Did you know that Apple is launching the 3G iPhone today? You'd think someone would have written about it... Okay, so the 3G iPhone has been hyped to the skies, as has its related App Store - the new section of iTunes where Apple will sell downloadable applications for the iPhone and iPod Touch. The latter launched yesterday with more than 500 applications, from games and music to social networking, business and productivity. However, despite speculation, there are no virtual worlds as far as I can make out.
Why not? It’s a valid question given the iPhone’s capabilities. It’s more than capable of handling 3D graphics and connectivity, although it’s fair to say there aren’t many multiplayer games available, implying that getting the two to work together may take longer than developers had with the iPhone SDK.
Nevertheless, the App Store should be a strong opportunity for companies in the virtual worlds space, as long as they think hard about what service they can offer on the iPhone - which may not be full access to their virtual world, but rather related games or services. MMO publishers may also be drawn to Apple’s zeitgeisty handset, but again, for spin-off applications rather than full access. As yet, there’s no sign of Vollee or other companies’ applications providing an iPhone client to access Second Life, World of Warcraft or other virtual worlds / MMOs.
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