Hudson launches iPhone/iPod touch gaming portal

The company that fathered Bomberman, one of the most enduring and successful third party franchises in gaming history, has launched a gaming portal specifically for the iPhone and iPod touch, called Do the Hudson!! (if you are familiar with the '70s disco classic 'Do the Hustle', you'll see what the publisher's done there).

The portal (which before you get too excited is presently all in Japanese) features free casual games which can be played online but there are plans to offer premium content at a later date. We can only assume that this means the company is waiting until it can offer priced titles as downloads that can run natively on the devices, which won't be possible until after the iPhone/iPod touch SDK (software development kit) ships to third parties in February.

Exciting stuff and we can't be the only ones giddy at the thought of touchscreen wi-fi Bomberman. Before anything that fancy rolls around, however, current highlights include a web-based puzzler on the site that features Bomberman himself, called Megutte Pon!, as well as Where's Wally-esque title Meijin wo Sagase! and a spot-the-difference-'em-up known as Dokka Kawatta?.

Interestingly, the site also features classic music from Hudson's back catalogue and official blogs from the company, so there's plenty to be getting on with until things get suited and booted with the arrival of some more meaty games (assuming your Japanese isn't as rusty as ours, that is).

Here's hoping that a western version of the Do the Hudson!! portal will launch soon. In the meantime, Japan's version can be found by taking your iPhone/iPod touch here.