Tech Behind Hit Games Comes to iPhone

The technology behind hit videogames such as “Batman: Arkham Asylum” and “Gears of War 3″ is coming to iPhone and iPad game developers this week, in another sign that mobile gaming is booming on Apple’s platforms.

Epic Games is planning to release an updated version of its game-development tools, known as the Unreal Development Kit, to the public soon. The kit, which is free to download, will include new tools to create high-quality graphics and animations on iOS, effectively simplifying and speeding up the development processes for games. Epic doesn’t charge license fees to tinker with the kit nor to make free games. But, if developers want to sell their apps, they have to pay a $99 licensing fee and 25% royalties after the first $5,000 in sales.

Apple has sold more than 125 million devices using its iOS operating system, strongly competing against the Nintendo DS, which has shipped roughly 135 million units, and the PlayStation Portable, which has sold more than 62 million units.

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Apple opens iOS update to developers

Apple has started notifying members of its iOS developer community that version 4.2 of the company’s mobile operating system has hit GM status.

iOS 4.2 is the next incremental update to iOS 4, Apple’s latest major version of the operating system powering iPhones, iPod touches, iPads, and now even the Apple TV(second generation).

Apple itself promised back in September that iOS 4.2 would drop sometime in November for iPhone, iPod touch and, most notably, for iPad users who will soon get a bunch of new features that only iPhone and iPod touch users have been enjoying since the initial iOS 4 launch.

Since iOS 4.2 will bring all the existing features of iOS 4.1 to the iPad, plus the new ones Apple touted during the Sept. 1 keynote, upcoming additions specifically targeting the iPad include:

- Multitasking
- Folders
- AirPlay wireless music, movie, and photo streaming
- Printing support over wireless networks
- Game Center for multiplayer and social gaming
- Unified and improved Mail inbox
- Search text within Safari
- Enhanced enterprise support
- Accessibility enhancements
- Keyboard and dictionary enhancements

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Content disputes mar Google TV’s launch, keep things even with Apple TV

Just as the first Google TV devices became available last week, Hulu said that it would block access to its site from Google TV-enabled devices. Now, major TV networks ABC, NBC and CBS are saying they will block access, too, at least to most of their content.

Networks don’t see enough of a payoff and don’t feel that Google is guaranteeing enough content protection. Could these blocks actually level the playing field between Google TV and Apple TV, which has been roundly criticized for its lack of content partnerships?

Apple has the most to gain in this scenario because they can at least say that it has content from ABC and Fox. Some observers of the initial Apple TV revamp announcement found the platform to be limited by a lack of content partnerships, but Google may be even more limited—at least in terms of the traditional TV content it can offer—if it doesn’t resolve these disputes.

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