Sims™ 3 $0.99
• The Sims™3 Ambitions $0.99
• The Sims™ 3 World Adventure $0.99
• Tiger Woods PGA TOUR® 12 $0.99
• Zombies & Me $0.99

EA iPad Games on Sale

• Coconut Dodge $0.99
• Dead Space™ $4.99
• FIFA 11 $4.99
• Madden NFL 11 $0.99
• MONOPOLY $4.99
• NBA JAM $4.99
• Need for Speed™ Hot Pursuit $4.99
• Reckless Racing $0.99
• RISK $2.99
• SCRABBLE $4.99
• SimCity™ $0.99
• Snood $0.99
• Tetris® $0.99
• THE GAME OF LIFE $0.99
• Tiger Woods PGA TOUR® 12 $2.99
• Ultimate Mortal Kombat™ 3 $0.99
• YAHTZEE $0.99

Electronic Arts released new games this week including Battlefield Bad Company 2 and Ultimate Mortal Combat 3 for iPhone and SimCity Deluxe for iPad, and to celebrate the holiday season, they’ve put a ton of their iOS games one sale for $0.99. Yes, you heard that right, a TON of them (over 70 to be exact), even iPad!

Battlefield Bad Company 2:

Based on the bestselling console game from DICE, let the battle rage in the jungle, snow, and desert, in close-quarter combat, and in the air. Utilize intuitive controls as you destroy enemies with tanks and choppers in state-of the-art vehicular combat. Go all-out in full online multiplayer mode, and get a modern-warfare simulation for iPhone & iPod touch that’s second to none. [$0.99 on sale - iTunes link]

Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3:

The original arcade fighting game is available NOW! With 13 klassic warriors including Scorpion, Sub-Zero, and Sonya Blade; multiple game modes; kustomizable kontrols; and updated visuals aimed to maximize the high-resolution Retina Display…you can relive the brutal combos and vicious fatalities that made Mortal Kombat one of the most iconic videogames EVER! [$6.99 - iTunes link]

SimCity Deluxe for iPad:

Made for dedicated and casual players alike, let your inner urban planner run wild with the world’s favorite city building simulation. As Mayor and City Planner, take delight in the immersive visuals, the bigger display, and responsive touch controls – all designed just for the SimCity Deluxe experience on iPad! [$0.99 on sale - iTunes link]

So if there were some EA titles on your wish list that you were really hoping to pick up soon, now is the perfect time. Games such as Madden and Mirror’s Edge for iPad are normally over $10 each on iPad, so these sale prices are ridiculously good. Even two new releases are on sale for $0.99 as well. Can’t beat that! (Mortal Kombat will still set you back $6.99 though. Fatality!)

Video and screenshots after the break. Anyone planning on picking up some of these titles or gifting them to others? Let us know what you decide to purchase or gift in the comments!

Football season is fast approaching and why not prepare for the upcoming season by checking out the newly released Madden 2011 for not only the iPhone but on the iPad as well. The iPhone version will run you $7.99 while the iPad version is a bit steeper at $12.99. Yes, these two are pricier than we’d like to see but this is EA’s cream of the crop and has been for many years so it was to be expected. If you are not in a hurry to pick these up, simply wait a few weeks and it’s very possible you will soon see the prices come down.

The game itself contains some pretty great graphics for a portable device but also has some killer features carried over from the console versions as well.

• TDC (“Total Defensive Control”) makes playing defense pure fun. Press the TDC button to pause the action, position your defensive players, and feel the thrill of delivering game-changing hits like never before.

• GameFlow lets you to choose your play without having to go back into the playbook. Stay on the move with more streamlined gameplay.

• Match up all 32 NFL teams featuring updated rosters and nearly 2,000 real players.

• This season, get more gameplay depth with Hot Routes Everywhere. Now draw up Hot Routes for passing, running, and defense. Even save your best (or craziest!) routes as audibles.

EA also states that multiplayer will be coming in a soon to be released update for the iPad version.

[Via TUAW]

Don’t want to pay a lot for those EA (Electronic Arts) iPhone and iPad games? Well, you’re in luck – a ton of them are on sale today for just $0.99. Not every game, mind you, but a lot. Here’s the list:

• Command & Conquer: Red Alert
• FIFA 10
• FIFA World Cup
• Madden NFL 10
• Need for Speed Shift
• Need for Speed Undercover
• SimCity
• Dragon’s Lair
• Jewel Quest Mysteries: Curse of the Emerald Tear
• Trivial Pursuit
• NBA Live
• Tiger Woods PGA Tour
• Battleship
• Connect 4
• Surviving High School
• The Game of Life (Classic Edition)
• Clue
• Yahtzee

Here’s the link to go get ‘em. Tell us what you recommend, and what you get. (We’re trying to figure out what we want).

[EA on iTunes]

While catching up on my morning Tweets I noticed EA Mobile is offering up some great deals with up to 80% off on most of their iPhone and iPod touch game catalog. The games included are as follows:

• American Idol $0.99
• Battleship $1.99
• Boggle – $0.99
• Clue – $0.99
• Connect 4 – $1.99
• Dragon’s Lair – $2.99
• Madden NFL 10 – $4.99
• Mass Effect Galaxy – $0.99
• Monopoly (Classic) – $2.99
• Mystery Mania – $0.99
• NBA Live – $4.99
• Snood – $0.99
• Spore Creatures – $1.99
• Spore Origins – $0.99
• Scrabble – $2.99
• Star Trek – $0.99
• The Simpsons Arcade – $0.99
• Trivial Pursuit – $2.99
• The Game of Life – $1.99
• Wolfenstein RPG – $0.99
• Yahtzee Adventures – $1.99

Hopefully some of you can take advantage of this generous sale, it is only valid through April 5th.

EA Mobile’s Sims 3: World Adventure for iPhone brings an airport to your simulated town, first established in the original Sims 3 game, and you can now jump on a plane and visit France, Egypt, and China — and play mini-games like accelerometer air sickness avoidance — while you fly. (Yes, it’s fun!)

We don’t have all the details, but EA mentioned some way to capture image-based information from the original game and use that to load character info into the new game. If it’s as slick as it sounds, that’s a smart way to get around Apple’s no-sharing data sandbox for apps.

Either way, if you enjoyed the first iPhone Sims 3 game, EA is planning to give you more of what you loved — lots more, and they give TiPb a sneak peak look at it — after the jump!

[YouTube link]

Rock Band from EA is coming to the iPhone and iPod touch and Mashable has the details:

Just as is the case with the original, Rock Band for iPhone offers four different instruments that you can play: vocals, drums, bass, guitar. Each option offers a game experience that is unique to each instrument, so you’re playing the actual drum part when you select “drums,” and so on.

Should you sync up with friends and play over Bluetooth, be prepared to be blown away. The real-time gaming experience is incredible, as yours truly can attest to, and even goes so far as to highlight other players’ activities on your device as they happen.

Head on over to the link above for me info and screenshots. They think it’s “awesome”. What do you think?

The NFL’s regular season is fast approaching and what a better way to kick the season off then with some Madden 2010 on your iPhone (or iPod touch)?! EA has been promising us some Madden action on iPhone for a while and now they finally will deliver.

The game will contain real NFL rosters and, based upon the screen shots, will include Brett Favre and Michael Vick on both of their new respective teams. While EA is promising a release date of no later than opening day, September 10th, there is no official word on a price point. All of that aside, we think you can expect Madden 2010 to stiff arm it’s way into the App Store at $9.99.

[Via Cnet]

Screen shots after the break!

We’ll avoid the obvious question (why live in a SIM world when you can live in the real one), and the metaphysical (maybe you’re just a SIM in someone else’s iPhone already…?) because, frankly, no one cares! The Sims 3 is — finally! — out for the iPhone and iPod touch:

Play with your Sim using touch and accelerometer controls while exploring stunning 3D open-world environments. Customize your Sim with personality traits and physical characteristics, as you decide whether to fulfill their destiny…or not. Do good or mischief. Fall in love or watch them get dumped. Pick a fight or make a friend. Good or bad, enjoy the ride with The Sims as they experience everything “real” life has to offer. ANYTHING’S POSSIBLE!

If you try it out, and manage to remember the rest of us still exist, let us know how you like the Sims 3 for the iPhone, okay?

[Thanks Andrew for the tip!]

Hey iPhone users, not enough excuses yet to abandon real life and run down your battery? Never fear, EA is here! Seems the uber-developer is readying a release of Sims 3 for the iPhone (and iPod Touch). Says TUAW:

it’s set for an almost simultaneous release on PC, Mac, the iPhone and the iPod touch. The popularity of iPhone apps may have done what Mac gamers couldn’t do for years: convince developers that releasing their games simultaneously on Mac and PC was worth it.

PC version set to ship June 2. No release date for the iPhone version yet, but EA claims Summer 2009.

Anyone here eager to get their Sims on?

(In response to llofte)

[Confession: I've been a little slow in getting the usual twice-weekly Forum Reviews up, and cjvitek and msbaylor, as if sensing my slacktivity level, put their production into turbo mode. So what's an editor to do? Come up with an angle, of course! So, from now until we catch up -- or I mess up again -- we'll be presenting lots more Forum Reviews. How many more? Well, we're calling it our Holidaily Double, so howzat for a clue? - Rene]

SimCity Forum Review by msbaylor. (Visit the thread for video and more pics. For more Forum Reviews see the TiPb iPhone App Store Forum!

My main concern before getting this application was – would it be able to handle all the animations on the screen, or would it just be an expensive crashing app? After a brief setup and I selected the tutorial, I got a white screen. I thought this was a glitch (First thought – “NO, Not the white-screen-of-death!”), but after about 15 or 20 seconds, the main Sim-screen came up and walked me through the controls and what everything meant. That alone was very nice to have – major kudos for the help explanations.

Read on for the review, after the jump!

Issues:

The first thing it caught me was – how to add roads. I immediately had problems with this, laying it exactly where it wanted me to. I felt that an offset feature would be nice, so that I could see exactly where I was laying the road instead of covering it up with my finger. I later realized I could zoom in to be more accurate, however, this might prove difficult if you want to lay down a long line of road – pave > pan > pave > pan, etc. Also if you are off when you place something, you have the ability to move it around before confirming its location (a type of “post-offset.”)

Another issue I noticed was under the help menu (not the in game help,) that the buttons are very short and a bit hard to hit if you have fat fingers.

Animations:

Other than that, the game seemed to run just fine. I like how it adjusted some of the imagery to keep from eating up too much RAM without taking away from the game play. For instance – as you zoom out, animations will stop on the structures and just become static images. If you zoom in, all the way – in, you can see you Sims in transit (vehicular movement), however the images become fuzzy and less-sharp in detail as you zoom it. This was a bit of a let down, but I guess it has to happen to keep your handy-dandy iPhone from crashing… After all if viewing one or two structures on the screen, the structures animate, i.e., smoke stack on the oil factory puffs smoke.)

Controls:

The controls are fairly intuitive, incorporating the pinch/zoom, double-tap to zoom, and other features that you would normally use in the Maps.app are implemented into the application when viewing the map.

Tutorial/Help:

If you have question regarding anything on screen, just tap the question mark in the bottom left-hand corner, then tap the area/item that you have a question about and you will be given an explanation. This app has very helpful feature if you are new to this type of game.

Display:

There is a news ticker at the bottom of the screen that alerts you to things that are going on in your Sim’s world. If it is green text, then it usually means something good or something that needs to be fixed soon. This leads me to Advisors – depending on the “news stories” that show up, you have different “advisors” That will advise you on what to do in order to make your city better.

Conclusion:

This game exceeded my expectations in how the game handles and the depth of play, however, I was a bit dismayed on how hard it has to simply lay road down and how the images deteriorated when you zoomed in (I expected more from EA on image quality). If you’re a fan of SimCity or other God-view Sim games, then you should love this game.

Pros:

• Intuitive & Familiar controls
• Numerous features
• In-depth game play
• Great help menu
• Numerous map views to help you during the game.
• Several difficulties of play.

Cons:

• Some of the menu buttons are hard to tap on.
• Laying road or other narrow landscaping accurately can be difficult & frustrating.
• Images aren’t as detailed (noticeably when zoomed into the region).

Forum Review Rating

[SimCity is available from the iTunes App Store, though some may need to search for the "international" version. iSigh.]

Fans of EA’s ever popular SimCity series should be jumping with joy right about now. Later this month EA will be releasing SimCity for the iPhone on the App Store. Kotaku was able to demo the game recently and here is what they had to say:

The controls act the same way they do for Google maps. Sliding your fingers together, inward, zooms out, while sliding them apart zooms in. Touching and dragging moves your view around the map, while continuous taps cycles through the zoom levels. Placing singular objects is simple, but placing large zones or roads can be tricky to maneuver. Once you’ve selected the zone you want, you touch and drag to the appropriate length and width. However, there are times when you may find zones overlapping or roads not lining up properly. EA allows for easy corrections as you can reposition or delete unwanted blocks by the touch of a finger. I found this to be a little wonky at times the more dense an area becomes due to the increased chances of deleting the wrong block or building.

Being a unfinished demo it sounds pretty promising for fans of the series! The bugs and kinks mentioned should be fixed by the time it rolls in to the App Store, at least we are hopeful they are. Price point for this game is expected to be $9.99. We will update you when it drops!

[Via Gizmodo]

Not only did the iPhone serve RIM at the SDK event. But after Apple showcased the demos of Touch Fighter, Spore, and Super Monkey Ball on the iPhone, Nintendo and Sony better watch out as well. Game controls utilized the accelerometer and multi-touch while the graphics were displayed on that crystal clear screen–make no mistake–Apple is ready to revolutionize gaming.

With the early glimpses into the gaming capabilities of the iPhone, we’ve learned that:

1. The possibilities are endless
2. It looks really fun
3. Apple has a potential gaming jackpot in their hands

If we have learned anything from the current console “war” between the Xbox 360, Playstation 3, and the Nintendo Wii—consumers are more interested in buying the “fun” games as opposed to those that are graphically superior. At its bare minimum, gaming on the iPhone can be likened to a ridiculously advanced wii-mote. At its maximum potential? Quite possibly the best mobile gaming experience ever.

Earlier today Chad asked about what your favorite gaming experiences on the iPhone might be. But how will Apple deal with the business side of it? How can the iPhone conquer gaming? Find out after the jump.

Present State of Entertainment

As home entertainment becomes busier with multiple types of on-demand entertainment, there is little to no room on people’s TV stands. In a sense, to get a foot into the living room—there would have to be too much investment for such uncertain gain. Hence, the Apple TV has manifested into a ‘hobby’ unit because of the overcrowded entertainment stand. If we can compare this generation’s gaming battle to a war, the living room would be its trenches where little to no room is actually gained.

However, portable gaming as a whole is on an upward rise. Sales of the Nintendo DS and the Sony PSP almost always outpace those of their home console counterparts. With total sales of the DS approaching 70 million units worldwide and the PSP with around 25 million units. The global appetite for portable gaming is only beginning to be realized.

Still the portable market has yet to be conquered. People are carrying too many items around—phones, cameras, planners, gaming devices—only because there has yet to be a true all-in-one device. Before the SDK announcement, the iPhone could only realistically cover your phone, planner, and camera (to an extent). But now? If this is entertainment war, the iPhone should be likened to the A(pple)-Bomb.

Portable Gaming Today

Today’s market of portable gaming consists of two titans. The behemoth of fun, the Nintendo DS and the sleek, cool Sony PSP. Comparatively speaking, they come from two different backgrounds. The PSP has a beautiful screen that the DS lacks but makes up for in a touchscreen. The PSP CPU is light-years faster than the DS, but the DS answers back with better games and an easier to learn experience. With these two portable gaming consoles dominating the market, it begs the question–is there room for one more?

Lets take a quick look at the processors and screen quality of all three devices and see where the iPhone stands in the pack.

Nintendo DS

Processor: two ARM CPUs @ 67MHz and 33MHz

Screen Resolution: (2) 256 x 192 pixels

Sony PSP

Processor: MIPS CPU @ 222 or 333MHz

Screen Resolution: 480 x 272 pixels

iPhone

Processor: ARM CPU @ 620MHz

Screen Resolution: 480 x 320 pixels

Using that as a rough barometer of gaming possibilities, we can see that the iPhone is perfectly capable of handling any game that the PSP runs sans ugly UMD and awkward analog stick. In fact, combining the more powerful CPU processor with OpenGL and Core Animation for developers, we truly have the capabilities for great looking games. But again, being more powerful than the next machine doesn’t guarantee victory. What does help however, is having a fun and unique experience.

So taking on the current king, the Nintendo DS, is crucial if Apple wants to walk away victorious. As Nintendo continues to raise the bar in fun gaming experiences, Apple is hot on their heels. Any game that involves touching, the iPhone can match and raise with its accelerometer. In fact, as Nintendo often suggests, touching is good, but as any iPhone users would say multi-touch is much better.

iPhone users really have the best of both worlds in their hands. Not only do they have a machine more powerful than the PSP but they also combine it with a gaming experience on par with the Nintendo DS. The iPhone (and to the same extent, the iPod Touch) certainly has the technological prowess to take the portable gaming market by storm. Include the fact that with Apple’s goal to sell 10 million iPhones by the end of the year and the onset of a 3G iPhone along with more potential carriers across the world, Apple certainly will have enough iPhones in people’s hands to make a dent in the gaming industry.

Where Can The iPhone Fit In?

Looking past the enormous fun-factor in all the games demoed at the SDK roadmap event (and boy, were they fun), we should note something much more important: how quickly the games were developed and how eager the developers are. If developing games for the iPhone was tough, even the most powerful system would squander its potential without the best developers on board. Luckily, the people over at EA and SEGA continually stressed the ease of developing games for the iPhone throughout the entire event. In fact, Sega likened creating games for the iPhone to creating games for any console. The iPhone has THAT much potential.

Using iTunes to promote the games will serve as the perfect billboard for developers. Mobile gaming (and products, for that matter) has never seen an outlet such as iTunes. Gone are the days of searching for fun games on your mobile carrier’s store and scouring versiontracker for the latest build, iTunes is a media outlet that has become near universal. Having your product on the pages of iTunes is on par with being on the shelves at Wal-Mart and Best Buy.

The iPhone’s true soul is being a blank slate—that principle reflects in its design. By building a powerful device from the ground up (that just so happens to be a phone, among other things)—the iPhone has made developers re-think mobile gaming. No longer are they confined to uncomfortably small buttons or screens with horrible resolution—they truly have their blank slate to go wild on.

What Will Apple Do?

But the question remains, does Apple really want to pursue Nintendo and Sony in portable gaming or are they satisfied with being just better than mobile phone gaming? I think the answer lies somewhere closer to challenging the DS and the PSP. They have the technology behind their device, developers already on board, and a cool and fun factor that neither Sony nor Nintendo could match. But if games provide to be too tough to develop (I doubt it) or end up being terrible (Again, I doubt it), Apple can easily back off and claim it never planned for the iPhone to be the next big thing in gaming.

Either way, it is an entirely win-win situation for Apple—portable gaming just adds to the near-perfect resume of the iPhone. Remember folks, the iPhone is already a great phone, the best mobile internet portal, and the best iPod—in one device. Asking it to be the best gaming device, might be a little too much, but that’s how high Apple has set the bar. And I think they just might reach it.

Wait…You mean it’s a phone, an internet portal, an iPod AND a gaming device? Apple is certainly following through with this one-gadget-to-rule-them-all motif. In fact, the game demos pretty much stole the show at the iPhone SDK Roadmap event.

Using the three-axis iPhone accelerometer, multi-touch, and pretty much everything else that the iPhone is capable of doing—portable gaming is officially on notice.

Touch Fighter, an in-house Apple creation, which is akin to Wing Commander, uses the iPhone’s intuitive movements for its controls. Tilt the screen to move the plane, tap the screen to fire the missiles. Who’s going to miss the stylus or speakerphone analog stick, after they get their hands on that?

However, the biggest revelation for iPhone gaming is the developers already on board. EA and Sega both demoed early productions of Spore and Super Monkey Ball. Spore for the iPhone is the full-fledged version complete with all 18 levels. Movement for both games is controlled again by tilting the iPhone.

We’re only beginning to scratch the surface for gaming on the iPhone—these games only show 2 weeks of development. If more developers jump on board, there is no telling how far and how fun gaming on the iPhone will be.