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20 games Wired.com says you need for your iPhone
I'm actually glad I don't have an iPhone, because that narrows down the choice of games to play by several thousand. Literally. Right now, I see 3500 games in the iTunes store. Wired says there are "over 4700", but who's counting? My mind is blown and I'm paralyzed into indecision by anything over a couple hundred.
However, since I know plenty of you are curious about iPhone games, here's Wired.com's list of the top ten iPhone games, and here's the list of what their readers voted as the top ten iPhone games. Notice the overlap? No? That's because there isn't any. Who can pick ten out of 3500, much less 4700? Pictured above is Field Runners, a tower defense game that Wired calls "Best Game in an Inexplicably Crowded Genre".
iPhone gaming is going to be an interesting space to watch over the next year or so. Some big names are trying to carve out their own space, and some new talent is emerging. Will it have any impact on the Nintendo DS juggernaut or the foundering PSP? All signs point to yes.
By wrshamilton at 10:19 AM ON 02/17/09
I'm pretty sure the user list is the top 10 games that didn't make the Wired list. So the lack of overlap is by design.
By Old Man Dotes at 11:10 AM ON 02/17/09
Oddly enough, so far no one has convinced me I need an iPhone. Or anything else that's tied to AT&T, or the proprietary iTunes crap store.
By Sithinious at 1:46 PM ON 02/17/09
Fieldrunners, PuzzleQuest, and Fantastic Contraption. Those are the only three that get any playtime on my phone. PuzzleQuest was unplayable when it was released, but the patch made it a pretty good game.
Spore for the iPhone was a letdown (much like the computer game).
By Tom Chick at 5:28 PM ON 02/17/09
I got that impression as well, Mr. Hamilton, but if that's the case, Wired didn't establish it very clearly. And I'm with Mr. Dotes: so far nothing I've read has made me personally feel like I'm missing out by not having an iPhone for gaming. I suspect that's going to change before long, but for now, I'm the content non-owner of an iPhone.
By malkav11 at 8:44 PM ON 02/17/09
Everything I've read suggests that even if there's a killer game for iPhone (or one emerges), the iPhone itself is a terrible platform for gaming purposes. As snazzy as it may be for things like mobile internet.
By Mr. Brand at 2:57 AM ON 02/18/09
I'm paralyzed when I run out of fingers to count with!
The iPhone and iPod touch aren't bad for gaming - I think they're right up there with the Nintendo DS in features (if you only compare to games which can be played with only the touch screen). Too bad the iPhone sucks as an actual phone ;)
Mr. Brand:
I'm paralyzed when I run out of fingers to count with! The iPhone and iPod touch aren't bad for gaming - I think t...More »