iPhone set to get games?

Filed under: Audio, Windows, Macintosh, Apple, Freeware, iPhone

iPhone set to get games?

by Nik Fletcher Aug 9th 2007

There's talk all over the web of the U.K. getting iTunes Movies and T.V. shows "by the end of the month" - something us Brits are long overdue. Here at Download Squad we decided to see whether it truly is a matter of "flipping the switches" on this rumoured store, and dug into the iTunes localisation strings. Whilst we admittedly couldn't find any strings directly related to the implementation of a U.K. iTunes Video store, two strings certainly caught our eyes:

/* ===== iPhone Game Item Strings ===== */
"4329.001" = "Are you sure you want to remove the selected game from your iPhone?";
"4329.002" = "Are you sure you want to remove the selected games from your iPhone?";

Given that there are currently no games shipping with the iPhone to remove, and certainly none available on the iTunes Store to add, that hit us like a bombshell: Apple seems to be readying games for the iPhone. Whilst purely speculation at the moment, if it proves to be anything more than simply pre-emptive software strings, you'll hear about it here on Download Squad.

Tags: apple, gaming, iphone, itunes, mobilegaming, mp3, multitouch, music

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

David Chartier said 12:45PM on 8-09-2007

Given Apple's emphasis on UI design, it'll be really interesting to see if these games are simply ports from previous control environments, like that NES emulator, or truly new games design to take advantage of the multi-touch, no-button environment.

Gary Lee said 12:55PM on 8-09-2007

all I want is tetris . . . I can be entertained for hours with tetris . . . by the way . . . only a few more days til I give my iphone away so enter while you still have time!

Kevin said 2:00PM on 8-09-2007

If it's tetris you want, it's tetris you get ;)
http://iphone-tetris.com/

Chris Carey said 2:31PM on 8-09-2007

This is old news really...

http://www.noheat.com/2007/06/18/nintendo-and-apple-to-partner-on-games-for-iphone/

Nik Fletcher said 4:49PM on 8-09-2007

David: I too am very, very interested to see how Apple decides to develop (and dare I say innovate) with any potential iPhone games. Multi-touch gaming would be interesting.

Chris: Well. A point of contention. There's a fine line between fact and fiction, and rumour lives on it. The article you link to is purely speculative. "Rumoured" and "Apparently" are not the same as somewhat more indicative software strings (which, are, a hard fact. the strings exist) even if usage of said strings is entirely based on the prediction they will be used.

Folks today have been looking at saying "But the same is true of the Apple TV. In fact, that's no longer the case. A comprehensive look through the localisation strings shows no mention of any AppleTV games.

Shane Conder said 4:41PM on 8-10-2007

It seems only obvious that Apple would provide games in the same way they provide games for the iPod. At $9.99 each, they are relatively expensive compared to other mobile games.

What was surprising was that absolutely no game, however little, shipped with the iPhone. Nearly all iPods have always had something... could we see a couple of free widget games coming?

James Thomson said 3:20PM on 8-11-2007

Tetris and other games (all free) are listed on my site:
http://iphonegamesdirectory.com/
I spent a huge amount of time last month working on it and I'd like people to actually start using it. Please take a look and send me your feedback. There are no ads and I'm not making any money from it - this is just for the props.
Thanks,
-James

Rose said 1:18AM on 8-15-2007

iphone is kinda a waste of money.the next day they have a new phone,this day they have this phone every day some new and some dumb pops in out face and they make a big deal ugh i,m sick of i,m.phones used to be simple.

RAJEEV said 12:51PM on 11-05-2007

HOW DO I PLAY DVD MOVIES TO IPHONE MOVIE AND WHERE I GET IPHONE GAMES

Featured Time Waster

Civiballs is a beautiful, soothing physics puzzle Time Waster

I have an absolute weakness for physics games, and while Civiballs isn't the strongest physics-based game, what it lacks in the physics department it makes up for a few times over in style and fun.

In Civiballs, you are presented with a few colored balls, and your goal is to get those balls into the same-colored urn on the level. The "civi" part of Civiballs is that there are 3 sets of levels to play, each representing a different civilization. While the civilization doesn't affect gameplay, the artwork for each level is beautifully themed to it's appropriate era.

To play the game, you are given only one tool - a sword with which to cut the chains that are holding the balls. The puzzle part of the game is in figuring out what order, and with what timing to cut each chain. Do it right, and all the right balls end up in the right urns, with no stray balls entering an urn (a no-no). Do it wrong, and you get to start over again.

Civiballs is not terribly deep on gameplay; the entire game can be completed in about 15 minutes. But if you enjoy this type of game, it will be a very enjoyable 15 minutes.

View more Time Wasters