Puzzle Quest Needs YOU (If You Live In LA)

D3Publishing is looking for a few good gamers. They're looking for folks who live in Los Angeles and own Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords on any platform to help them focus test the next game in the PQ franchise, which I believe is Puzzle Quest: Galatrix... or maybe it's Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords - Revenge of the Plague Lord. Hey maybe it's some super secret iPhone Puzzle Quest, I'm not really sure.

If you're interested hit up the jump to read the details and email Lisa over at Mind of the Gamer.

Trism iPhoning It In This June (And Cheap!)

Trism, the clever iPhone puzzler from Demiforce, will be arriving in June for the very reasonable asking price of five American dollars, according to an update from the game's developer. The Bejeweled-esque title uses the iPhone's accelerometer for a hardware appropriate block matching twist on the genre, something Apple fans can try for themselves when the demo ships this summer. Demiforce writes that the final product will support online achievement rankings and teases the odd hidden feature. Still filed under "Do Want."

Other Ocean Working on Iphone Monkey Ball Demo

I was pretty wowed by the Apple presentation of Super Monkey Ball on the iPhone last month. The use of the tilt controls for this game in particular seem really intuitive. So any news about it, and games like iPhone Spore, make me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.

Today Other Ocean announced that they are working with Sega to develop a demo version of the iPhone game.

"We were tremendously honored to be asked to work on the demo version of Super Monkey Ball and also to participate in the actual unveiling," said Ayre.

"Apple's SDK is extremely developer-friendly and the iPhone, with its accelerometer, is the perfect platform for Super Monkey Ball," explained Gordon Wood, Other Ocean's Technical Director and Senior Programmer. "The iPhone is going to be a major player in the handheld gaming market, and we're excited to be among the first to develop games for the device."

"We knew Super Monkey Ball could be a perfect game for the iPhone, and all we needed was the right team to partner with to make it happen," said David Cobb, Sega's Vice President of Product Development. "Other Ocean was the obvious choice to build the demo version, with their experience giving us a clear advantage."

I don't know if the iPhone is going to be a major gaming device, but it sure as heck seems to be a better platform for gaming than a regular phone. Now when is that demo coming out?

Quake 3 on iTouch with Tilt Controls

Yeah, yeah, yeah, I'm getting pretty sick of seeing Doom/Quake games show up on everything from calculators to refrigerators too, but this port is a little special. It seems to support both multiplayer gaming and tilt controls. If it's not being faked, it looks like you move around by tilting your i Pod touch in different directions. Now that's pretty friggin' sweet.

[Thanks Anthony]

Velociraptor Safari On iPhone?

Handheld Wars: DS vs PSP vs iPhone

Analyst: iPhone Not A Viable Gaming Platform

Playing Super Monkey Ball and Spore on the iPhone sure sounds like a nifty diversion, but is a $400 mobile device really going to be a success as a gaming platform? Not if Wedbush Morgan analyst Michael Pachter's perspective on new ventures from Sega, EA and THQ is spot on. He tells Next-Gen "To the extent that hip, rich people are an interesting gaming audience, iPhone games will work" adding that the demographic will probably "only interested in the most rudimentary games, and that the market will be small."

Maybe he's right. I'm still in the honeymoon phase with my iPhone, but my hype level for using the accelerometer to game is on par with the prospect of further SIXAXIS gaming. That's hovering around zilch, currently.

Pachter: iPhone Gaming Not Commercially Sound [Next-Gen]

Yesterday I whined a bit about the lack of original announced titles coming to the iPhone. Specifically, very specifically, I called out Infinite Interactive, asking why they haven't jumped onto the iPhone bandwagon yet.

We all know the world can't get enough Puzzle Quest... well, at least I can't get enough of it. And the thought of being able to play the very touch-perfect puzzle RPG on my iPhone gives me goosebumps. So after my little hint didn't result in any immediate announcement of an iPhone Puzzle Quest or Galaxtrix, I took matters into my own hands and emailed Infinite Interactive to see what was up.

Janeen Fawkner, producer on the game was quick to respond:

Galaga, Pac-Man, Bejeweled and Others Coming To iPhone

Yes, yes, everyone is jumping on board the iPhone bandwagon, and since I own an iPhone that makes me very, very happy.

The latest recruits include Namco, PopCap and THQ with talk of Pac-Man, Galaga, Bejeweled, Zuma and Peggle coming to the device.

"We're very excited about Apple's new SDK and reaching every iPhone user through the new App Store," said Scott Rubin, vice president, Sales and Marketing, Namco Networks. "We can't wait to show off great new versions of arcade classics like PAC-MAN and Galaga that use the revolutionary features of the iPhone and iPod touch."

...

"Apple's become an important mobile game platform with the iPhone SDK," said Jason Kapalka, co-founder and Chief Creative Officer, PopCap. "The new SDK gives us the tools to innovate and reinvent games like Bejeweled, Zuma and Peggle. With the new App Store we can reach every iPhone and iPod touch user on the planet."

...

"The iPhone is the mobile platform game developers have been dreaming of," said Scott Zerby, vice president, THQ Wireless. "We're looking at how we can use the iPhone's innovative user interface to create new game experiences for our big brand entertainment partners that consumers love."

All I gotta say is that they better be making use of some of the iPhone's neat capabilities and not just porting it straight over from a cell phone build. That and why the hell haven't we heard about Puzzle Quest? Don't make me email you Infinite Interactive!

iPhone SDK Downloads Top 100,000 [Apple]

Fresh from Apple's SDK presentation last week, here's footage of Spore running, in real-time, on the iPhone. Appropriate use of accelerometer, restrained employment of touch-screen technology, nice graphics...yes, yes, this all appears to be in order.

id Has Plans For iPhone Gaming

In a comment filed to Slashdot, id co-founder John Carmack says that his company is looking at iPhone development. Sega's on board, as are EA and Gameloft, and it appears we may be seeing an accelerometer controlled Orcs & Elves if Carmack has his way. Although Carmack apparently didn't have nice things to say about iPod dev tools, pissing of Steve Jobs, he was up on iTunes distribution and its 70% royalty rate.

"The ability to distribute larger applications than the over-the-air limits and effectively market your title with more than a dozen character deck name, combined with the reasonable income split make this look like a very interesting market," he says. We're sure John can knock up a solid Doom 3 engine over the weekend if need be.

An App Store For iPhone [slashdot via GameSpot]

Gameloft Has iPhone Fever, 15 Titles Sprinting For 2008 Release

Mobile gaming? Ha! Oh wait. Our Apple zealotry and iPhone idolatry has made many of us reconsider what gaming on our cellphones means, especially in light of the demos for Spore and Super Monkey Ball shown yesterday. Those are things we might actually want. That passion will probably be more tempered for things like Bubble Bash (aka Puzzle Bobble aka Bust-A-Move aka Snood aka whatever) and the fourteen other Gameloft titles announced to be in development. We'll be eyeballs deep in multicolored gems, jewels and blocks, if the "leading developer and publisher of games for mobile phones" has any say in it by year's end.

Yes, this does mean you'll most likely be playing some Paris Hilton-branded game with your accelerometer at some point. Feel better?

Yesterday's news of a free SDK for the iPhone unleashed a slew of gaming news for Apple's popular phone. Both Electronic Arts and Sega are hard at work making games for the new platform. Now Freeverse, the folks behind (among other games) Marathon: Durandal for XBLA, have announced they've got some games in the works for the phone.

Flick Sports will use the iPhone's flick and pinch feature and include golf, bowling, soccer and baseball "to start."

Flick Sports: Moto Racing will make use of the iPhone's accelerometer to steer a motorcycle through races.

The fact that the iPhone can, apparently, support a game like Spore and has such a unique set of interfaces makes me think that it could become a pretty viable platform for gaming... from Apple. Yeah, I'm shocked too.

iPhone Games [Freeverse]

Apple Has Democratized Platform-Specific Game Design

EA Confirms iPhone Spore, Other Games Coming

After seeing the demo of EA's Spore running on the iPhone earlier today, we were scratching our heads as to whether or not we'd actually see the game in our hands (not just on the jumbotron as a tech demo). But according to word we just received from EA, we will one day play Spore—as well as a pile of other EA titles—on the iPhone.

Today we announced SPORE for iPhone and have other games in early stages of development.

We are using the new iPhone SDK to develop games for the iPhone OS.
We're really excited about what this means for people to be able to play EA games on their iPhone or iPod touch and are thrilled to extend our relationship as a developer of games for various Apple products (Mac, iPod nano, video iPod and now iPhone & iPod touch).

From EA's CEO John Riccitiello, "The animation technology in the iPhone OS enables us to build awesome games. I think iPhone consumers are going to be blown away by the games we create for this platform."

As Apple's software development kit (SDK) presentation continues, SEGA reveals what they've had up their sleeve—Super Monkey Ball. Boasting an excellent framerate, the developers claim:

This is not a cellphone game. This is a full console game. And we underestimated the power of the device. We had to fly in a developer to upscale the art for the iPhone.

Today, Apple shows off their software development kit (SDK) for the iPhone. This is a series of tools that Apple is releasing so third parties can make (authorized) programs for the system. And game makers showed up. In droves.

First up, Spore for the iPhone.

Could Trism Make iPhone Gaming... Fun?

Demiforce's Trism may be the first iPhone (and iPod Touch) game that we'll ever play. Willingly, that is, because its use of touchscreen and built-in accelerometer controls sound far more interesting than playing a quick and dirty port of Bejeweled or Solitaire. Simon Carless from GameSetWatch spoke with Steve D. of Demiforce to learn more about the game, which is planned for a commercial release as soon as that SDK is ready for primetime. In the meantime, however, anyone looking to play it would have to do so on a phone unlocked with Jailbreak. The video and interview are both worth some of your precious internet time.

Interview: The Next Big Puzzle Game Wave? iPhone + Accelerometer! [GameSetWatch]