Hit PC game “Minecraft” is a huge success despite the fact it’s still a work in progress.
The current ‘beta’ code of the Sweden-developed game was released in December, and according to online statistics over one million people have purchased the yet-to-be-completed version. Over three million people in total downloaded it.
So, what’s next for the completely out of left field game that merges building blocks and zombies? Mobile phones.
Sony thinks the iPhone isn’t a platform for serious gaming, but as developer Bradley Johnson proves, it’s a perfectly capable platform for making fun of Sony. Back in August, Sony released an ad calling out the mobile game “Lame Castle” as an example of how smartphones don’t compare to the PSP for gaming. Of course, Lame Castle didn’t actually exist — until now.
At first, Apple’s patent application for pseudo-laser tag on the iPhone sounds like an idea that should become reality right now. With augmented reality, the game would use the iPhone viewfinder as a targeting reticle, allowing you and your buddies to have impromptu shootouts. Awesome. Then I realized, the iPhone App Store has more than 300,000 apps, so this game has to exist already. Sure enough, it does.
If you count the iPhone and iPod Touch as game consoles, they’re gobbling up market share, which means we’re seeing a bunch of cheaply made apps, given away for free and intended to promote something else. A couple weeks ago, it was GoldFrapp Pinball, and now it’s Kenny Powers’ Home Run Fiesta: Deep Inside Mexico, promoting the HBO series Eastbound and Down. I’ve never seen the show, but a buddy of mine thinks it’s the funniest thing on television right now. So I figured, why not try it and see how well the app sells the product? Bad idea.
Thursday, September 2, 2010 8:22AM - By Jared Newman
Remember yesterday, when Apple brought out a couple guys from Epic Games to show off some new hotness on the iPhone. Now you can see it up close. Epic Citadel the open-world portion of the demonstration at Apple’s mostly iPod-centric event, is available free for iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad.
Farts vs. Zombies is one of those iPhone games you can get excited for without knowing anything about it. Actually, the more I see of the actual game, the less excited I am, but it’s one heck of a concept. In Farts vs. Zombies, you control a grizzled dude parked in front of a food conveyor belt. The endless buffet makes them gassy, of course, at which point you may launch clouds of stink at the incoming undead by drawing lines on the screen. In desperate times, your dude army can summon projectile vomit, controlled by tilting the phone.
It’s clear that many developers view Apple’s iProducts as a viable market for video games. And why not? They allow for bite-size nuggets of handheld gaming that, while relatively simplistic in comparison to those on the Nintendo DS or Sony PSP, are also dirt cheap. It’s hard to argue against buying Dragon’s Lair or Angry Birds for $0.99. Well, things just got a little bit tougher for those developers. Now, thanks to a video Touch Arcade found, they have to go toe-to-toe with the software library of the beloved Super NES in the fight for consumer attention. Good luck with that, guys.
Let’s get one thing straight: I am not so addicted to achievements that I’ll perform real life chores just because there’s a lure of arbitrary points and fictional goods. So why is this trailer for Epic Win, an iPhone game due out in a month, so engrossing? Maybe the playful art style, probably the narrator’s accent.
There’s no shortage of video game-themed wallpapers for the iPhone, but what sets the iOS4 Pac-Man wallpaper apart is how nicely it complements your grid of apps. Instead of distracting you with flashy background images, Pac-Man plays among the apps, gobbling pellets that are a muted blue, again insuring that the wallpaper doesn’t get in functionality’s way. It’s not quite as neat as the live Mario wallpaper for Android phones, but it’s also less likely to murder your battery.
