Square Enix has announced and subsequently released Song Summoner: The Unsung Heroes a music-themed role-playing game for the iPod. It's available right now via iTunes for the low, low price of $4.99 USD. As Ziggy, you'll battle the Mechanical Militia with your band of Tune Troopers, soldiers that you create with your iPod library, in an attempt to save the world or win your freedom or address some other pressing matter.

Song Summoner uses a "tactics-based battle system" and is controlled via the iPod's click wheel. Your Tune Troopers allies can also be "powered up" by listing to the tracks used to create them. Sound cool? If your answer is "YES!", then make your way to the gallery and press release, both after the break.

Super Monkey Ball is complete and will be available for iPhone at the launch of its App Store, Sega's Ethan Einhorn revealed today at Apple's Worldwide Developer Conference today. The game will cost $9.99.

The game was originally unveiled in March with four complete stages, but the finished game contains 110 stages across five worlds, featuring all four classic monkeys, said the spokesperson. The first world, Monkey Island, was unveiled at the game's debut in March, and the fifth world, Space Case, was unveiled today.

Users can accelerate, decelerate and turn using the iPhone's accelerometer and tilt control, and Einhorn demonstrated; our neighbors at Gizmodo snapped this pic.

"For Sega, the App Store represents an amazing opportunity, because we can now be in the same place where people are buying music and movies, and they can take that content with them wherever they go," said Einhorn.

"We can't wait to see what's possible with our other market characters."

[Image Credit: Gizmodo's Liveblog]

EA Announces Mobile Invasion

Five mobile games and two iPod games were released by EA's Casual Entertainment label today. The seven games include two mobile Sims games and a slew of board games.

"EA Mobile continues to create and distribute games that compel potential customers to download and play games on mobile devices," said Travis Boatman, Vice President of Worldwide Studios, EA Mobile. "The wide range of handsets, from everyday devices to sophisticated 3G phones, and the iPod, provide great platforms that foster and satisfy consumer demand for anytime entertainment."

Here's the full break-down:
The Sims 2 Castaway (mobile)
The Sims Pool (mobile)
Monopoly Here & Now (mobile)
Yahtzee Adventures (mobile)
Merv Griffin's Crosswords (mobile)
Scrabble (iPod)
Yahtzee (iPod)

Screw the iPod, where are my iPhone games? Hit the jump for the descriptions if you're all out-dated and boring and don't own an iPhone...loser.

We really love the idea of a star-crossed Sony/Apple lovechild that's left on our doorstep on a rainy evening—an elegant device that could play PS3/PSP titles while integrating with iTunes. Of course, Apple's heralded multitouch could make its way into the gadget as well (allowing us something to play with while breastfeeding).

But this mock-up? It's a miss. As much as we love the iPod's click wheel, a proper d-pad it is not. Oh, and where the hell are the analog sticks?

iPSP: If Apple had designed the Sony PSP [Spicu]

Finally, Pole Position Comes To iPod

Remember iPod gaming? Yes, it continues to be quite the punchline, but publishers are still giving it a go, with Namco releasing Pole Position Remix via the iTunes store today. The driving game controlled with the (get this) iPod wheel is receiving nothing short of piss poor to five-star rave reviews from those who have purchased the arcade remake and taken the time to comment on iTunes. Klee3 says Pole Position Remix is "[the] worst of all the iPod Games that are available now" but razor pod writes "this game is hot so fun and not very hard to control (for Me) so this game is really fun." Looks like someone's having so much fun they can't be bothered to punctuate! Very telling.

It's priced at $4.99 US, which should make many of us thankful for more reasonable prices on fully-featured games via Xbox Live and PSN. Sorry folks who don't have an iPod nano with video, iPod classic or fifth generation iPod, you're out of luck.

No, I'm not talking about Tom Cruise. I mean THE Queen as in "The Queen of England." According to UK online gossip rag The People, Prince William was given a Wii for Christmas by his girlfriend, Kate Middleton. Once it was all set up and playable, the Queen decided she wanted to have a go at bowling and apparently quite enjoyed it. If The People is to be believed (and really, the way the article is written gives them the credibility level of The National Inquirer) the Queen is quite a gadgeteer owning a cell phone, Blackberry and even an iPod that holds 100,000 songs. Now, the real question here isn't whether or not the story is 100% true (which, if you ask me, is up for debate) but more interestingly, what exactly does the Queen have on her iPod?

MAKE WAY FOR THE Q Wii N [The People]
[via Videogamer.com]

It's the day after Christmas and, for many, a time to check out new gaming rigs.I suspect this may have been the year for many of those reluctant gamers to make the switch from old gen to current gen hardware, or for parents to take the plunge into the world of console gaming for the first time.

I know at least one of my neighbors were suspecting a Wii for Christmas and another a 360. I introduced my dad to the Wii last night and after spending a bit of time playing Carnival, Jenga, and Excite Truck I showed him how you could check news, browse the internet and get weather updates. Now he's talking about getting a Wii, or a next-gen console, when he retires in a few months.

I, of course, didn't get any new gaming hardware, because I've already got all of the systems, but my son received one of the newer iPods with a copy of Sonic installed on it. So even he get a chance to check out a new gaming platform. What about you, are you new to a gaming system today or did anyone in your family receive a new console this holiday?

Popcap Pops Peggle to iPod

Sonic Races To Your iPod

"Sonic The Hedgehog is one of the most beloved video game characters of all time," said Simon Jeffery, President and COO of SEGA of America, "And with the installed base that iPod enjoys Sonic now becomes available to a whole new group of casual and hardcore gamers just in the time for the holidays."

Does Phase Hint Where Rock Band is Going?

Harmonix is a company all about the music. Don't believe me? Well consider this: When you walk into the men's room at the Cambridge, MA headquarters there's a ghetto blaster on the floor so you can listen to tunes while you do your business.

We're all eagerly anticipating Rock Band, but yesterday morning Harmonix delivered one more thing: A surprise iPod music game called Phase. So I jumped on the phone with lead producer Kasson Crooker, who told me about whether Steve Jobs has played it, if we can expect an iPhone version, and, most interesting of all, whether the beat-detecting technology in Phase could soon be applied to a game like Rock Band.

Kasson: We have soundtracks, downloadable content, and this is the next step: re-experiencing your own music in a game. We wouldn't be able to separate out all the instruments and what not, but I think you'll see this kind of technology used in other Harmonix products down the road.

Harmonix's iPod Game Released

Harmonix's iPod game Phase: Your Music is the Game as just hit the iTunes iPod Games store. Like musika, the incorporates the player's music in a Guitar Hero style music title for your iPod. It's US $4.99. Pretty cheap for Harmonix music gaming on the go.

Thanks New Open!

New iPod Nano Brings on Cramped, Squinty Gaming

A two-inch color LCD display isn't very big, no matter how you slice it (though it's large enough for Nintendo to make a jeans pocket-sized game system around, its Game Boy Micro). The clarity of the 320-by-240 display is remarkable, and the brightness is also quite good. Still, I can't quite get past the size. It's too small to see a lot of detail in the games. I was already a bit put off by Ms. Pac-Man's tiny dimensions on the larger iPod's display; here it's almost to the point of being ridiculous... Because of the overall tiny dimensions of the new iPod nano, I found my hand cramping up during long gaming sessions — it was just a tad awkward to have the iPod nano perched in my hand with my thumb on the Click Wheel all the time.

The Pac-Man iPod Case

I don't think that Steve Jobs intends to take over the gaming market with the new iPods...yet...but in citing the necessity of redesigning the iPod Nano, he listed "games" as a chief reason for the bigger screen size. And then he announced that 3 new games will come with the new Nano. The first is Vortex (pictured above) which is like 3D Arkanoid. The second will be an EA Sudoku title. And the third is still unannounced.

Live: The Beat Goes On [gizmodo]

This is just bizarre, but bizarre in a cute way. The $6, hand-made iPod case has an obvious inspiration in one overweight, Italian plumber, but I just don't like the idea of dressing up an iPod in people clothes. Next thing you know, they're sneaking cigarettes from you when you're not looking.
Mario Overalls iPod Case [The BBPS]