Apple's iPhone 4, its App Store and several games have earned world records, cementing the iOS platform as a force not only among smartphones, but gaming platforms as well.
According to Guinness World Records, the iPhone 4 is the fastest selling portable gaming device in history, selling about 1.5 million units since June 24, 2010. In comparison, Sony's PlayStation Portable moved 200,000 units its first day, while Nintendo needed nine days to move 500,000 DS handhelds in 2004.
In addition to Apple's iPhone, its App Store, which since its July 2008 debut has received 6.5 billion downloads of its 37,000-plus available downloadable games, was named far-and-away the largest gaming destination in the world. The App Store's numbers dwarf the competition, with Steam, the PC's answer to iTunes, offering gamers about 1,100 titles and. Microsoft's Xbox Live Indie Game store carrying around 1,300.
Several games won individual honors from Guinness as well, including "Angry Birds," which nabbed the top-spot for paid games, with its 6.5 million iOS downloads since its debut in Dec. 2009. "Plants vs. Zombies," from developer PopCap, was recognized as the fastest-selling iPhone strategy game with 300,000 paid-downloads its first nine days on the market, while Tapulous' "Tap Tap Revenge" series was given the nod as the highest-selling game series on the IPhone with more than 15 million downloads.
The iPhone's mobility has surely played a role in making the device a popular destination for casual and serious gamers alike. Today's smartphone user always has their device in arms reach, and having games right on their device eliminates the need for bulky, pocket-filling handhelds like the PSP and Nintendo DS.
In addition, the App store is always a click away, offering thousands of games with price-tags as low as $1. The low entry point allows users to experiment with several games because, unlike console games that charge up to anywhere from $30 to $50 a title.
Dedicated console gamers point to the richer and deeper game play experience as justification for the increased price, but the argument doesn't resonate well with average casual gamers, who increasingly turn to their smartphones for a quick game or two to pass the time between other activities. Especially in these difficult economic times, gamers are looking for cheaper forms of entertainment, and are finding it in app-style downloadable titles.
For their part, Nintendo has been vocal against the growing popularity of App Store games, saying they cheapen and threaten the very existence of full-scale, console gaming systems.
But, as the Guinness Awards underscore, smartphones are continuing their march towards ubiquity, and as a result, downloadable gaming will continue to grow, continuing a paradigm shift from traditional console-based gaming on the television screen to the touch-sensitive small screen.
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