14 DAY TRIAL // Matt Casamassina, of the IGN gaming site, has been hired by Apple as "Global Editorial Games Manager," reports say. The company responsible for the iPhone OS has been keen on expanding the platform to appease gamers, and is now taking one more step in that direction.
"Beginning early May, I will join Apple as global editorial games manager, App Store," Casamassina said, according to a report by The Guardian. "In a nutshell, I will be leading the charge for games on the App Store, so whether you browse through iTunes, iPhone, iPod Touch or iPad, the games content you see will be handpicked and organized by me and my team. I couldn't be happier," he reportedly stated.
"Anybody who has read my work through the years will know that I've long been a huge Nintendo fan, but if there is one company that could entice me away from covering Mario and Zelda it's the one owned by Steve Jobs," he added, with the paper noting that Casamassina should brush up on the difference between ownership and being in charge, explaining that Jobs only runs the company, whereas it’s the shareholders that own it. They call it an honest mistake, as do we.
The Guardian then weighs in on the matter by including a number of statements from Nintendo's US President, Regie Fils-Aime, who doesn’t seem to be scared of the iPhone OS’ gaming potential. During a recent interview, Fils-Aime reportedly said that, "[Apple] is not having an impact on Nintendo when you look at our business, our volume, our hardware, our software." He added, "I've seen data that suggests that while consumers are constantly downloading Apps, they play with them for a few times and then they are moving on to the next thing."
If he is right, the hiring of Casamassina may indeed be justified this way, although Apple still has a long way to go, if it wants to cater to broader audiences. Hardcore gamers still love button mashing and complex control schemes – elements that Apple’s devices currently don’t offer.