This would be HUUUUUUGGGGGEEEE news if it turns out true.
http://blogs.pcworld.com/gameon/archives/004677.html
It's-a-me, Super Mario iPhone!
Folks, put your scuttlebutt-caps on and buckle up, but the blogosphere is rippling with rumors that Nintendo may have plans to license game content to Apple for its iPhone. Blog site NoHeat claims these games will get the iTunes treatment and $29-per pricing. Concerns about the lack of a d-pad will apparently be addressed courtesy a touchscreen version, though I agree that a flat two-dimensional image of something your thumb's used to jamming and rocking could present problems. It's like Apple's flat keyboard, I suppose -- you'll only know for sure once you've tried it yourself.
Naturally the followup question if this is true, has to be whether Nintendo views the iPhone as competition for its DS. Speculation about a Nintendo phone goes back to 2001 at least. According to NoHeat, Nintendo views the iPhone deal as non-overlapping, i.e. exclusive and targeting an older demographic. The latter makes a certain kind of sense. I mean, how many of you would drop $500 on a cell phone for your kids? The iPhone's not really a toy, it's a sophisticated information management tool that only returns real value if you use it for more than gabbing, gaming, and social bragging rights.
