FingerGaming

Speaking today at a Game Developers Conference Mobile keynote address, ngmoco CEO Neil Young praised the iPhone as being “better than the DS, better than the PSP,” citing its always-on functionality and lack of first-party games as critical factors for mobile game developers. Chris Remo at FingerGaming sister site Gamasutra summarized Young’s thoughts and advice for aspiring iPhone developers.

“Our love affair with the iPhone began by simply touching it,” Young said. “This was rapidly becoming the most important device I had ever owned. It was an all-encompassing, complete device. And I knew that that device was going to enable incredible things for gaming.”

Young dismissed claims that iPhone games are inherently inferior to titles designed for traditional portable gaming platforms, noting that overall graphic quality in iPhone games has seen a steady rise since the platform’s launch. “Don’t let the haters tell you it sucks compared to the DS or the PSP,” he explained. “It doesn’t. It’s good. It’s clear that the quality of iPhone games is eclipsing its [portable] console counterparts, and that’s even more acute when you compare it against the prior generation.”

As far as gameplay is concerned, Young advises that developers follow Nintendo’s example with its Nintendo DS platform. “It didn’t do it by competing on spec, it did it by competing on its unique capability. Nintendo was able to win that battle by combining great software with hardware that it understood very well.”

Young concluded his speech by encouraging iPhone developers to find their “super power” — a distinguishing factor that comes with intimate knowledge of the platform — in order to stand out among the mounting App Store competition.

“I know that there is a general malaise over the game industry today, but I can say it’s never been a better time to be an independent game developer,” Young said. “The gap in job security between you being independent and you being at a big company has changed pretty dramatically over the last year.”

“We’re at the center of the new everything,” he concluded. “the iPhone has revolutionized everything.”

Young additionally revealed during his keynote that ngmoco would soon collaborate with Zen Bound developers Secret Exit on a future iPhone title, and detailed what the future holds for his company’s flagship Rolando series. Rolando players can expect to see three more free level packs (each containing five stages each) leading up to the June release of Rolando 2: Quest for the Golden Orchid. Rolando 2 will then see similar updates and expansions until the planned November launch of Rolando 3.

Tags: iPhone, neil young, ngmoco, rolando, secret exit, zen bound