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Facebook MMORPG phenomenon iMob Online now on the iPhone

Mob Wars sets up shop on the App Store

Facebook MMORPG phenomenon iMob Online now on the iPhone
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| iMob Online

Now this is big news in every respect. Facebook gamers will undoubtedly know all about underworld crime phenomenon Mob Wars - what with it boasting over two and a half million players and suspected monthly revenues of over $1 million.

Now there's an equivalent for iPhone. Scanning through the App Store this morning we uncovered no less than five different entries for iMob Online, which is heavily inspired by Mob Wars.

In many respects the game is something of a text based GTA, with players taking jobs for various criminal gangs to earn money and respect, and work their way up the criminal syndicate ladder.

The good news is that the iMob Online client is completely free, with the option to get a head start in the game by buying ‘respect point’ packages also available on the App Store. These packages range from 59p for 10 respect points all the way up to £11.99 for 400 respect points.

The iPhone adaptation also boasts a few extra features, such as GPS location gaming that allows you to scan for other iMob Online players in the vicinity and either join forces or fight it out.

Real time chatting, leaderboards and news feeds are also included to maintain the vital social networking aspects that made Mob Wars such a success on Facebook.

This new App Store model of allowing gamers to buy a leg up in a connected game is likely to cause more than a few players to balk, though Addmired isn’t alone in experimenting with such high priced application add ons.

PocketGamer.Biz recently discussed a similar subject with Zynga, which is doing a very similar thing with its Live Poker iPhone game – charging up to £29.99 depending how many daily chips you want.

We’ve been deliberating about the prospects of connected iPhone gaming recently, so it’ll be very interesting to see how iMob Online pans out with this fascinating new game style and revenue model. Let us know your opinions right here on Pocket Gamer.

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.