The iPhone 3G may be here, but what we're really excited about is the iPhone 2.0 software update. Only some people really need faster browsing and slightly better location services, but everyone can use the new features in the OS. Now that we've gotten chance to go through all that updated functionality—as well as a good chunk of apps, MobileMe and Exchange—we've only got one question left. Is iPhone 2.0 so good that you don't even need to upgrade to an iPhone 3G? It depends. But if I was forced to choose between an iPhone 3G barren of apps and the slower original with them, I'd go for the apps.

http://gizmodo.com/5024078/iphone-20...de-that-counts ...

Macrumors has a useful post on how you can upgrade (downgrade, technically) from the leaked "iPhone1,2" firmware to the official "iPhone1,1" firmware issued early this morning. The leaked firmware was intended to only for use with iPhone 3G before it got out to the masses. In short, you need to download the correct firmware, and hold down the option key when you check for firmware updates in iTunes, allowing you to pick the file you want to install.

http://gizmodo.com/5024488/how-to-up...al-20-firmware ...

Hudson Soft Co., Ltd. today announced three of its key gaming titles, BOMBERMAN TOUCH - THE LEGEND OF MYSTIC BOMB, AQUA FOREST and SUDOKU will all be available on the Apple App Store when it launches today. All these exciting games fully leverage the unique and innovative features of iPhone and iPod touch, including the Multi-Touch screen and accelerometer. These three games are only the first in a series of applications that Hudson Soft plans to release for the iPhone OS platform.

BOMBERMAN TOUCH -THE LEGEND OF MYSTIC BOMB- is Hudson Soft's flagship title on the Apple App Store. Classic Bomberman gameplay is melded seamlessly with the innovative Multi-Touch user interface using motions such as flick, tap and tilt in a story set amongst ancient ruins.
Players can also control Bomberman's moves by touching any location on the screen to bring up a directional control pad.

AQUA FOREST powered by OctaveEngine Casual has two modes in the game - Puzzle mode with a water and ecology motif and Free mode in which users can create anything they wish using the game’s tools. Puzzle mode has five levels, each of which has ten stages, for a total of fifty stages. As each puzzle is solved, the tree in the background will grow gradually. In Free mode, users will experience a whole new world of drawing. Using real physics, graphics created using the game’s tools will come to life as soon as they are drawn on the touch screen.

SUDOKU Vol.1- in collaboration with Nikoli, the inventor of this globally popular logic puzzle and Hudson Soft introduce Sudoku for iPhone and iPod touch. Gameplay is designed specifically for the touch screen so players can easily enter numbers in boxes as smoothly as writing with a pen.
Apple's new App Store will provide iPhone users with native applications in a variety of categories including games, business, news, sports, health, reference and travel. The App Store on iPhone works over cellular networks and Wi-Fi, which means it is accessible from just about anywhere, so you can purchase and download applications wirelessly and start using them instantly. Some applications are even free and the App Store notifies you when application updates are available.

These three games will be available priced at just $5.99 for SUDOKU and just $7.99 each for AQUA FOREST and BOMBERMAN TOUCH from Apple’s App Store on iPhone and iPod touch or at www.itunes.com/appstore/ ...

Hudson Soft Co., Ltd. today announced its ground-breaking game AQUA FOREST will be available on the Apple App Store at launch today, priced at just $7.99. AQUA FOREST is the first commercial product to use OctaveEngine Casual, the 2D multi-physics engine designed by Prometech Software, for the development of casual games. The App Store will be available tomorrow on iPhone and iPod touch or at www.itunes.com/appstore/

There are two modes in the game: Puzzle mode with a water and ecology motif and Free mode in which users can create anything they wish using the game’s tools. Puzzle mode has five levels, each of which has ten stages, for a total of fifty stages. As each puzzle is solved, the tree in the background will grow gradually. In Free mode, users will experience a whole new world of drawing. Using real physics, graphics created using the game’s tools will come to life as soon as they are drawn on the touch screen.

All puzzles featured in this application have one common theme: moving the water on the screen of the iPhone or iPod touch. The gameplay is easily accessible so that a wide range of users will be able to enjoy the puzzles. For example, in one puzzle, users must figure out how to catch water drops falling from a tree using a container. To move the water, users must use two of the unique features of iPhone: the accelerometer and the innovative Multi-Touch user interface. Using the accelerometer, users can tilt their devices to move water, and using the touch screen, draw with the game’s tools, including a pen, knife, eraser or more, in order to eliminate the obstacles or to draw walls to direct water to the goal.

In Free mode, users can choose from physical properties, such as water, fire, gel and rubber, to draw using various tools, such as drag, move, brush, pencil, and an eraser. Based on the physical properties used, drawings will move in real time as water splashes, fire burns, and so on.

Using the abilities of OctaveEngineTM Casual combine user actions with simultaneous physics calculations, AQUA FOREST provides ingenious interactive entertainment never seen before. ...

Atlus U.S.A., Inc. today announced that a demo of Trauma Center®: Under the Knife 2 for Nintendo DS™, a direct sequel to the 2005 medical action smash hit, is now available for a limited time as a free download for Wii™ owners via Nintendo Channel. Experience a fast-paced operation from the full version as you race to save the patient’s life! With numerous enhancements, including new difficulty modes and new operations, Trauma Center: Under the Knife 2 offers handheld surgeons a lot to be excited about.

Trauma Center: Under the Knife 2 is now available in stores across North America.

To learn more about Nintendo Channel for Wii™, visit the official Nintendo Channel website: http://us.wii.com/channel_nintendo.jsp ...

SEGA® Mobile, a division of SEGA® of America, today announced the release of Super Monkey Ball™ for the iPhone and iPod® Touch is available on Apple's App Store. Available for download for just $9.99, Super Monkey Ball takes full advantage of Apple's innovative iPhone OS to deliver a truly unique and immersive gaming experience with tilting action in full 3D.

Apple's new App Store will provide iPhone users with native applications in a variety of categories including games, business, news, sports, health, reference and travel. The App Store on iPhone works over cellular networks and Wi-Fi, which means it is accessible from just about anywhere, so you can purchase and download applications wirelessly and start using them instantly. Some applications are even free and the App Store notifies you when application updates are available. The App Store will be available in 62 countries at launch at www.itunes.com/appstore/
"Super Monkey Ball offers consumers a whole new way to interact with a handheld game – this time with just a tilt of the device,” said Simon Jeffery, president and COO of SEGA of America. “While remaining true to the look and feel of the popular franchise, Super Monkey Ball for the iPhone OS has been designed to take advantage of the three-axis accelerometer, creating a very natural and direct correlation between the actions of the player and the gameplay. The result is an extremely accessible, imaginative and fun gaming experience.”

In Super Monkey Ball, players control one of the four monkeys from the Super Monkey Ball franchise – AiAi, MeeMee, Baby and Gongon. With each monkey inside of a transparent ball, players must tilt the device to roll the monkey through 110 different stages, all while overcoming a number of obstacles such as gaps, slopes, narrow ledges and moving platforms. With a pinpoint control mechanism, players will simply tilt and turn the device to maneuver their monkey, accelerating and decelerating as they make their way through the colorfully animated world. With five different worlds and three gamplay modes – Main Game, Instant Play and Practice Mode – Super Monkey Ball brings next-generation console gaming to the iPhone.

Super Monkey Ball, a highly anticipated application developed by Other Ocean Interactive, will carry a price point of $9.99 and be available on all worldwide App Stores. For more information about Super Monkey Ball and other SEGA Mobile products, please visit www.segamobile.com. ...

Publisher X announced today its formation as a new publisher that will focus on digital download platforms, such as the PlayStation Network for the PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system, Xbox LIVE® online Arcade for the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, WiiWare™ for Wii™, PC, the Apple® iPhone™ and the Apple® iPod touch™.

The fledgling publisher has a strategic partnership with Flashman Studios and Reverb Communications, industry veterans that respectively will provide development support as well as public relations, marketing and sales services to the upcoming titles.

Publisher X also announced today that it has completed partnership deals with four international developers: ZEN Studios (Hungary), Capybara Games (Canada), Phantom EFX (Iowa, USA) and War Drum Studios (Florida, USA). Today, Publisher X released six titles for the Apple iPhone and iPod touch including Critter Crunch, developed by Capybara Games, ZEN Pinball: Rollercoaster, developed by Zen Studios, Reel Deal Slots, Reel Deal Blackjack, Reel Deal Texas Hold ‘Em and Reel Deal Video Poker, co-developed by Phantom EFX and War Drum Studios.

Flashman Studios is well known in the videogame industry for managing the business aspects of both up-and-coming and established developers as well as representing IP owners. Its current clientele includes ZEN Studios (Pinball FX, XBLA), Capybara Games (Critter Crunch, mobile, winner of several Game of the Year Awards), Red Fly Studio (developing the upcoming Ghostbusters: The Video Game for Wii, PlayStation 2 system and Nintendo DS), and many more.

Reverb Communications brings extensive public relations, marketing and sales experience to the Publisher X table including numerous Xbox LIVE Arcade titles. Reverb specializes in the music gaming space including its work on the hit music videogame titles Guitar Hero™ and Guitar Hero II™, as well as currently handling public relations for Harmonix’s award-winning music videogame franchise Rock Band™.

Publisher X plans to take a running lead in the digital gaming space. According to the IDC's Digital Marketplace Model and Forecast, users will access the Internet through more than 1.5 billion devices worldwide in 2008, including PCs, mobile phones, and online videogame consoles. By 2012, the number of devices accessing the Internet will double to more than 3 billion, half of which will be mobile devices. ...

ZEN Studios, creator of the critically acclaimed Xbox LIVE® Arcade game, Pinball FX, announced today that ZEN Pinball: Rollercoaster is now available for download for the Apple® iPhone™ 3G and iPod® touch. ZEN Pinball: Rollercoaster, released by Publisher X, is the first pinball arcade simulator that utilizes the innovative Apple touch Screen.

“The iPhone platform continues to challenge the direction of the handheld gaming industry with its innovative features,” says Zsolt Kigyossy, Managing Director of ZEN Studios. “ZEN Pinball Rollercoaster is the ultimate pinball heart-stopper, with unsurpassed visuals and ultra-crisp gameplay that will keep Apple users “in touch” for weeks at a time!”

ZEN Pinball: Rollercoaster’s endless levels of fun, combined with the colorful and exciting table, provide players with hours of fun.

ZEN Pinball: Rollercoaster Game Features:
• Fascinating graphics - full 3D environment, all intricately detailed and rendered with the Rollercoaster theme!
• Addictive, fast gameplay with five main game modes, plus multiple multiball modes!
• Bumpers, ramps, towers and run lanes galore!
• Sophisticated physics model in 3D - perfect physical modeling of the ball and its interaction with the environment
• Explore the playfield in 3D, thanks to the gyroscopic capabilities of the iPhone 3G!
• Nudge the table by shaking the iPhone 3G!
• Hit the High Striker to test your toughness, then go further, and enjoy being hit with 4Gs on the Rocket Ride!

For more information about ZEN Studios and ZEN Pinball: Rollercoaster, please visit www.zenstudios.com ...

Capybara Games, a Canadian mobile and handheld game studio focused on the creation of innovative games, announced today that its award-winning mobile puzzle game, Critter Crunch, is now available on the Apple® iPhone™ 3G and iPod® touch. Critter Crunch is being released on the new Apple gaming platforms by Publisher X, a publisher focused on digitally downloaded titles.

“Bringing our game to the new Apple iPhone 3G and iPod touch is a fantastic next step in the evolution of Critter Crunch,” said Capybara President Tom Frencel. “Critter Crunch’s exciting levels and addictive nature will have millions of iPhone users struggling to put the game down.”

In Critter Crunch, players assume the role of Biggs, a friendly, furry forest dweller with an unending hunger for tasty critters. Using his long tongue, Biggs must set the food chain in motion by launching smaller critters into the waiting mouths of larger ones, clearing the screen and filling his belly.

Critter Crunch game features:

- Multiple award-winning “Food Chain” puzzle style: Feed smaller critters into larger ones and watch them pop! The longer your chain, the larger the jewel!
- Tons of levels and four amazing game modes to unlock: Adventure Mode, Puzzle Mode, Time Trial and Survival.
- Cute critters, lush hand-painted background and catchy tunes keep the game bouncing!
- Lots of Power-ups and special critters keep things fresh by providing new challenges
- Intuitive tutorials teach you every aspect of the game: Learning to play Critter Crunch is a snap!
- Slick touch controls make playing Critter Crunch a breeze: Simply drag Biggs to move from column to column, and tap him to grab the critters above. Tap again to spit a grabbed critter into the waiting mouths of larger critters above and help the food chain along. Critter Crunch’s drag and tap controls are intuitive, precise and perfectly suited to the iPhone’s touch screen.

This innovative “food chain” mechanic created by Capybara Games helped make Critter Crunch one of the most well received mobile games of 2007, winning two IGN Best of 2007 awards (Best Puzzle Game and Biggest Surprise) as well as the Independent Games Festival 2008 Best Mobile Game of the Year and Best Audio Achievement.

For more information about Capybara games and Critter Crunch, please visit www.capybaragames.com. ...