iPod game
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
An iPod game is a video game playable on the portable music player, the iPod, from Apple Inc. The original iPod had the game Brick (originally invented by Apple's co-founder Steve Wozniak) included as an easter egg, or a hidden extra feature, and later firmware versions added it as a menu option. Later revisions of the iPod added three more games in addition to Brick: Parachute, Solitaire, and Music Quiz.
|
On September 12, 2006, the iTunes Store began to offer nine additional games for purchase with the launch of iTunes 7, compatible with the fifth generation iPod with iPod software 1.2 or later. Those games were: Bejeweled, Cubis 2, Mahjong, Mini Golf, Pac-Man, Tetris, Texas Hold 'Em, Vortex, and Zuma. These games were made available for purchase from the iTunes Store for US$4.99 each. On December 19, 2006, two more games were released by EA Mobile at the same price: Royal Solitaire and Sudoku, bringing the total to eleven games. Then, on February 27, 2007, Ms. Pac-Man was released raising the total number of games available to twelve. On April 24, 2007, iQuiz was released to bring the total to thirteen. Up until this point, all the available games could be purchased in a package, with no discount.
On May 22, 2007 Apple released Lost: The Video Game based on the television show, which is made by Gameloft Gamestudios. Apple also released on June 22, 2007 SAT Prep 2008 by Kaplan. This was introduced as 3 separate educational games based on the subjects writing, reading, and math. In December 2007, Apple released Sega's classic game; Sonic the Hedgehog, which was originally packaged with the Sega Genesis system in the early 1990s.
With third parties like Namco, EA, Sega, and Hudson Soft all making games for the iPod, Apple's MP3 player has taken great steps towards entering the video game handheld console market. Even video game magazines like GamePro & EGM have reviewed and rated most of their games as of late.
The games are in the form of .ipg files (iPod game), which are actually .zip archives in disguise. When unzipped, they reveal executable files along with common audio and image files, leading to the possibility of third party games. Currently Apple has no publicly available SDK for iPod development.[1]
[edit] Current Games
The current game titles available to download as of Tuesday June 3, 2008 (in order of release) are:
| Title | Type | Publisher | Release Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Texas Hold'em | iPod nano 3G, iPod classic 5G, 6G | Apple Inc. | September 12, 2006 |
| Zuma | iPod nano 3G, iPod classic 5G, 6G | astraware | September 12, 2006 |
| Pac-Man | iPod nano 3G, iPod classic 5G, 6G | Namco | September 12, 2006 |
| Tetris | iPod nano 3G, iPod classic 5G, 6G | Electronic Arts | September 12, 2006 |
| Mini Golf | iPod nano 3G, iPod classic 5G, 6G | Electronic Arts | September 12, 2006 |
| Cubis 2 | iPod nano 3G, iPod classic 5G, 6G | Fresh Games | September 12, 2006 |
| Sudoku | iPod nano 3G, iPod classic 5G, 6G | Electronic Arts | September 12, 2006 |
| LOST | iPod classic 5G | Gameloft | May 22, 2007 |
| Ms. Pac-Man | iPod nano 3G, iPod classic 5G, 6G | Namco | February 27, 2007 |
| iQuiz | iPod nano 3G, iPod classic 5G, 6G | Apple Inc. | April 24, 2007 |
| SAT Prep 2008 | iPod nano 3G, iPod classic 5G, 6G | Kaplan | June 22, 2007 |
| The Sims Bowling | iPod nano 3G, iPod classic 5G, 6G | Electronic Arts | July 17, 2007 |
| The Sims Pool | iPod nano 3G, iPod classic 5G, 6G | Electronic Arts | July 31, 2007 |
| Brain Challenge | iPod nano 3G, iPod classic 5G, 6G | Gameloft/Apple Inc. | September 5, 2007 |
| Phase | iPod nano 3G, iPod classic 5G, 6G | Harmonix | November 6, 2007 |
| Sonic the Hedgehog | iPod nano 3G, iPod classic 5G, 6G | Sega | December 18, 2007 |
| Peggle | iPod nano 3G, iPod classic 5G, 6G | PopCap Games | December 18, 2007 |
| Bomberman | iPod nano 3G, iPod classic 5G, 6G | Hudson Soft | December 18, 2007 |
| Block Breaker Deluxe | iPod nano 3G, iPod classic 5G, 6G | Gameloft/Apple Inc. | January 15, 2008 |
| Pole Position Remix | iPod nano 3G, iPod classic 5G, 6G | Namco Bandai | January 21, 2008 |
| Naval Battle | iPod nano 3G, iPod classic 5G, 6G | Gameloft | February 4, 2008 |
| Chess & Backgammon | iPod nano 3G, iPod classic 5G, 6G | Gameloft | February 4, 2008 |
| Yahtzee | iPod nano 3G, iPod classic 5G, 6G | Hasbro | February 11, 2008 |
| Pirates of the Caribbean: Aegir's Fire | iPod nano 3G, iPod classic 5G, 6G | Disney | February 20, 2008 |
| Bubble Bash | iPod nano 3G, iPod classic 5G, 6G | Gameloft | February 25, 2008 |
| Scrabble | iPod nano 3G, iPod classic 5G, 6G | Hasbro | March 3, 2008 |
| Bejeweled | iPod nano 3G, iPod classic 5G, 6G | PopCap Games | April 15, 2008 |
| Mahjong | iPod nano 3G, iPod classic 5G, 6G | Electronic Arts | April 22, 2008 |
| Monopoly | iPod nano 3G, iPod classic 5G, 6G | Hasbro | June 3, 2008 |
[edit] Default Games
These are the default games that come on the newest iPods, excluding the iPod touch.
| iPod Version | Title/s | Publishers | |
|---|---|---|---|
| iPod classic 6G | Vortex, iQuiz, and Klondike | Apple Inc. | |
| iPod nano 3G | Vortex, iQuiz, and Klondike | Apple Inc. | |
| iPod video 5G and 5.5G, iPod nano 1G and 2G, iPod mini 1G and 2G | Music Quiz, Brick, Solitaire, and Parachute | Apple Inc. |
[edit] Criticism
iTunes has come under much criticism due to the UK price of iPod games, GB£3.99 (about US$7.40). Many people from the UK have given the games 1* ratings, stating that Apple is "ripping off" Britain.
A similar thing has occurred in Australia. Australians pay $7.49 AUD, while the regular exchange rate hovers at between $5.00 and $6.00 AUD.
Developers have criticized Apple for not creating a software development kit (SDK) for software developers to create new iPod games. This is likely to keep the DRM scheme of iPod games closed.
When the iPod classic and iPod nano third generation were released, games which had been previously purchased could not be synced to the new iPods. This made many consumers angry due to their lost investment.
[edit] Unofficial Games
Some older iPod units are capable of using replacement firmware such as iPod Linux and Rockbox. These firmware projects can play many other games including a native port of Doom, and via a native port of the Game Boy emulator Gnuboy many other games including Super Mario, Tomb Raider, MegaMan, Kirby, Metroid, The Legend of Zelda, Mortal Kombat, Street Fighter, and hundreds more.
Some free iPod games which use iPod's Notes feature are available for the iPod firmware at iPod Arcade. [1]
[edit] References
- ^ "What's Inside an iPod Game?" bensinclair.com, 2006-09-14.
- ^ "Fun for your iPod", 2007-11-26.
