The opening spread of a large iPhone gaming feature in Retro Gamer 61.
In the UK at least, the balance is starting to tip regarding iPod touch and iPhone games. Edge magazine interviewed Greg Joswiak (Apple VP for iPod/iPhone product marketing) recently, but, more importantly, gave Rolando a double-page spread in the magazine.
Edge is notorious for being one of the few British magazines that actually understands how a rating system should work, and avoids placating publishers, instead scoring games as they deserve. Rolando got a ‘7’, which in Edge’s book is pretty good, especially when you consider games are rated against all the competition. (The general conclusion was the game is good when compared to anything, but a current standout on the platform.)
More astonishing, though, is the current issue of Retro Gamer. This magazine concentrates solely on classic gaming, interviewing the likes of Eugene Jarvis, Toru Iwatani and Yu Suzuki, seeing how old games came to be. This month, ten pages of the magazine are given over to iPhone, exploring how the system is becoming a favourite for indie devs who have a fascination with classic gaming.
The point is that when newsstand mags—and especially niche publications like Retro Gamer—start covering iPhone gaming in this manner, it’s surely knocking on the door of mainstream. That said, such coverage can still prove controversial, and there was a barrage of complaints regarding ‘legitimacy’ on Retro Gamer’s forum—some centring around the relevance of Apple’s device in a retro magazine, but many arguing that it’s not a de-facto gaming platform at all. Long-time readers of Cult of Mac will know that this was a view that I once held, something I intended to address in a feature on this site sometime over the next couple of weeks.
