Apple Talks About The Direction Of The App Store And iPhone Gaming

Pocketgamer.biz has posted an interview with Eric Jue, Apple's senior product manager for iPhone worldwide product marketing, regarding Apple's stance on many iPhone gaming related issues. Like all Apple employees, Eric Jue doesn't give any definite information but he at least gives us a glimpse into what they may be working on.  Don't fret, we will decipher his code. When asked if Apple would consider an Xbox Live style networking system for the iPhone, Jue stated it would be up to developers to implement the system:

"I don't think we look at it in quite the same way [as Microsoft]," says Jue. "Xbox is a system that they're creating certain capabilities with, but we have a very open platform, with technologies built into it that are free to developers through the SDK and the APIs. "So if somebody wanted to develop that then they certainly could, but... we're not championing that type of experience per se. It's open to the developer community and wherever they want to take the platform."

For those of you unaware, Xbox Live is a paid service that allows Xbox 360 users to socially interact with other Xbox 360 users. It is also a platform for all of the online games for that system to use, creating a standard instead of each game having its own online system. Jue also admits that it may be difficult at times to find great applications at the App Store but they are always trying to improve the system. He cites the constantly changing featured applications list as an example as well as saying that dedicated sites (like ours) are doing their best to review and demo the best applications available. He wouldn't confirm or deny that Apple is working on adding its Genius technology to the App Store. One of the biggest App Store rumors so far this year has been the implementation of a premium games section for the store. Jue had this to say about the rumor:

"Are we creating a new category? People can charge those prices now - they can charge whatever they want to charge. We haven't publicly talked about any new format to the store or creating a new category though."

Touché Eric Jue, touché. In conclusion, Apple has no intentions of a multiplayer online system, they will add Genius technology to the App Store sometime in the future and premium pricing is up to the developers.

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