Filed under: Gaming

Game Developer Research has published its 2009/10 survey of video game developers, and the results are pretty impressive for the still relatively fledgling iPhone platform: The number of developers who are working on mobile games increased by 12 percent, and there are actually twice as many developers working on iPhone games as are working on the Nintendo DS and Sony's PSP handheld consoles.

That's a pretty amazing number, though it's not quite a surprise when you consider it. First of all, Nintendo DS and PSP publishing takes a much larger investment than Apple's $100 developer fee and an SDK download. Second, while the DS and the PSP are certainly selling a lot of games, they're not actually releasing nearly as many as the hundreds of thousands of apps on the App Store. Finally, new DS and PSP games sell for $30 or $40, while new App Store games sell much closer to 99 cents. So the fact that there are lots more people moving to the much more open and accessible platform isn't really that surprising.

Yes, PopCap is at it again -- this time, their crazy addictive (just like all of their games) take on the tower defense genre, Plants vs. Zombies, is headed off to the iPhone. They just tweeted confirmation a little while ago, and released this trailer showing all of the flower vs. undead action that we enjoyed so much in the other versions of the game, squeezed into the smaller screen of the iPhone.

They don't mention a price point, but I'm guessing it'll come out at $4.99, since that's what most of their releases have debuted at (though if you're patient, it'll probably drop down in price after a while). I'll tell you that yes, if you've never played it, the game is more than worth $5, but even if you don't believe me, you can go play it online for free and see what you think. PopCap is the master of dropping colorful graphics, sparkling gameplay, and constant little rewards on your plate, so PvZ on the iPhone will probably be yet another meal you won't want to stop eating.

Sega surprised everyone last night with the reveal of Sonic the Hedgehog 4 -- apparently the newest game in the series will be a download-only episodic title coming to the Xbox and PS3 later this year. And the iPhone, too? The very end of the trailer, as you can see above, has a blank rectangle after the XBLA, PSN, and WiiWare logos, which some presume is a space for the App Store logo eventually. In addition, various graphics were found on the official site that hint at an iPhone release as well. The game, which you can see in the trailer linked above, is a colorful return to the series' 2D roots, but even the updated 3D graphics are probably enough for the latest versions of the iPhone to handle.

And of course there's the iPad -- considering that the game is called "Episode 1" (so presumably Sega is going to be releasing a few of these), Sega will probably want as big an install base as possible. Just widening the display of an iPhone app might not work so well, as these simulator screenshots on Gadget Lab show, so it's very possible that one of the launch games for Apple's tablet could be a sweet, high-resolution old school Sonic sequel. We'll keep you updated -- just watch out for the drool.

The USPTO has published seven different patents from Apple today, including one that might be found in the next generation of the Apple TV. The patent allows for a "Remote Control System that can Distinguish Stray Light Sources" -- in other words, a Wii style remote that can pick out a certain type of light source from other bulbs in the house. The patent paints some pretty wild pictures of what they must be working on at Apple HQ: it describes IR emitters mounted near a television, and then describes how to keep the remote control both "measuring its own motion" from those sensors, and able to recognize differences between those sensors and other light sources, including reflections and other features of the surroundings.

Of course, Apple's not a company that tends to follow, so you have to wonder what else they're putting together if they really are planning on taking a song from Nintendo's Wii and adding it to the Apple TV's repertoire. Not that we'll ever see it for sure -- they file patents all the time, some of them already used (other patents filed today include Smart Playlists in iTunes and the "slide to unlock" feature found in the iPhone and the iPad), and some which will never see release. But it certainly sounds like something is cooking in the Apple R&D labs.

Kirk McElhearn over at Macworld has attempted to answer the very first question I've had since I first heard that the iPad wasn't going to be in a widescreen format: Why 4:3? The answer: because for the majority of things you'll be using your iPad for, that's the right resolution you'll want. Magazines, books, the web, productivity, and so on, McElhearn argues that 4:3 is the right way to go.

Of course, taste plays a factor in there -- I prefer to browse the Internet on a widescreen monitor, actually, and I think games, which I'll be playing a lot of on my iPad when I eventually get one, tend to work better with a wider field of view. And let's be honest, the 4:3 ratio only allows Apple to start small and go with an "iPad XL" or an "iPad HD" in the future, widening the screen and perhaps even upping the resolution.

But McElhearn makes a good point that the 4:3 ratio has been Apple's home until only just recently, and for most objects that you hold in your hands and read like the iPad, from magazines to newspapers, the 4:3 ratio still fits. The ratio likely won't affect sales at all, but we'll have to see if movie watchers hold out for a better format for their media.

Catan. If you've ever visited, there's a good chance you're passionate about it.

First unveiled as a traditional board game in 1995, the now-classic trading and settlement game has evolved over the years to include dozens of scenarios, expansions and reworkings, from limited edition game maps to browser-based Internet versions. Naturally, the Settlers of Catan is now also available for the iPhone [iTunes link], and it's a a damn good condensed version.

First things first. This is the full, but basic, game. The original ruleset isn't condensed at all, but none of the expansions are present in the current version. While long-time board gamers might scoff at simple "vanilla Settlers," the basic game as presented in Exozet's iPhone version acts just like the tabletop big brother. You can choose to play on the fixed beginner board or a random map, you can play with three or four people (or bots), you can trade, you can go for longest road, etc. All the things that make Catan such an enduring game are here, and that's great to have in your pocket.

Read on to find out more about Catan: the First Island on the iPhone (and iPod Touch).

I admit it. I am iPadded out. I am iTired. I am suffering from iBurnout. So it was with pleasure that I found an addicting little game for the iPhone and iPod touch called Crush the Castle [iTunes link]. It's a free medieval game where you use an ancient trebuchet to smash a variety of castles and the inhabitants standing nearby. Crush the Castle is physics based, so you have to swing a heavy projectile in the air and release at just the right point to flatten the castle off to the right of the trebuchet. After a few tries it gets damned addictive.

You have more than a dozen castles to crush in two different kingdoms. If you do well, you get some medals. If not, you are rebuked by the king. The animation is good, the physics seem accurate, and the sounds of castles coming down and soldiers screaming adds to the fun.

At each new level, the distance to the castles from your siege machine increases, so you really have to get the release point for the projectile just right.

Crush the Castle is a port of a Flash-based game which you can play for free online. If you really get into the mild mayhem, I'd suggest you look at the US$1.99 version [iTunes link] which has 90 levels, 10 types of ammo, and an editor so you can design your own castles before you knock them down.

Both versions get great reviews from users, and I'm in agreement. It's helping me forget all the endless iDebates over the iPad and work my iAggressions out on my iPhone.

The free version is no risk, except for the time you are sure to lose. Let me know if you get hooked too. Check out more screen shots below:

We posted a little while back about Telltale possibly bringing its games over to the Mac, and now there's even more rumblings to be interested in. Rumor has it that since most of their games use the same platform, one port is the same as all of them, which means we may see the whole catalog released in one fell swoop on OS X, and sold right alongside their PC brethren. Additionally, Telltale hints that we may even see iPhone and/or iPad versions of their games, including Sam and Max, the Monkey Island franchise, and all the rest (with the exceptions of the Bone series and Texas Hold 'Em).

They are saying that we'll hear more at Macworld next month, and since TUAW plans to be there en masse, we'll definitely keep our eyes open for anything they're showing off. Good to hear that one of the more interesting and quality developers out there is planning to come over to the Mac in a big way.

[via IMG]

The other week I said a lot of good things about Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars, but one of the great things about games on the iPhone is that they don't all have to be epic masterpieces. Such is the case with the free Bankshot [iTunes link], which is a simple and fun one-hit game that was created in just 36 hours: the only goal is to bounce a little neon "puck" into a target that gets placed on different sides of the screen. It's fun, it's easy, and it's the perfect kind of game to just pull up and play when you only need a few minutes of distraction.

The game does have a little bit of hidden depth (you can score more points by bouncing the puck off the walls more times before it hits the target, but if you go more than four bounces, the game is over), but essentially, this is an addictive little pick-up-and-play game (and it's even OpenFeint enabled, if you're into that sort of thing). The game is free with ads, but they were never distracting or in the way. If you want a quick arcade hit to play during your next few iPhone breaks, definitely pick it up.

What a day it's been. The tablet is finally out. That's right, the tablet we've been waiting years for is real and will be on sale soon, only it's called the iPad, and it's pretty similar to the iPhone. Just in case you missed something today, here's everything we've learned about the magical and revolutionary device, all lined up in one easy-to-browse list. Just think, in 60 days, you'll be able to flip through these posts with your finger. On a 9.7" IPS screen, I mean.

Liveblog and major news

• Apple Event Metaliveblog
• Apple announces the iPad
• AAPL goes on a rollercoaster ride
• See tweets live during the event on @tuawlive
• iPad pricing starts at $499, available in 60/90 days

Hardware

• Apple's official iPad video, specs page
• Apple making its own chips, starting with the A4
• iPad will ship with 802.11n Wi-Fi, 3G optional
  
• Apple announces keyboard dock for iPad
• Five iPad accessories available at launch
• What's missing from the iPad

Software

• All iPhone apps will run on the iPad
• Apple announces iBooks, an e-reader for iPad
• Apple shows off new versions of iWork apps for iPad
• iPhone OS 3.2 SDK released, supports iPad but covered by NDA

Two of the App Store's biggest hits last year have finally dropped free versions of their apps to try out. Of course, odds are probably slim that you haven't played or heard of these two yet, but just in case you were waiting to try them without paying, now is your chance.

First up, Call of Duty: World at War Zombies [iTunes link], which brought the undead to the WWII shooter, has a new lite version to play for free, which plays exactly like the $9.99 full version [iTunes link], but for only three rounds. Strangely enough, it's actually the exact same size download.

Rock Band made a splash when it debuted on the iPhone late last year [iTunes link] at $9.99. Since then, it's dropped to $6.99, but there is now a free demo available [iTunes link] that features only the Foo Fighters' "Learn to Fly." If you want to check out the controls, though, and perhaps see how they compare to the console versions, it's worth a download. We kind of like this precedent of releasing best-sellers for free after a delay, though there's probably still some tuning to do in just how much content is enabled in these trial versions.

This one might require a little patience to watch, but those interested will be rewarded well, I think. The footage above is from an Apple Store in Toyko's Ginza shopping district, where none other than Keita Takahashi showed up to demo his latest iPhone game. Who's Keito Takahashi? He's the gaming auteur behind Katamari Damacy and Noby Noby Boy, two of the weirdest yet most fascinating games of the last decade or so, and he's bringing Noby Noby Boy to the iPhone.

Unfortunately, the above demo is in Japanese, but you can see what kinds of thinking is going into the game. It looks like he's completely revamping the game as a top-down physics-based version of the already very strange PS3 version. We would provide you with some more explanation, but it probably won't make things any clearer: the object of the game is to stretch out a little creature named BOY, and at the end of the level, your stretched length adds up with all the other players of the game online to another creature called GIRL, who is currently reaching out into the solar system. Told you it wouldn't help.

Nevertheless, it's pretty fascinating just to watch the four videos (start here) and see what weirdness transpires in the video -- there are some interesting touchscreen controls, and lots of quick physics on the items bouncing around the iPhone's screen. It's not that great as an actual game preview, but that might not matter much anyway: Takahashi said a while back that whenever this weird monstrosity does release on Apple's handheld, "price-wise might be like free." We can't wait to see it.

[via Panic]

Cogs is a brilliant game that's had an award-winning run on the PC, and it's due out on the iPhone any day now, say developers Lazy 8. If you like puzzle games, you'll probably see in the trailer above why this one is so fascinating: it takes the old idea of slide puzzles (moving a grid of pieces around one by one) to form actual machines of all kinds, from pipes that blow up balloons to actual gears that run simple engines and even more complex mechanical designs. The core gameplay is simple -- just move those pieces around by switching them -- but you're always building towards an overall picture that pays off with a nice mechanical reward.

Good stuff. The game is apparently up for approval right now and will be out very soon. There's no word on price yet -- the PC version of the game sells for about $10 as a digital download, but we've contacted Chillingo to see how much they'll be charging on the iPhone. We'll keep our eyes out for it and try to get you a hands-on review when it releases.

Rhythm Racer [iTunes link] is an interesting take on the growing music/rhythm genre, and while it shows some interesting promise, it's currently a little too thin to become a full-fledged obsession. The basic idea is that you're controlling a ship down a track with different colored orbs on it, and as you hit the orbs in sequence, they play music -- basically, it's Guitar Hero where you're driving an accelerometer-controlled spaceship rather than playing a guitar. And that central mechanic of the game is fun -- you move faster the more orbs you hit, there are occasionally ramps to jump off of, and at its best, the game has that "just one more try" feeling that keeps you addicted.

The problem? There's only one track to play. The game is free (and the track is good -- it's actually a song by former Nerf Herder Perry Gripp, who's been doing amazing things with his Song of the Week site), but one track? The idea is that, by paying a little more via in-app purchase, you can pick up more to play, but there's still only one other track to pay for right now in the game. It's too bad; while the game is definitely worth the free download, they don't even have in-app purchases for you to follow up with quite yet.

Hopefully, that's easily fixed (and hopefully we'll get at least a few more tracks to play through soon). As it is, the game is more sort of a demo -- a demo for what seems like a fun game, but a demo nonetheless.

Just announced at Square Enix's Facebook page: Final Fantasy I and II are coming to an App Store near you. The nearly 20-year-old games have been remastered and re-released a number of times, with versions appearing for just about every platform invented thus far, so it was only a matter of time before they made their way to the iPhone and iPod touch.

Release date and pricing are both TBA, and nothing official has been announced on Square Enix's official site as of yet, but in the meantime, they've posted screenshots, and they look quite excellent. With Final Fantasy XIII coming out for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 in March, going all the way back to the long-running series' beginning on the iPhone sounds like a really fun way to pass the next couple of months.

Thanks to reader Paul M., Jr. for the tip!