The Wright Stuff: I want my 3G iPhone
The mobile games veteran says it like he touches it
When I left I-play I finally had to get a mobile phone contract. I looked at the various deals and after much debate decided to go with 3 and the W910i. At the time I nearly got an iPhone and I've been kicking myself ever since. Now the 3G iPhone is just about to be released, I'm not sure I'll be able to stop myself.
Why is the iPhone such a desirable device, and is it really going to be the saviour of the mobile games industry in the way that Digital Chocolate's Trip Hawkins and Glu's Greg Ballard seem to think?
It's certainly got a number of factors against it. It's too large for starters, while using it as a phone isn't great and trying to text on it is a terrible experience. Also, you can't use it to video conference, there's no way of upgrading the memory and I reckon the chances of it surviving being dropped are remote. At least with the 3G version you can surf at a reasonable rate, if you can afford the cost without planning a remortgage.
None of these things matter, of course.
As a piece of consumer electronics, it looks great and, more importantly, it provides a consistent user experience. Every application utilises the same user interface and the phone feels like it has been built around the user rather than the other way round. But let's be honest, the real question is; are the games going to be any good?
At this point I feel I have to salute Apple. Rather than implement a version of Java onto the iPhone, it's built an environment aimed specifically at creating applications for the iPhone. On mobile, Java is a mess of a language – too many applications are built that take no advantage of the capability of the phone they are installed on. This is bad enough on my W910i but having apps on the iPhone that don't fit with its touchscreen interface would be criminal.
Hopefully then, thanks to its unique development environment the iPhone will get some unique games. Of course, we can rest assured Apple will keep sufficient control to make sure shovelware isn't pumped onto the platform.
And for those reasons – plus the fact it enables publishers to bypasses the operator and providing a direct channel to the consumer – I do believe the iPhone has the chance of being the real next step in mobile games. At least, that's going to be my justification when I lay down my credit card.
Still, the moment I buy a game for my new 3G iPhone, only to discover a touchscreen featuring virtual buttons, we'll know the mobile games industry has messed it up again.
After 12 years in the games industry, the last eight as head of production at I-play, Chris Wright finally has escaped. He now runs his own consultancy focusing on casual games. He thinks his greatest achievement is resisting the lure of the iPhone, while his greatest regret is buying a W910. He can be contacted at chris[at]gamesconsultancy.com All opinions expressed are the author's own.
