Released this June, the iPhone 3GS added a magnetic compass, video capture capabilities, more built-in memory and a faster processor when it hit.

But it hasn't been until recently that games designed specifically to take advantage of the new guts have started hitting iTunes.

Gameloft's Asphalt 5 is one of those games. While the racing title will play on an iPod Touch or any model iPhone, it plays best on the 3GS when it hits later this year.

That's because when the game first runs the software detects which hardware it has been installed on and launches the appropriate software. The game pack includes different files to load depending on which handset runs it, a Gameloft told Kotaku.

It's a clever way to hide the fact that the iPhone is starting to nose its way into the sticky issue of having a potentially fragmented audience, something that could have serious implications for developers and gamers alike.

While that day isn't imminent, you can tell from the following statements provided by publishers to IndustryGamers that it's not in the distant future, either.

EA's Travis Boatman: "To take full advantage of the new capabilities of the 3GS, our development teams will create an additional version specifically for it, so that our products will be available and enjoyable no matter which iPhone or iPod touch a consumer has. This is a common practice in mobile development and the EA Mobile culture and infrastructure allows us to excel at it."

Sega's Paxton LaZar: "Sega will continue to deliver apps to all available hardware at the highest quality that the hardware will allow. Sega will continue to develop games for the 3G iPhones and for appropriate games we will also deliver versions with added and/or improved features/content to take full advantage of the extra power afforded by the new 3GS model."

"It's no different than having multiple versions of a game across console, handheld and the different varieties of smartphones."

Digital Chocolate's Trip Hawkins: "It's all good. When new models come out they offer higher performance and new features that we can grow into."

"And the other good news is that the older models usually come down in price and more people can afford them. So we have reason to support both. Also, often the same product, without changes, will just perform better on the new models because of faster data speeds or better memory management or a nicer sound system."

For more comments from mobile developers, check out IG's full report at the link below.

iPhone 3G vs. 3GS: Developers Speak Up [IndustryGamers]

The game has you pick a big open space, than uses GPS to create a satellite map of your location. The game then spreads virtual letters across the map that you have to run to to gather up and add to your virtual tray of letters.

The letters are then used to spell out words for points.

The game recently won an award for Best Use of Technology in the 2009 Come Out & Play Festival in New York. To celebrate, the developers have dropped the price of the App down to 99 cents from July 2 to July 6.

"We are honored that the Come Out & Play Festival recognized Seek ‘n Spell for its innovative use of the iPhone and GPS technology," said Dan Walton, co-founder of The Retronyms. "We felt that Independence Day weekend would be a perfect time to celebrate with our fans by offering a holiday discount. Seek ‘n Spell is a great game to play with family and friends during picnics, barbecues, or any other outdoor festivity."

While the 3GS' loadtimes are substantially faster, that alone doesn't really warrant the upgrade, I think. Only time will tell if newer games, developed to take advantage of the new hardware and software upgrades, will make the purchase or upgrade to an iPhone 3GS worthwhile.

Gameloft CEO Michel Guillemot says that the two are the most significant changes to hit the still emerging gaming platform to date, but points out that Apple still has a ways to go before working out all of the kinks in iTunes gaming.

"I think these are very significant," he said. "Firmware 3.0 is really important because it opens the iPhone apps to the Internet world. It gives a lot of choice to users, the possibility to purchase levels, to contact your friends, to be open to the Internet."

For Gameloft the new firmware, due out today, means creating games that are more open, more customizable to users.

"You can purchase the levels you like, you can race in the cities you like, all of that is something that will make a sort of revolution," he said. "It is amazing what Apple is doing with 3GS, you are really reaching a kind of console power now. With this new model you will be able to create games that are perfect console games, give an experience to users that are second to none."

"For the first time gamers can choose to play on a dedicated console or choose to play on an iPhone, but have no compromise in the experience."

While Gameloft doesn't yet have plans to make games specifically for the 3GS iPhone, due out on June 19, Guillemot says that one day they likely will. Until then, Gameloft games will be scalable.

"I think the games will take advantage automatically of the new iPhone, to a certain extent. For the specific features in an iPhone 3Gs we will have to wait a bit. It's a little early to give you exactly which games will have what. "

While the new firmware brings with it plenty of new game-centric features and the iPhone 3GS is more capable of handling games, there are still plenty of kinks to work out in the App Store.

Prices range from free to $10 and developers regularly complain that their titles get lost in the constant stream of games adding daily to the more than 50,000 apps in the store.

Some have pointed to Gameloft as a culprit in the pricing problems on the system. Several of their games hit the store for $10, much higher than the typical iPhone price. Guillemot defended their pricing model, saying that games on the device should sell for $5 to $10.

"We feel at that price there is still a lot of value for consumers," he said. "It is the right price point in terms of value for money."

But pricing and visibility are a constant source of concern even for big developers like Gameloft.

"There are two trends right now in the App Store," he said. "One is to say we should remain in what is the logical price for a game of that quality on a device of that quality. But there is an attraction in saying that you can reach millions of people, so price isn't important.

"I think the App Store is something that has never been done before. It's a new experiment for everyone including Apple and developers. I think everyone is adapting in real time to what this eco system is."

"Gameloft is looking at all of this as well and adapting also when we can."

Pricing, though, will become less of a concern with the iPhone's latest firmware, Guillemot thinks. That's because more games will likely rely on the ability to sell content within their title to make money.

"It will open a completely new way of monetizing games," he said.

While visibility is a struggle for everyone in the increasingly crowded App Store, Guillemot has faith in Apple solving the problem and doing so without needing to create a stand alone store for games.

"I think everyone is surprised by the level of success of the App Store, getting from zero to 50,000 apps in one year is a challenge for everyone," he said. "It's a challenge for everyone to get visible when you have that many appsl, but I think Apple is working regularly to fine tune the store so the best games get the best visibility."

Guillemot doesn't want a gaming store because he thinks the open nature of the App Store is one of its greatest strengths.

"The logic of it is to be wide-open like the Internet, but to also be promoting people who make a premium experience for users," he said. "If they were to create a specific App Store for games we may lose the Internet effect of it, the openness of what the App Store has today.

"It's a delicate balance to handle," he said. "To keep the richness of apps and to still promote or put forward the apps that are really bringing a significant value or experience to users."

While Gameloft and other developers struggle with the issues inherent in a blossoming gaming platform, there is one thing that most will agree on. The iPhone and iPod Touch, with more than 40 million users, is a viable and very real platform for gaming.

"It is a real gaming device," he said. "It may have even grown the market, instead of cannibalizing it."

Gizmodo do a good job breaking this down, looking at the iPhone's new graphics chip - Samsung's PowerVR SGX GPU core - as a sign that one day, when the more powerful handset is also the most numerous handset, developers will naturally catering for the device that allows for faster, better-looking games.

Of course, this won't happen soon. There are already 40,000,000+ iPhone and iPod Touch devices out there, and it'll be a long, long time until the 3GS (and its successors) begin to outnumber them. To ignore that install base would be a little nutty. But one day - just like we see with PC hardware - they will.

In the meantime, though, we'll probably start to see more and more developers taking advantage of the 3GS' power by "sliding" their games, allowing those with a 3GS to enjoy better graphics, a faster framerate, etc.

Will Future iPhone Games Run on My iPhone 3G? [Gizmodo]

MTV Multiplayer, the website that used to be Totilo's playground, spoke to Ngmoco co-founder Neil Young on the subject of the new, more powerful, more expensive iPhone that Apple announced on Monday. He explained that the company that brought us Rolando and Star Defense plans to continue releasing games that play across the entire iPhone family, rather than branching off to 3GS specific titles.

That doesn't mean the company won't be taking advantage of the new device's increased abilities. The solution, which the company is implementing in the upcoming iPhone first-person shooter, LiveFire, tears a page out of the PC game development handbook.

"We're scaling the imagery based on the performance of the device, so if you've got a 3GS, the game's going to look better and run at a great frame rate. And if you're on an iPhone 3G, the game will look a little bit different, but the frame rate will be the same, 'cause obviously performance and speed are actually an important part of a cool first person shooter gameplay experience."

A perfect solution to delivering a similar game play experience across platforms with different technical specifications. They are sharp, those Ngmoco folks.

ngmoco: No Plans for iPhone 3GS-Exclusive Games [MTV Multiplayer]