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Industry legend David Crane launches new iPhone and iPad studio Appstar Games

Atari 2600 veterans ready to take on smartphones, tablets and handheld consoles

Industry legend David Crane launches new iPhone and iPad studio Appstar Games

Back in 2008 it was with great excitement that we spoke to industry legends David Crane and Garry Kitchen about their new iPhone-focus for Skyworks.

The Atari 2600 veterans have now put out a press release about their new studio Appstar Games, formed after they left the previous company, and with the remit of creating "small footprint gaming across a diverse field of devices, including smartphones, wireless tablets and handheld console devices".

Crane is probably best known as the programmer of the Atari 2600 version of Donkey Kong, and the designer of the classic platformer Pitfall, and says Appstar hopes to launch its first titles in the second quarter of 2010.

"Garry and I have worked together on a number of successful ventures over the years, generating hundreds of millions of dollars for investors and stakeholders," Crane explains.

"We’re very excited about the dramatic shift that is occurring in the game industry with the advent of direct-to-consumer distribution of our titles. AppStar Games is committed to taking a leadership role in that transition by delivering the highest quality product in the marketplace."

Spanner Spencer
Spanner Spencer
Yes. Spanner's his real name, and he's already heard that joke you just thought of. Although Spanner's not very good, he's quite fast, and that seems to be enough to keep him in a regular supply of free games and away from the depressing world of real work.