According to a recent report from mobile analytics firm Flurry, iPhone OS development is seeing a huge increase, and it's likely attributable to the iPad. Now another prominent casual developer has come out to sing the praises of the iPad. Speaking to Eurogamer, PopCap co-founder John Vechey has asserted that the iPad will not only be "phenomenally successful" but it "will change gaming." Ultimately, he believes Apple's new device will "fulfil a need consumers don't even know they have yet," but it may take some time for consumers to reach that point.
"The iPad's important but I think it's going to be more important in three years. Look how long it took the iPod to get the momentum where everyone has one. It's probably going to take the second generation [iPad] to make it really, like, 'Wow!' This is my opinion and I think it's going to be phenomenally successful. I really do," he said.
"It's very simple; it's not like it has a magical set of features, just a great package. I know what I'm getting when I have to get my mum a computer now: an iPad. Because she can't screw it up, she can't download a bunch of stuff... That's the perfect mum computer, right? And it's the perfect computer for ten year-olds to play with. I think it will change gaming. Here's this new device that gets to more people with a really great e-commerce model attached to it. It's really easy to buy on the iPhone - that's part of what makes it successful."
PopCap, known for titles like Bejeweled, Zuma, Peggle, and Bookworm, hasn't officially committed to the iPad just yet, but Vechey is clearly excited. "I don't know if this is a PopCap position or my word, but we're certainly going to support it - I want to play Plants vs Zombies on that," he said. "It feels good to touch, right?" He added, "The iPad would be perfect for real-time strategy. You can't have this really immersive gaming experience but it may actually be more fun than a lot of different game experiences you can get with a PC or console."
