Written by Computer games are often wild affairs, with players competing heavily, blowing things up, trying to undercut or outdo each other, and so on. And the world of iPhone games might be viewed as a mirror of what goes on inside computer games themselves. The competition to create and promote the games is fierce, and isn’t always fair. With the device’s ability to download separate iPhone applications, game creators saw a chance to make it big with game applications that could be played on the phone’s new and wide touch-controlled screen.
There are about forty million iPhone users, and chances are that there are just as many interested in games, as there are gamers using other technologies. So a certain percentage of iPhone users are satisfied with just a few basic games, as they are for their home computers. On the other hand, the primary iPhone downloads of other users are games created specifically for this device. Game applications have proliferated wildly, even for the earliest version of the iPhone which had to be hacked for any non-original programs to be downloaded. The iPhone 3G and 3GS versions that now allow downloads can accommodate Apple-approved games placed in their online store, and many others downloaded by those who’ve hacked their iPhones.
And because gaming is such a huge, profitable industry, iPhone games have been subjected to another sort of “wild west” tactic, much the same as other products have been in this consumerist society. Apple’s store and tech blog sites allow people to write iPhone app reviews and rate the applications. But many companies promoting games have actually written to reviewers, offering to pay for favorable reviews, in the hope of increasing sales. This leads to doubts, both about the reliability of any reviews at all, or how good the games actually are.
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has taken note of these and other problems surrounding this iPhone software and, for that matter, any other sort of product that gets evaluated and reviewed in a public way. Late in 2009, the FTC instituted regulations requiring anyone who receives payments or free products in return for reviews to disclose this fact. Those writing reviews of iPhone games will have to do the same, or face very stiff fines. But it means that some of the wild atmosphere surrounding the games will calm down, and perhaps users will be able to trust reviews of these games a little bit more than before.
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