iPhone 3G S game development 'will cost at least 1.5 times more'

Making games for the more powerful iPhone 3G S handset will require more investment from developers, says Nigel Little, MD of UK studio Distinctive Developments.

"Developers are businesses, and one word of caution is that all these extra features will require larger budgets, and that's probably going to require a step change in pricing on the App Store," writes Little, in a column for PocketGamer.biz.

"Producing the content that does the new iPhone justice is going to cost at least 1.5 times what it does now and justifying that when the installed base is zero is a tough call."

However, he doesn't believe this will mean any shortage of games taking advantage of the new handset's features.

"Bigger developers and publishers will, of course, be able to take the risk but we're going to see even more polarisation between the games smaller developers are making as compared to the well-funded larger companies."

Distinctive Developments has so far released two iPhone games under its own steam – Flip Zoo and Rugby Nations 09 – while signing a publishing deal with EA Mobile for its Anytime Pool game.

Little is enthusiastic for the prospects of iPhone gaming in the months to come, saying that Apple "are at the top of their game", judging by the developer sessions he attended at this week's WWDC show in San Francisco.

"From a purely engineering point of view it was impressive to see how Apple introduced the new features and how well they integrated into their existing systems and software," writes Little.

"Nothing seems to be bolted on at the last minute and even under intense questioning from developers the new features were clearly well thought through."

For Little's full column, head to PocketGamer.biz.