Apple Thoughts - News & Reviews on all things Apple

"EA is currently having a massive iOS app back to school sale."

Lots of discounts, some are only $0.99 USD each. You can get the whole list at the EA iTunes page.

"There was a time when the majority of games were played on dedicated consoles like the Xbox or PlayStation but, as they say, 'those times are a'changin.'"

Interesting how the times change indeed. According to EA CEO John Riccitiello, in 2000 consoles were 80% of the gaming industry and they have now fallen off to about 40%. In their place, the iPad has taken hold so much so that EA says it is their fastest growing platform. I still prefer console gaming to the iOS or portable gaming when I'm home, but when you are mobile, that is the only way to play.

"Electronic Arts added to its growing repertoire of mobile games with the release of Battleship for the iPad today. This new tablet version of the classic board game takes advantage of the large screen of the iPad with its HD quality graphics and expanded UI. There are also new battle environments, new ships and new weapons for iPad owners to enjoy."

This version for the iPad, in HD no less, sells for $2.99 USD [affiliate link]. You can play alone, or if a friend has their own version for iPad, it allows you to play against them via WiFi or Bluetooth. It will even allow multiplayer between devices so if they have the iPhone/iPod Touch version (available in the iTunes Store for $0.99 USD [affiliate link]), you are good to go. This was one of the games we used to play when I was a kid so I'm pretty glad it's still out there and has been revamped for iOS.

"Apple would have a "relatively good chance to succeed" if it tried to take on Sony and Microsoft in the video game console market. That's the opinion of EA's VP Patrick Soderlund, who fielded questions from CVG about the future of the games industry and those competing in it."

It's possible, as is anything, but I certainly don't think it is probable. As an Xbox owner, I'm pretty well entrenched into my games on the Xbox. I won't even buy a Playstation since the games aren't different enough to warrant it for me. Heck, even their Blu-Ray player wasn't enough for me to add the PS3 to my gaming area. I suspect there are others out there that are pretty much set in their ways as long as the game keep their interest. I don't see that waning anytime soon, but I've been known to be wrong in the past. They certainly would have their work cut out for them building what Xbox and Sony have in terms of community. What are your thoughts, would a gaming console from Apple interest you?

"If an angry, perspiring Steve Ballmer took over control of my iPhone and said I could only have one third-party app on it, I know which app I'd keep."

And that app is Monopoly, the World Edition. But now there is another option with the release of Monopoly Original. The difference? The world edition used names from places all over the world but the original, obviously, uses the names from the original game such as Boardwalk, Park Place etc. You can also play against real or AI opponents, up to 2 via bluetooth and 3 or more via Wi-Fi. "Monopoly" is available now in the iTunes store for $4.99 USD.

"EA Sports is one of the few game companies that's managed to successfully charge $9.99 for a game in Apple's App Store. Madden NFL 10, priced at 10 bucks, remains a top seller, and now FIFA Soccer 10 has hit the App Store for $9.99 and seems destined to make a run for the top spot in the games category."

EA throws down the gauntlet with this game, challenging GameLoft's Real Soccer 2010 for soccer dominance in the iTunes store. EA does have some advantages in that they have more teams to choose from and let you create your own player to track through matches. But on the downside it has only been around for two years thus comes into it with less of a customer base, and they have also priced their game $3.00 USD more than Real Soccer 2010. I guess it's up to the fans/gamers to decide now.

"If anyone had doubts about the viability of a business that is purely focused on making videogame applications for Apple's iPhone and iPod Touch, venture capitalists aren't among them. Ngmoco, known for iPhone games like puzzle-adventure game Rolando and word game WordFu, said on Monday that it raised $10 million in a new round of financing led by Norwest Venture Partners."

It doesn't hurt to have the connections that Neil Young, the founder of Ngmoco, has when you are looking for investors. Young was a longtime executive at Electronic Arts before he quit EA last year to start Ngmoco. He expects to launch at least 15 premium games, priced between $5.00 USD and $10.00 USD, this year to go along with the 5 they released last year. I guess the VCs are expecting big things with the games, and can hardly blame them since out of the 25,000 apps available on iTunes, almost 7,000 of them are games.