Apple turning iPhone into full gaming platform
Published: 2 February, 2009
Apple is increasingly pushing the mobile gaming credentials of the iPhone, to the extent that it could start to pose a threat to specialized games devices like the Sony PlayStation Portable, and step up the pressure for a PSP phone to launch this year. Apple is now expected to launch a 'top shelf' within its App Store to give premium games from major publishers greater visibility, and there are hints of enhanced gaming capabilities for the next generation iPhone.
According to new figures from ComScore, mobile games downloads grew by 17% last year, driven by the better graphics functionality of smartphones, in particular the iPhone and RIM BlackBerry Curve. In the US, about 8.5m people, or 3.8% of mobile subscribers, downloaded a game during 2008, and the pattern would be more extreme in Europe - though dominated by a wider range of phones. iPhone owners accounted for 14% of US mobile game downloads, ComScore said - 32.4% of iPhone users have downloaded a game, way above the 2.8% average.
One reason is the tight integration of the handset with App Store, which makes downloading an easy process. And the plans to enable a 'top tier' of games in the store should drive greater software revenues, but also hint at a strategy to turn an iPhone 'release 3' into a powerful games engine (not that we are likely to see such a device until much later in the year, and some enhancements may come in firmware updates).
Meanwhile, a premium area in the store, which could later be expanded to other types of content such as video or business software, could get some of the big brands more heavily behind Apple - therefore boosting the competitiveness of the iPhone - and even encourage them to sign exclusives. According to various leaks, the gaming 'store within a store' would focus on programs that sell for about £10 to £15.
Games are the most popular product in the App Store, making up 25% of all titles, and the store currently offers over 1,500 games - more than the combined total Sony's PlayStation Portable and Nintendo DS.
Another motive for segregating the App Store into different areas might be to address complaints by developers that the top 100 lists in the marketplace, and other aspects of its layout, favor high volume programs that come at low or no cost, giving premium titles limited shelf space.
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