Mobile games are popular only because of the iphone's screen size and touch screen capability. What we need is the N-Gage 2!

I personally like mobile games on my iphone. It means when I go to work I can dick around with a simple game during my breaks, or let me play some whilst working discreetly. And the iphone smaller and lighter than my DS, and I bring it with me everywhere anyways.

@TheStripe: just let it go :p
I don't think mobile games will collapse but I do think they'll hit a plateau where the prices will stabilise(around $5 ish) with production costs still lower than developing for traditional handheld consoles, and with not-that-bad quality standards.
unless everyone decides to spew shovelware then in that case they're doomed.

@the stripe you had it right the second time... I dunno, i'm not really down with mobile gaming, can't see it replacing my ds... But then, i don't have an iphone so maybe i'm missing something.

this guy has been right 30% of the time but he just needs to shut up.

Please don't give the fool any more publicity.

If focus remains on developing for the iPhone, and Apple continue releasing new handsets more than once every 12 months to ever increasingly wallet raping prices I can see things petering out somewhat.

I really don't see the iPhone as a gaming platform ala the DS or PSP, but there are also a staggering number of titles available. I saw that over 300 apps (not all games) are put on the App Store daily, and that's more than most systems get in a year. But on the flipside...shovelware. And lots of it. Oh yes, there are good programs out there, I'll admit, but the fact that the entire Role Playing category (first 25 apps, anyway) are nothing but related to the iMafia kind of browser-based "MMO" is laughable.

Apple does have one advantage. Games can be priced anywhere between free to $20 as far as I know, which outside of the cost of the hardware, is a big jump on the competitors. But they're still cell phone games. Blah blah blah.

Analysts are like banshees. They wail a lot, but majority of the time are wrong. Look how many of them said PSP would bury DS, and PS3 would bury 360. Always take what they say with a pinch of salt.

I do agree with Black, that if the iPhone wasn't making a firm mobile presence, mobile gaming would indeed crawl back into its previous poor shell. The reason that won't happen is due to games/aps being DLC, and there no being three different iPhones on the market, plus iPod Touch. With these out there, Apple isn't going to fold up and leave the gaming space anytime soon.

For the likes of large devs/pubs like EA, I see no point in them entering iPhone games, because they are looking for huge sales, like those on home consoles, which will never happen.

The real benefit of iPhone/touch games is in favour of the small developer, where a one/two man team can create cracking games/aps, have them sold via iTunes and make a name for themselves, that might change their entire life, and make some good money too.

What Apple must look into though, is better organisation of games from aps, and new from old. I hope they sort this out soon, because then good games won't get buried in amongst junk aps etc.

But yes, I think mobile games have finally arrived, thanks to Apple.

Download a game called Underworld for the iphone. Best game i played on any system all year and only 3 bucks.

If you don`t agree with him at least make an argument you just look like some frustrated loser on a forum, you might hate patcher but he makes a living of this, he sure didn`t get to Wedbush and morgan by being a loser in a website.

People hate to bash him but most of his "incorrect" predictions are taking out of context, he make his analisys mostly from a economic/bussines point of view.. most of us are gammers it`s a diferent perspective.

I really don't get why Pachter thinks this. Tons of mobile phones would play MP3's before the iPhone, but the iPhone really integrated the two devices together well. Also, I say that I still haven't seen a better browser than Apple's mobile Safari. The iPhone deserves the success it gets, and it's nice to know that the iPhone can play games pretty nicely as well.

Now, will gaming machines be integrated into mobile phones eventually? That's a different story. "Hardcore" gamers expect better technology to support their games, and a phone company can't reasonably create a phone with equivalent power of a Sony device. If the iPhone were something that said: "and it plays games better than your PSP," gamers would jump on it, but I would assume that the price would be higher than it needs to be. The average cell phone user needs a music/video player, not a game player. However, it's nice for the average phone buyer to know that it can play games reasonably well. Think of all "casual" gaming people that bought the DS because they just want to play Sudoku on it. A mobile phone CAN overtake that market.

iPhone doom is pretty addicting as well. A billion app downloads. There's my argument.

Mobile games at this moment still can't compete in terms of depth with other portable games that's created specifically for handheld game system, with the exception of SIM CITY for iphone, i have yet seen any game that provide depth gameplay in iphone.