Jeremy Laws at Cabana Mobile has an interesting little analysis up about mobile gaming that claims it may not be as big as it's cracked up to be. Laws says there's no way the mobile gaming market can hold up $5.4 billion, as was reported earlier this year by Juniper Research. Laws looks at the top 10 companies releasing mobile games (at retail -- that will become important in a minute), and claims that even if those companies make up 70% of total mobile games, the total amount of mobile game sales only comes up near $1.7 billion, far short of the Juniper number.

So where's the discrepancy? It's almost certain to lie in the App Store, where Juniper says growth more than made up for the dropoff of sales in other areas, like Java-based games. Laws does list companies like EA Mobile and Gameloft, whose games are selling on the App Store, but almost all of Laws' companies are old-school mobile developers, who created games for mobile phones before the App Store was ever open for business. Plus, his "retail" mention might mean the App Store isn't included in his calculations at all -- can you call the App Store "retail"? In fact, if any mobile games marketplace is going to make up over $3 billion in the mobile games market, it's got to be the App Store, right?

So this means a couple of different things: one, the App Store very well could be remaking the face of mobile gaming, to the point where old-school numbers are just plain insufficient to compare to modern App Store sales. Second, if there is a bubble, it'll likely be in the App Store: another recent report says that if you spend more than $40k on a 99 cent game, you're losing money. Laws may be underestimating the long tail of the App Store -- certainly no single developer has pulled in billions, but there are a lot of developers out there. Still, at the same time, $5.4 billion does seem high. And if games companies are convinced there's gold in the App Store hills, that's where the bubble will eventually burst.

The last preview we've got for you from E3 last week isn't really a preview -- Real Tennis 2009 was the first game due out from Gameloft that we played in their party bus outside the Los Angeles Convention Center, and sure enough, it's out right now in the App Store for $4.99 (all of the games we played with them last week, including the impressive Castle of Magic, are due out before the end of June). As a tennis game -- Gameloft claimed it was the first on the platform, though that doesn't seem true -- it plays pretty well, though the players are controlled with onscreen buttons rather than touchscreen gestures. Serving is the only activity that tries to take full advantage of the iPhone's controls: you can target your serve with the accelerometer, and then tap the screen anywhere when the serve meter is full. The action is pretty fast, and sometimes too fast: if you don't get moving in the right direction right off the ball, your player will get to where they need to be way too late.

Perhaps the most interesting part of the game lies in multiplayer: though we didn't see it in action, we were told that the game offers up to four-player WiFi multiplayer (even before 3.0 is set to make it easier for developers to do). So that's pretty impressive in and of itself -- if you can find three other people with iPhones and the game to play.

While we really liked Gameloft's Castle of Magic at E3, these two music games in their lineup didn't impress nearly as much. Guitar Rock Tour 2 is a sequel to Guitar Rock Tour, and as you can tell from the picture at right, it's more or less a Guitar Hero knock-off: hit the notes as they pass the line at the bottom, and you'll hear whatever song you choose to play. At this point, gameplay on all of these games is more or less the same, so song selection makes the difference, and that's where Guitar Rock Tour 2 falls short: the game contains only four original tracks, and fifteen covers. While they do lay claim to tracks by Judas Priest, Panic at the Disco, Wolfmother, Placebo and Twisted Sister, Tapulous pretty much has the market covered in terms of getting great music playable on the iPhone, and we didn't see anything during our hands on that would attract us away from Tap Tap Revenge and its various forms.

DJ Mix Tour is the other music game they showed us -- this one had a club feel and had you pressing notes on a turntable rather than guitar frets. There were some interesting choices in that game -- we saw some covers of Britney Spears club mixes, as well as Lady Gaga and Darude's famous Sandstorm tune, so if you're a die-hard techno fan, there might be some new tunes in there for you among the sixteen total songs. But again, Tap Tap Revenge is so polished after all their updates, and already has such a great selection of tunes that it's hard to recommend Gameloft's versions.

Both will be available for $5.99 in the App Store sometime this month.

I have been in love with Gameloft games on the iPhone since I bought my first one last year. Not only do their games have great graphics, they also have great controls and game play. Gameloft has recently released several new iPhone/iPod touch games, and I'm going to give you a first look at three of them: Terminator Salvation, Assassin's Creed, and Let's Golf.

Terminator Salvation ($5.99 US)
If you have followed the Terminator franchise or television series, then you may already know the plot of this game. In this third person shooter, you'll travel around as John Conner, the leader of the resistance against the machine invasion. The game is in a 3D landscape of Los Angeles in 2018, and the gameplay is what we've come to expect from a Gameloft game. There is an "analog" control in the bottom left of the screen that allows you to move around; when you are ready to pan around the landscape, you can do so my touching and dragging anywhere on the screen. By touching the fire button in the bottom right of the screen you can fire the weapon.

There are four different control types to choose between: using the Virtual Pad (details described above), the wheel pad (drag your fingers along the corner of the screen to adjust viewing angle), the accelerometer (tilting the iPhone/iPod touch to move the characters around on-screen), or reversed accelerometer. You can also reverse the orientation of the screen in the controls; this is a feature that I think all iPhone games should have. In the game, you can play either the roles of John Conner or Marcus Wright -- when you assume each of the characters, you will gain different abilities. There are 6 weapons and 8 levels that you can unlock, which will undoubtedly provide you with many hours of play.

This game really packs a punch in the iPhone gaming scene and is definitely worth a look. You can check out Terminator Salvation on the App Store for $5.99 US.



Assassin's Creed ($9.99 US)
Assassin's Creed has been around for a few years on many of the larger game platforms (PS3, Xbox, etc.), but recently came to the iPhone/iPod touch, and puts the same great gameplay into the hands of players around the world. In the game you play a master assassin named Altaïr who goes out on a quest to find an object that will end the crusades in the Holy Land.

In this realistic 3D RPG, you'll find yourself in sword fights, learning combat moves, and in hand-to-hand combat with enemies you encounter. You will be able to earn 6 weapons throughout the game, and there are mini-games to unlock. I love RPG games, and this one definitely kept me coming back for more until I completed every level. Hands-down, this is the best iPhone game that I have ever played -- I was blown away from the first time I picked it up. Beautiful graphics, great controls with virtual "analog" stick, and great cinematic cuts in-between levels and missions.

You can check out Assassin's Creed on the App Store for only $9.99 US -- this will well worth the price in my opinion.


Let's Golf ($4.99 US)
The iPhone has its fair share of golfing games, and I've taken a look at a few of them myself, but I have yet to find one that provides both great gameplay and great graphics. Until now. Let's Golf provides the right amount of features that any golfer would love to have, such as the ability to control what your player looks like or precision controls for your swing.

You have the ability to choose between several playing modes including instant play and tournaments. There are also over 63 holes located in 4 separate 3D environments: Fiji, America, England, and Scotland. If you are a casual player, you'll enjoy the basic controls, but if you are an experienced virtual golfer, you can switch to the advanced controls where you can precisely adjust the power of the swing and even add spin.

For $4.99US, this game is packed with features, and even includes a local Wi-Fi multiplayer mode that will allow you to challenge your friends to a golf match. You can check out Let's Golf in the App Store.

We've been gushing over Gameloft's foray into iPhone game development for a while now, and it seems that the more good things we say about them, the better the iPhone games they make. Their latest game is no exception. Wild West Guns [iTunes link] brings gun fights and western themes right to your iPhone -- just draw your iPhone from its holster and tap to open this app.

The game is composed of different levels ranging from saloons, stables, and a moving train (my favorite level). You tap on different objects (people, animals, tin cans, signs etc.) to shoot the gun; when you do, people will fall over in a realistically animated style. There are six different levels inside of 5 different difficulties (normal, hard, survivor, reload, and sniper) making for an extended life of the game.

Probably the coolest thing in the game is that you aren't limited to only shooting the target at hand ... you can shoot pretty much anything in the background to earn points. My favorite scene was in a saloon where you were able to shoot the candle holders, windows, etc. to earn more points. Sometimes an enemy might grab you, and you have to shake your iPhone in order to break their grip. This makes for an interactive play experience that isn't found in most iPhone games.

If you like apps that feature gunplay, then you'll no doubt find Wild West Guns entertaining and fun. If you do plan on playing this game in public, however, we suggest that you mute the volume or play with headphones. Wild West Guns is available from the iTunes App Store for $4.99US.

Here we go -- Doom on the jailbreak aside, the iPhone hasn't really had a nice example of shooter gameplay, though Brothers in Arms: Hour of Heroes (iTunes link) seems like it might be the breakout. It's made by Gameloft, who've been making mobile games for a while now, but the good news is that it doesn't look like a mobile game at all. The graphics are 3D and vibrant, and the sounds are very impressive. The control scheme is interesting -- it's more of a third person shooter, as you use the lower left wheel to move your character, and you can use the touchscreen to move the aiming reticule (seems like there's a little autoaim help in there as well). There are even cutscenes, multiple weapons to choose from, vehicles to drive, and a cover system (though there kind of has to be, with aiming that slow in places).

Still, very impressive for an iPhone game, and a very good bar-setter for the first major shooter we've seen on the platform. As you might expect, this isn't going to be cheap -- it's $9.99 in the App Store, and while this would be the perfect title for a demo (how else do you expect to sell a $10 app?), there's not one to be found at all. Still, if there's going to be such a thing as a premium game on the iPhone, this is probably it. For all of the colorful little puzzle and wordplay games on the iPhone, sometimes you just want to shoot some Nazis.

Gameloft announced that they will bring 15 of their games to the iPhone platform. Gameloft, as you may already know, has released some iPod games on iTunes already. Pocket Gamer has a mock up of what one of the games may look like.

Interestingly, this screenshot was shown off in Gameloft's keynote speech in the days leading up to the iPhone SDK announcement. Gameloft produces some big-name games for other mobile platforms, including: Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six, Rayman, Might and Magic, and Prince of Persia.

[via MacRumors]

Gameloft debuted their new iPod game called "Block Breaker Deluxe" last night on the iTunes Store. This game puts a twist on the older "Breakout" game. The game is compatible with iPod nano (3rd gen), iPod Classic, and iPod with video (5th gen) only.

"We revamped the graphics of Block Breaker Deluxe for iPod to make it the most feature-rich, action packed wall breaker game ever created," said Gameloft.

This isn't Gameloft's first iPod game, as you may recall, they have also created Brain Challenge and the LOST game. You can download the new "Block Breaker Deluxe" from the iTunes Music Store's game section for $4.99 (US).