The iPhone continues its ascent in the mobile video game world

The download boom for the iPhone has now turned to the games category. You have to say that the opportunity is there and Apple is not skimping when it comes to investment in turning its multimedia terminal into a games consol too. Others predict the arrival of a new device that is more games orientated. In the meanwhile, the celebrated Dr Kawashima, of DS clinic fame, should soon be here.

Not content with having set the standard in the new smartphone market, Apple is also becoming a major mover in the soaring mobile video games market. The little world of video games is nevertheless already very well populated. Before Apple, other players had given it a go, following the example of Nokia with its Ngage platform, without however managing to achieve anywhere near the same success. Long before the existence of Appstore, we had Steam (a download platform for games that was well known among initiates) but Apple has decided to make things even simpler.

Carried by the success of the Appstore (definitely now the model to follow), the Cupertino-based firm has made a great success out of mixing its platform with content, either free or available cheaply. It is no coincidence that Sony and Nintendo rapidly adopted Apple's model in creating their own stores. Once again though, Apple has managed to take things a step further by popularising and not only preaching to the converted.

An economic model, signed Apple

Apple has managed to federate the top game publishers (Electronics Arts – there are even rumours of an Apple buyout -, Gameloft, Sega), some of which have dedicated themselves entirely to iPhone games. How? After the iPod / iTunes pairing, Apple has reasserted its successful economic model with the iPhone / AppStore pairing, determined to get casual gamers onside by ensuring ease of use (buy when you want, where you want) and attractive pricing.

The games publishers did not get it wrong: above and beyond the potential sales volumes you can add a simple procedure that is, in addition, remunerative. The difference with a games consol is that you can get your game online very fast and cut out the middle men (manufacturing, distributors etc), and therefore the costs. The general public has bought in to the idea, even those who never played anything beyond Pac Man on their Atari. The average cost of a downloaded game on the Appstore is 7 pounds (30% goes to Apple), compared to 25 pounds for a DS or PSP cartridge game.

The iPhone, the story of a consol that isn’t a consol

Of course the iPhone does have its limits and there are still many pure gamers who laugh at Apple’s attempts in the video gaming world. Compared to a DS, the iPhone is limited by the fact that it just has a tactile screen. This screen is both its strength and weakness. No joystick, no physical buttons, everything depends on the finger and the accelerometer. However in some games the touch screen lacks precision.

And in the future? In the future, Apple could well bring out a new type of device, a mobile consol that is something like a netbook, crossed with a touch pad and a video games consol.

Apple looks like making even more waves in the video gaming world (and there won’t be a lack of investment) and wake up a snoozing market that has rested too long on its laurels.