If you click on a link and make a purchase we may receive a small commission. Read our editorial policy.

Carmack confirms id push towards iPhone and iTunes

johncarmack.jpg

id code legend John Carmack has been quick to confirm the developer has already applied to work on iPhone games after last night's first showing of Spore and Monkey Ball running on the handheld, and has warned that iTunes may be a fearsome delivery device in determining who wins out in the mobile gaming sector.

"[id] have put in our application like everyone else, so I don't have any inside information at this point," he said. "I think Steve [Jobs] is still p**sed at me over some negative comments I made about iPod development tools a while ago. Just based on the blurbs, it looks very good - a simulator plus debugging on the native device is the best of both worlds, and a 70 percent royalty deal for apps over iTunes is quite good.

"The iTunes distribution channel is really a more important aspect than a lot of people understand. The ability to distribute larger applications than the over-the-air limits and effectively market your title with more than a dozen character deck name, combined with the reasonable income split make this look like a very interesting market. This type of developer-customer interaction is probably the wave of the future for mobile devices. It will be interesting to see how quickly the other players can react. Based on our experiences with the carriers, I am betting not very quickly."

iPhone and iTunes could be the real break mobile gaming's been waiting for. Good. Gives us an excuse to get one.

Sign in and unlock a world of features

Get access to commenting, homepage personalisation, newsletters, and more!

Related topics
About the Author
Patrick Garratt avatar

Patrick Garratt

Founder & Publisher (Former)

Patrick Garratt is a games media legend - and not just by reputation. He was named as such in the UK's 'Games Media Awards', the equivalent of a lifetime achievement award. After garnering experience on countless gaming magazines, he joined Eurogamer and later split from that brand to create VG247, putting the site on the map with fast, 24-hour a day coverage, and assembling the site's earliest editorial teams. He retired from VG247, and the games industry, in 2017.

Comments