The first new games out of the gate will be Super Pipeline and Super Pipeline II from Taskset as well as Paperboy from Elite. The Super Pipeline games will cost $0.99, while Paperboy will go for $1.99 as in-game DLC. Following these first titles into the app will be several as yet unnamed free titles.

The developers previously indicated that the app's forthcoming v1.5 update will be focused on usability and playability, with some control and UI tweaks. Kiloo has just pointed further down the road to the v1.6 update that will follow, which they indicate will bring the notable update of customizable controls. We're glad the folks behind C64 for iPhone are keeping the ball rolling for retro fans like myself.

Widely considered to be one of the most influential video game creators to have ever laid down code, Crane is responsible for some truly groundbreaking classics. Among his more notable creations are Pitfall! (the first platform game), Pitfall II: Lost Caverns, Ghostbusters and Little Computer People. Another of his creations you may have heard of is a little game publishing and development house known as Activision. Very recently, he was honored by the Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences who, later this month, will present him with its first Pioneer Award, which recognizes videogaming visionaries who paved the way in the industry's early days.

Last week, Crane issued a press release announcing the creation of a new game studio, AppStar Games, a joint venture with noted game developer Garry Kitchen. AppStar will focus on "small footprint" games for connected devices, the iPhone being among the studio's targeted platforms.

“Garry and I have worked together on a number of successful ventures over the years, generating hundreds of millions of dollars for investors and stakeholders. We’re very excited about the dramatic shift that is occurring in the game industry with the advent of direct-to- consumer distribution of our titles. AppStar Games is committed to taking a leadership role in that transition by delivering the highest quality product in the marketplace”, said Crane, CTO of AppStar.

Crane and Kitchen leave behind Skyworks Interactive, which they co-founded in 1995, that has been focused heavily on the iPhone platform since the App Store opened in 2008, with a notable number of releases including the very successful Arcade Bowling and Arcade Hoops Basketball.

AppStar Games expects to publish its first game titles in Q2 of this year, but is priming the pump with a few reference app releases that — while not actually games — may be of extreme interest to retro gaming fans.

AppStar has just released the second app in Crane's Technical Wizardry Series, entitled Dragster Magic [App Store]. It details the extremely obscure technical tricks that were used to make Activision's first game release, Dragster for the Atari 2600 / VCS, possible. This comes on the heels of the release of the initial volume of the series, 2600 Magic [App Store], which seeks to explain the highly bizarre (by today's standards) internal video circuitry of the Atari 2600 console. Both titles are comprised mainly of text and static graphics, but there are animations and interactive elements in some areas. Crane designed and programmed both iPhone releases himself, and more volumes are on the way.

We're quite anxious to see what the new studio has in store. Stay tuned.

Retro Gamer magazine recently talked with the developer and Manomio CTO Stuart Carnie, who indicates that games will likely be distributed as individual, packaged apps to keep the Amiga operating system hidden, allowing the player to focus only on the games themselves. There's not much information right now as to just which Amiga games we'll be seeing on the iPhone, but Retro Gamer indicates that, among the games on the way, is Archer MacLean's classic fighter International Karate +.

"We've ported an Amiga system and have secured some great games," says Stuart. "It runs at full speed on a 3GS and similar hardware and at a respectable frame rate for the 3G devices. IK+ plays very well."

For readers unfamiliar with the Amiga, it is a 16-bit computer released by Commodore in 1985. A far more complex system than the C64, the Amiga featured a powerful central processor, various custom co-processors, and a multitasking operating system that enabled audiovisual feats previously unseen in a consumer system at that point in time. While it did not see enormous popularity in the United States, it was wildly popular in Europe and is considered by many to be one of the very best game platforms ever created. (And it's a platform I happen to hold quite close to my own heart.)

The Amiga was so capable a game machine back in 1985 that even today's gamers without any particular retro inclination should enjoy the vast majority of titles with which Manomio is about to gift us.

Have a look at this nice sampling of 100 Amiga games in 10 minutes.

UPDATE: We sought further details of the upcoming Amiga emulator from Manomio upon hearing the initial report. Carnie kindly got back to us and, while not ready to discuss further IP at the moment, provided us with a few details about the emulation core they're using.

In order to get the speed we needed, I spent about 6 weeks and wrote a 68000 CPU core in about 60+% ARM assembly. Surprisingly, certain games (IK+) run respectively on a 3G device, which means it should do well on a 2nd gen touch device too, given the 25% faster clock speed. The 3GS has a far superior memory architecture to the older devices – it can really push bytes around and fast…

He indicates that they've been testing a number of scrollers, including Xenon II, Turrican, Ghosts 'n Goblins and R-Type (not that these are necessarily among the IP they have secured for release in the App Store), all of which "are just perfectly smooth."

You can be sure we will bring additional information on Manomio's latest as we receive it. I can't wait to see what's in store for iPhone gamers from the world of Amiga gaming.

The final list of these updates is as follows:

• Jupiter Lander: leaderboards and achievements
• Lemans: leaderboards and achievements
• Arctic Shipwreck: leaderboards
• Uridium: leaderboards
• Nebulus: leaderboards
• Paradroid: leaderboards and achievements when you own the 999 droid
• NOTE: High scores are recorded only when trainer is OFF

As the in-app games themselves were changed to facilitate these enhancements, they must be "purchased" again from within the application before the global network features can be utilized (at no additional cost to the user). The developer also indicates that the emulator environment received certain performance enhancements that allow iPhone 3GS and 3G iPod touch units to run all games at a solid 50fps for smoother gameplay.

Manomio indicates that the upcoming v1.5 update will be focused on usability and playability; controls and the UI will get some work. Details on these will be forthcoming on the developer's blog.

Another very interesting bit of news comes from forum reader killy billy who spotted seven new games listed in the C64 in-app shop yesterday but, as yet, unavailable for purchase. The list of games he saw follows.

• International Karate
• Microprose Soccer
• Jumpman
• Druid
• Wizball
• Trailblazer
• Elite

We grabbed the update and took at look at the app's game shop, but the indicated games were not listed, presumably pulled until available for actual purchase. Let's hope they reappear with full global network integreation — and soon. What a superb list of titles it seems Manomio has in store for us. All are highly playable, but Archer MacLean's International Karate, a C64 favorite, and David Braben and Ian Bell's seminal space trader Elite, considered the best game ever written by many critics, are particularly welcome.

We'll let readers know when these games appear for purchase within the app and will pass on further news and information surrounding this great emulator as we get it.

App Store Link: C64 for iPhone, $4.99

It's no secret that the iPhone has a lot to offer retro gaming fans out there. One example is Manomio's C64 for iPhone [App Store], which lets gamers have some serious 8-bit fun on the go. But, while such games offer a great deal of white-knuckle action, they lack the online competitive aspect of modern XBLA and PSN titles.

Manomio is in the process of rectifying the situation.

Many of us remember playing C64 games, vying for the high score and undoubtedly reveling with our friends when we grabbed the top score in Uridium, Paradroid or whatever happened to be hot at the time. Perhaps you were the best at your school, club or even town….but, are you the best in the world? Now's your chance with Open Feint integration for select games.

In the forthcoming v1.4 update to C64 for iPhone, Manomio has begun integrating online leaderboards and achievements for the classic, C64 titles the emulator supports. To start, they're delivering the following enhancements to C64 favorites by way of OpenFeint integration:

Arctic Shipwreck

• Leaderboard for high scores

Lemans

• Leaderboard for high scores
• Achievements
  • Lemans Bronze Medal (5 OF points): Scores 10000+
  • Lemans Silver Medal (8 OF points): Scores 25000+
  • Lemans Gold Medal (10 OF points): Scores 50000+
  • Lemans Elite Driver (20 OF points): Scores 100000+

Jupiter Lander

• Leaderboard for high scores
• Achievements
  • Jupiter Lander Trainee (5 OF points); Scores 10000+
  • Jupiter Lander Astronaut (10 OF points): Scores 75000+

Nebulus

• Leaderboards for high scores
• Planning to support achievements as you complete each tower (future update)

Uridium

• Leaderboards for high scores

Paradroid

• Leaderboards for high scores
• Achievements
  • Command Cyborg 999 – Pwnd!
    Achieved when you transfer / take control of the 999 unit, most powerful droid on the ship.

These enhancements really take these classic games well beyond their original incarnations. What's more, Manomio CTO Stuart Carnie assures us that, for the iPhone 3GS and 3G iPod touch, all games will run at a "buttery smooth" 50fps.

This really is a superb turn of events for retro gamers, and we're anxious to see what other enhancements to the these classics the studio will bring down the road.

App Store Link: C64 for iPhone, $4.99

Before letting the emulator into the App Store, Apple required that Manomio remove the BASIC interpreter from the application.  Apparently the developer disabled BASIC rather than actually removing it.  Many iPhone users found a way to activate the interpreter and, after catching wind of this, Apple pulled the app from the store.

Manomio indicates it has since submitted an updated version of the emulator that addresses the issue at hand.  Let's hope this one gets the stamp of approval from Apple and lives a long life in the App Store.

That's right citizens of the Horde and defenders of the Alliance, Blizzard's recently released app allows you to keep track of all your World of Warcraft characters, along with their stats, equipment, achievements and more. You can access your guild's stats and calendar, as well as other informational and planning tools. Experiment with talent trees or search for items, the World of Warcraft Mobile Armory can do it all.

Blizzard released this fairly impressive trailer walking users through the various functions of the app:

The World of Warcraft Mobile Armory is available as a free download, but requires a World of Warcraft or Battle.net account to use.

App Store Link: World of Warcraft Mobile Armory, Free

For many of you out there, the iPhone is not your only gaming console.  Those among you who also spend time on Xbox Live may find interest in Nicholas Pike's recent App Store release iXboxLive [App Store].

In short, iXboxLive is your Xbox Live "buddy list" on your iPhone.  iXboxLive allows you to

• View your buddy list as you've defined it
• See what your buddies are currently playing
• See your buddies' gamer pic, gamer score, gamer reputation, and location
• See your buddies' list of recent games including scores and last-played dates

The major shortcoming of this app is that you must manually enter the gamertag of each buddy you would like to track.  The author explains that this is due to restrictions in the Microsoft Xbox Community Developer SDK and that, unfortunately, the load-time of iXboxLive will increase significantly for each gamertag added to the list.

iXboxLive retails for $0.99 on the iTunes App Store.  Despite its shortcomings, diehard Xbox Live gamers may find it of use.

[ via Kotaku ]

Konami

Frogger for the iPhone is an adaptation of Konami's 1981 arcade original featuring updated graphics, an updated soundtrack, and a choice of touchscreen or accelerometer controls–or both combined.

Like the original, the goal of the game is to direct five frogs, one by one, from the starting point at the bottom of the screen to their homes at the top before the timer runs out.  It's a treaturous journey.  The lower half of the screen consists of a busy roadway with five lanes of speeding traffic.  The upper half contains a rushing river filled with logs, turtles, alligators and other such hazards.  The challenge is getting the frog home safely without getting flattened, drowned (this was always puzzling…), or eaten.  It sounds simple, but can be rather frustrating challenging.

The iPhone version offers both accelerometer and two types of touchscreen controls.  Moving your frog with the accelerometer involves "jerking" the iPhone in the intended direction of travel.  Touchscreen control works with either a tap in the intended direction relative to the frog's current position or a swipe (anywhere on the screen) in the desired direction, akin to the "swipe" control mode of Ms. PAC-MAN for the iPhone.  Both control systems are active simultaneously by default, but either can be turned off in the game options.  After spending time with all control methods, the swipe technique seems the most precise.  The iPhone's vibrate feature is also utilized by the game.

Frogger for the iPhone is…well…Frogger–not much more, not much less.  If you're a Frogger fan, then you'll enjoy this outing. If not, you may find a better value in some of the other $9.99 games.

As Pocket Gamer reports, Konami is enthusiastic about the iPhone as a gaming platform and will be bringing more content in the near future.

"We see the iPhone platform as an opportunity to showcase the legendary Konami brands in a truly unique fashion," he says. "We look forward to releasing more of our popular titles for the iPhone soon."

One thing to note: The official line from Konami is that right now Frogger is iPhone-only (not iPod touch compatible), despite iLounge reporting that they successfully installed it on an iPod touch.  Konami indicates it will be releasing a verison compatible with the iPod touch soon.  (Thanks chrisb3)

THQ (Toy Headquarters) is a massive worldwide game developer with a library of hundreds of titles and over $1 billion in revenue in 2007. Until now, they had made no announcements of iPhone support. THQ publishes games for multiple platforms including the Playstation 3, Nintendo Wii and Xbox 360.

As THQ describes de Blob,

The evil I.N.K.T. Corporation has declared "Color is a Crime!" and leeched Chroma City of all its beauty and interest. With no means to fight back, the citizens of Chroma City have been forced into a hypnotic state. Only the unlikely hero de Blob can defeat the hordes of tank battalions, speedy I.N.K.T. racers and elite Inky soldiers that have invaded his home. Flip, bounce and smash your way to launch a color revolution and save your city!

Wii version

While the forthcoming Wii version of de Blob is set in a fully 3D world, the iPhone version is set in a semi-3D world featuring a fixed, top-down view with 3D buildings, but otherwise 2D graphics. The player controls de Blob as he moves about the depressing, grey landscape collecting colors and liberating the repressed.  de Blob is presented with certain goals to complete and is required to color certain buildings with specific colors that must sometimes be obtained through mixing (eg. red + yellow = orange), reminding me, in this respect, of Archer MacLean's Mercury.

While not as graphically advanced as the forthcoming Wii version, de Blob for iPhone does feature unique, engaging gameplay.  But we have to wonder why THQ chose to bring a "dumbed down" version of the this game (presumably similar to the forthcoming DS version) to the iPhone rather than a more faithful conversion of the Wii original.  After all, the iPhone is closer to the Wii than the DS in capability.

A choice of touchscreen or accelerometer-based controls are offered within the game. The video below demonstrates the touch control which can obscure the gameplay at times. Meanwhile, the accelerometer control is flexible allowing you to calibrate the settings (screenshot) including choosing the neutral position and sensitivity.

YouTube gameplay video:

Game Details

Name: de Blob
Developer: THQ
App Store Link: Buy
Price: $9.99
Compatibility: iPhone and iPod Touch