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Verizon iPhone Could Double US Mobile Games Biz

Posted by Soulskill on from the inexorable-shift dept.

donniebaseball23 writes "Earlier today, Verizon and Apple finally confirmed what everyone knew was coming: iPhone will soon launch on the Verizon network. The hugely popular iPhone has been a hit with gamers and game developers on the App Store, and by bringing the phone to the largest carrier in the US, the installed base suddenly could get much larger. The folks at social gaming network OpenFeint believe the Verizon iPhone impact could be immediately felt this year. 'The iPhone coming to Verizon is a highly anticipated event by the mobile gaming community,' said Peter Relan, chairman of OpenFeint. 'Adding 13 million more potential gamers on the iPhone is going to be a watershed moment for mobile gaming. I wouldn't be surprised if the US mobile gaming industry doubles in revenue this year because of this deal.'"

10 of 115 comments (clear)

  1. Life without Apple by mykos · · Score: 3, Informative

    While I'm sure it will sell like gangbusters on Verizon, the AT&T exclusivity of the iPhone allowed the Android platform to flourish on the nation's largest wireless network.

    Apple is now releasing a seven month old single-core phone against a deluge of versatile dual-core Tegra 2 devices.

    1. Re:Life without Apple by ZackSchil · · Score: 5, Insightful

      No one knows or cares what processor is in their phone as long as the interface is smooth. And iOS 4 is smooth as silk on that seven month old single core processor.

      For games, all that really matters is how well developers are targeting your platform. I'd say they're doing a pretty good job of targeting the iPhone 4.

    2. Re:Life without Apple by MightyMartian · · Score: 3, Insightful

      That's what the Amiga fanbois kept saying as Macs and EGA-capable PCs were steamrolling over top of them.

      --
      The world's burning. Moped Jesus spotted on I50. Details at 11.
    3. Re:Life without Apple by Man+On+Pink+Corner · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Translation: "I've never used an iPhone 4 in my life, but that's not going to stop me from telling you all about how slow and clunky its CPU is. Instead, I recommend that you buy a phone designed by an ad agency."

    4. Re:Life without Apple by BasilBrush · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Apple is now releasing a seven month old single-core phone against a deluge of versatile dual-core Tegra 2 devices.

      Yeah right. Because the average smartphone user buys based on the number of cores in the CPU. Time to get out of the basement.

      I guess Android must need that extra core though, because the most common thing I read in reviews of Android devices is that the device in question isn't as responsive to touches as an iPhone.

    5. Re:Life without Apple by obarthelemy · · Score: 4, Insightful

      some people do get that hardware is only part of the equation. OS, Apps, Content, Ecosystem are probably more important to the user experience. Even on the very narrow subject of performance, it may be news to you, but it's not all about hardware: the OS and the way apps are written is as important, if not more, as the hardware.

      --
      The Cloud - because you don't care if your apps and data are up in the air.
    6. Re:Life without Apple by Sockatume · · Score: 3, Insightful

      It's also what console gamers have been saying since the first 3D cards appeared and PCs became the more technically capable platform. Yet the home games market still doesn't seem to be in any danger of a massive swing towards the desktop, nearly two decades later. Suffice to say that specifications are not a reliable predictor for or against a game platform's dominance in isolation. What'll matter is how developer support is courted and maintained, and by all accounts that's what Apple and Google are betting the farm on.

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      No kidding!!! What do you say at this point?
  2. Vodafone and others on iPhone in Europe by cerberusss · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Here in The Netherlands, we had T-Mobile as the sole distributor of the iPhone. Since one or two months, the other carriers offer the iPhone as well. Problem is, they don't always specify what works and what doesn't. For example Vodafone doesn't offer Visual Voicemail. I think this is a very nice feature and if it's missing, this should be well-noted. Other carriers offer them with a very tight data limit, which makes watching Youtube and the evening news, or using Spotify, uninteresting.

    So I applaud the fact that this freaking phone is available but I'd suggest other slashdotters that they are careful and look at the whole package. And there's something else as well: there's a new iPhone expected around June. Wait a little bit for a discount, or get the latest model.

    --
    8 of 13 people found this answer helpful. Did you?
    1. Re:Vodafone and others on iPhone in Europe by Sockatume · · Score: 3, Informative

      Carrier support for Visual Voicemail, tethering etc. is summarised on this Apple support document.

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      No kidding!!! What do you say at this point?
  3. Re:I don't understand why anyone would buy the VZ by dogmatixpsych · · Score: 3

    You would think that is logical but a lot of people don't care; they just want an iPhone now on Verizon/Sprint/T-mobile. I've been reading that online for the past 3 years. Most people do not think about or not aware of upgrade cycles and the rest. Most don't care about LTE either.