Apple's new iPhone 3GS and the release of the 3.0 operating system is making big waves in the telecom industry, and its impact will be clearly felt in the gaming sector as the iPhone platform continues to take on greater importance for publishers and major executives ditch traditional gaming companies for iPhone gaming.
Today, Apple happily announced that its iPhone 3GS sold over a million units in just its first three days on the market. This easily topped the 3G's launch, which was released in 21 countries compared to just eight for the 3GS currently. If there was any doubt about the iPhone's momentum, certainly the 3GS and OS 3.0 have reinvigorated the iPhone craze. Apple noted that OS 3.0 has been downloaded by 6 million customers in its first five days after release.
"Customers are voting, and the iPhone is winning," commented Apple CEO Steve Jobs. "With over 50,000 applications available from Apple's revolutionary App store, iPhone momentum is stronger than ever."
The new 3GS offers faster loading speeds and a faster processor, longer battery life and video recording, among other features. Game developers will no doubt be thrilled to have the extra power to work with, but from a business perspective companies now have to be concerned with a split market on the App Store: those who have 3GS and those who still just have 3G. Do developers make games/apps for the (for now) much more limited 3GS installed base, or do they continue to create for the lowest common denominator?
