Apple: iPods to be The “Future of Gameplay”

Apple vice president Greg Joswiak is promising more software and even better gameplay with future iPods and iPhones.

“The quarter that closed September was the biggest iPod non-holiday quarter ever,” announced a happy Joswiak, who heads the marketing of all iPod and iPhone affiliated products.

With over 1,500 games available, many for free, gaming applications are the most developed and downloaded software on in the Apps Store. As the list of free software grows, Joswiak aims to promote the high-quality, pay products that he also says are deeper than “casual games.”

“There are real 3D games, and it’s hard to imagine we’re only a little over 100 days into it. There are already so many games and as we look at it, to us it really seems this is the future of gameplay,” commented Joswiak. “Whereas a lot of these devices [Nintendo DS and Sony PSP] are more in the past. And a big part of that is not just the device itself, which is easier to carry, and has the touch display and accelerometer which is great for gameplay, but it’s the electronic distribution of the apps as well.”

Two key components to Apple plan for iPod gaming growth lies in pricing and marketing. With most games priced below $5, lacking licensing requirements and hardware that’s already popular, Apple and its developer can undercut both the Nintendo DS and PlayStation Portable on price.

The demographic that often uses iPods, teens, also happen to be active gamers. Joswiak explained how this connection increases sales of iPod games: “For example our market share in the US is 78 percent and there’s a group there that follows the teen share, which is 87 percent. So that gives you that leverage into this teen market which is able to then have their iPod, which again can play their music and their videos, and then go right into the games. And that’s why on the store you see everything from the casual games, there’s no doubt there are a lot of casual games, to the 3D oriented games, action games, and the amazing thing is you squint your eyes and think ‘where is this going to be six months from now?’ Because this is what people have done very quickly.”

Joswiak revealed three new games to soon come to the iTunes App Store: Rolando, a side-scrolling platformer like Locoroco where characters are tilted and rolled around the level; Sim City and Need For Speed Undercover, all of which will support Apple’s claim that the iPod/iPhone platforms will be “the future of gaming.”

He also added the easy advantage iPods have over other handhelds, “The Touch is always in your pocket, whereas you can’t always carry some other games consoles.”

Source: T3