With the App Store open for business, games are finally headed to Apple's iPhone, and the unit's multitouch interface, accelerometer, and built-in mic and speaker make it perfect for gaming. THQ Wireless is one of the many companies getting ready to try and cash in on the first generation of the App Store -- after making games for a lot of other mobile devices, Director of Global Production Brad Pitser is excited about finally releasing software for the iPhone.

Joystiq got to play two different games in THQ's demo at E3. De Blob is a handheld adaptation of the Wii game, and uses the accelerometer in the iPhone and iPod touch to do a little light platform puzzling. And Force Unleashed attempts to recreate the upcoming Star Wars action title, by using a touchscreen gesture system to try and make you feel like a Jedi. impressions of both are after the break.

Sony will sell the PSP in a new "Entertainment Pack" -- for $199, they'll include a silver slim PSP, Ratchet and Clank: Size Matters, a 1gb memory stick, a voucher for Echochrome, and a copy of National Treasure 2: Book of Secrets. Yeah, we know, the Nicholas Cage blockbuster really makes it.

If you haven't grabbed a PSP yet, this could be just the deal you've been waiting for. Sony says it'll be in stores this fall.

We sat in the EA Press Conference, happily snapping away to bring you a selection of screenshots and slides that we thought hilighted the event pretty well. Images span from the newly announced SimAnimals and EA Sports' new All Play franchise to id's RAGE and Valve's Left 4 Dead. A couple of shots from the impressive looking Mirror's Edge and Dead Space also make an appearance. Be sure to stop back later for some of Will Wright's favorite Spore creatures, including a Chocobo and some robots. Seriously.

The gallery begins here, if you'd like to step this way ...

2:53 pm PT: We're live at the Orpheum Theater in Los Angeles (seventh row, to be precise), ready for Electronic Arts' E3 2008 press conference. It should get underway in just a few minutes!

2:58pm PT: The central screen is currently host to the names of all EA's internal studios. EA Romania, Pandemic, EA Korea, EA Montreal, Redwood Shores, Criterion all go whizzing by. We briefly glimpse "EA Guam," but chalk it up to the effects of jet lag.

3:02pm PT: A poor soul tries to perform the infamous "skooching" manuever as he attempts to reach a seat on the other end of our row of seats. We have to awkwardly lift our bags and laptops, smiling politely while we whisper out curses.

3:05pm PT: The screen blackens and a white EA logo fades in. A quick montage of gameplay clips -- Mercenaries 2, Madden, Mirror's Edge, Facebreaker, Tiger Woods and The Sims are all accounted for.

Apogee Software, a one-time forerunner of shareware titles, is back. According to a press release, the company has reached an "exclusive agreement" with 3D Realms and MachineWorks Northwest LLC to release Duke Nukem Trilogy to the "handheld console market." The brand new game includes episodes Critical Mass, Chain Reaction and Proving Grounds.

No other details are available. Even though 3D Realms is still legally named Apogee Software, the two companies' relationship is unclear. In the press release, Apogee describes itself as "back to re-establish itself as an innovative leader in interactive entertainment." With new, actual Duke Nukem Release Technology©, we'd be hard to argue.

Little known fact: There's a new iPhone about to launch tomorrow. We know, you can't be expected to keep up with every little cell phone revision, but that's what Engadget is for and, after this morning's launch of the iTunes App Store and iPhone software 2.0, they're all over it. So while you still have to wait until tomorrow for the iPhone 3G, you can get the same software on your totally obsolete iPhone today. And a major part of that upgrade: games! Here's where you get interested ...

Steve Jobs, ruler of all things Apple, hath decreed to the New York Times that, of the first 500 applications to launch on the App Store, "a third ... will be games." As you can see from our undersized graphic above, most of these games range from $4.99 to $9.99 – in fact, according to Jobs, 90% of this first wave of apps will be $9.99 or less, and 25% will be totally free (nothing free in the top 57 games) . We'll be checking out plenty of these games and we'll get you a report soon. Until then, any iPhone owners make the 2.0 bump and load these up yet?

[Via Engadget]

While we still don't think the iPhone App Store makes the do-everything cell phone a threat to the DS, we are impressed with the growing list of big-name franchises being ported to the system. We can now amend that list to include the Bomberman series, with Hudson's with the recent announcement of Bomberman Touch: Legend of the Mystic Bomb.

A video trailer (embedded below the jump) shows what looks like a transparent, touch-screen d-pad placed over the on-screen action to control Bomberman, sort of like the interface for the earlier iPhone PlayStation emulator . According to Hudson, the game will include "classic Bomberman powerups and original special items" and take advantage of "the unique iPhone / iPod touch interface of flicking, tapping, and tilting with a built-in accelerometer." No word on a multiplayer mode, but with the iPhone's Wi-Fi capabilities, a local wireless option would hopefully be a no-brainer.

Bomberman touch joins water-based puzzle game Aqua Forest and the always lucrative Sudoku in Hudson's announced line-up for the iPhone.

[Via Apple iPhone School. Thanks, Kamarul]

Speaking to MTV Multiplayer, the developer of such epics as Mass Effect and Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic confirmed that it is looking into games of a much smaller (physical) scale. Specifically, BioWare co-CEO Greg Zeschuk states that he finds Apple's iPhone "intriguing" as a games platform. Mind you, he's not saying development is underway, but he is a fan.

"Something that's as big a cultural and technical success as the iPhone is something you've really got to take a close look at," explains Zeschuk, adding that, "We've got a lot of folks looking at it." Zechuk's statements come just a few days after the project lead on BioWare's Nintendo DS RPG, Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood, revealed that the company is also investigating Wii and PSP dvelopment. Now BioWare just needs to look into developing for those LCD games you see at mall kiosks and it'll have all bases covered.

Well that didn't take long. Just a little over a week after announcing his departure from Electronic Arts, former EA Blueprint head Neil Young – an 11-year veteran of the mega-publisher – has revealed his latest gig: ngmoco. Never heard of it? Well, that's because it's brand new; however, if Mr. Young and every other business-minded human eying up the iPhone market is right, you'll be hearing plenty about ngmoco.

First, what's the name mean? Young tells Newsweek that it stands for "Next Generation MObile COmpany" (what, you didn't totally see that the first time?). Alright, but what does that mean? He tells Gamasutra the company is a "publisher that is specifically focused on games for the iPhone and beyond." So, not just the iPhone, but "that class of mobile phone" – touch screen, network connectivity, accelerometer, et al. Young isn't looking to develop games at ngmoco, but rather to commission, finance, and produce titles, hoping the brand name and institutional knowledge will help ngmoco's titles remain visible in what he expects to be a busy, competitive marketplace.

Most interestingly, he talks about how Apple's forthcoming AppStore will rebalance the mobile gaming industry's reliance on carriers. Now, he says, the average revenue per user on mobile phones is "$7.50 or $8" compared to $45 on the PSP and $62 on the DS, leaving a great deal of potential there given the right product.

Source – Departing Electronic Arts Executive Neil Young Talks to Level Up About His New Venture
Source – Q&A: EA Vet Young Reveals iPhone Publisher Ngmoco

Despite being an obvious consideration for Sony Ericsson, the nigh mythical "PlayStation phone" has spectacularly failed to materialize -- outside of some dodgy patent drawings. If a recent report by Marketing News is to be believed, the project's current status is up in the air, flitting between sharply dressed men sitting in a board room.

According to the publication's sources, the relationship between Sony and Sony Ericsson has become "frosty," with alleged insider conversations asserting that the gaming giant will "never give its PlayStation branding" to a cellular project. There's been some hesitance on this subject before, with Sony Ericsson's Peter Ahnegard stating, "Up until today we haven't felt we could launch a PlayStation phone because it wouldn't be recognized as a true continuation of that brand of products." Marketing News also notes that sources in Japan and Korea point to the PSP being "converted" into a phone.

Is the PlayStation-branded phone's future in flux? Is such a thing even in development? Will we have it in our mitts during Christmas 2009? This one's too confusing to call.

Step right up, I said step right up folks and behold the wonder of the Oregon Trail. Yes sir, nostalgia is a powerful thing, I say a powerful thing ladies and gentlemen. Many people visited this here little corner of the internet when we posted that the mobile version of the game was released, so it's only fair to follow that up with the recently released gameplay video found after the break.

There may not be any sound with the video, but let the power of imagination fill in the sounds like when you had to play the original game with no sound in the classroom as a child. Yes sir, watching this video might spare you from a broken arm, dysentery and other afflictions (or try one of Mrs. Lovett's meat pies). Behold ...

Mobile games developer Gameloft has released its updated version of The Oregon Trail. The game costs $4 (or more, depending on your carrier) and introduces several new gameplay elements to the elementary school classic.

The game now includes five skill-based mini-games, side-missions and random events like bandits. Of course, everyone's favorite gameplay elements like hunting and random outbreaks of disease are still included. Oh yes, Mary will contract diphtheria. A demo is available on the Gameloft site to try before you buy.

Should mobile phone games cater to the gender lines? Not according to THQ Wireless marketing director James Scalpello, who believes developing mobile games for girls is a "lost cause."

Speaking to CasualGaming.biz, Scalpello explains his logic across two points. He believes that games targeted to female players are patronizing to the female gaming audience, while also stating that gaming's not a priority to most girls. Claiming that gaming's more important to male audiences, Scalpello states that "girls [believe they have] better things to do. If you say so, James.

[Via CVG]

Following Sega's Super Monkey Ball iPhone demo during today's WWDC Apple keynote, Pangea Software's Brian Greenstone took the stage to show two games they have been working on, Enigmo and Cro-Mag Rally, both games that date back to at least 2003 for the developer. Said Grenstone, both games took "three days to get each game up and running -- totally playable."

No other news is available. Monkey Ball notwithstanding, it's kind of disappointing we haven't seen anything from known iPhone devs Ubisoft, Electronic Arts, id Software or Gameloft. Pictures of Cro-Mag Rally for iPhone after the break.

Now this is what we're talking about. Digital Legends Entertainment was the last of three game developers presenting at today's Apple keynote (the other two being Sega and Pangea), and they showed off an action-adventure title due out for the iPhone in September.

Our friends at Engadget had this to say about the game: "Looks a little like God of War, graphics somewhere between DS and PSP. Pretty friggin' impressive. N-GAGE has been after games that look this good for years." We don't know the title, although our best guess is Nightfall Dragons (found on the developer's website). More pictures after the break.