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Today’s launch of the iPhone 5 will provide “a major boost for the games industry,” UK trade association TIGA has claimed, and speculated that the extra power offered by the smartphone will likely make the iPhone’s popularity in the games industry “soar”.
“The staggeringly successful launch of the new Apple iPhone will be a major boost for the games industry,” commented TIGA on today’s release, estimating that “there will be more people than ever playing iOS games”.
It added: “With the launch two days ago of iOS 6 with its enhanced gaming abilities including a better Game Center and the larger screen size of the iPhone 5 giving more space for developers – and gamers – to play with, the iPhone’s popularity in the games industry is likely to soar.”
As well as expanding the reach of the mobile games market, TIGA believes that the people buying the iPhone 5 are more willing to buy games than those using Android devices.
“Studies have shown that more people are willing to pay for games and apps on the iPhone than on Android so this will be welcome news for developers producing games on the format,” it continued.
iPhone 5 went on sale around the country earlier today.
In the build-up to launch, Apple claimed that the phone had been pre-ordered by over 2 million people within the first 24 hours of the product appearing on its online store.
TIGA CEO Dr. Richard Wilson added that though some critics have suggested Apple may have “lost its bite”, the iPhone is “as popular – if not more so – than ever before and this can only be a good thing.
“The competition between manufacturers and the enhanced technology of the current crop of handsets ensures that more powerful and therefore more attractive games can be made.
“For our members and developers in the UK in general, this is great news. People carry their phones with them all the time so to have such an advanced gaming machine at their fingertips, allied with the ease of purchase that the App Store brings, makes it a winning combination that will ensure Apple’s iPhone remains an important player for at least the next two years.”
