Gameloft Preps to Launch 15 iPhone Games!

Not that I want to contradict my own conviction that Apple isn't yet ready to stick a toe in the video games pond, Gameloft, leading publisher and developer of video games for mobile devices, has confirmed that as many as 15 of their games are heading the iPhone's way. Gameloft is well known for bringing some of the most popular big titles to mobile devices, including Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six, Prince of Persia and Rayman.

TUAW points out to a pocketgamer.co.uk article featuring a mockup of what the games may look like – pictured left (click to enlarge). The original source too assumes that we're dealing with a mock-up here. By the way, the image was shown during Gameloft boss Michel Guillemot's keynote GDC Mobile speech on February 18. The iPhone was featured in several of the man's slides, appearing as if "Gameloft simply slapped an existing screenshot onto the iPhone."

Whether that's the case or not, we need to keep in mind that it was Michel Guillemot, big time boss at Gameloft, that showed the images, so you can rest assured that this isn't just a lousy rumor, but something that indeed is coming to the iPhone and most likely to the iPod touch as well.

Earlier today, we talked about ongoing rumors on the web saying that Apple's March 6 event proved once more that the Cupertino giant is very interested in games for its two powerful handhelds. While Softpedia doesn't dismiss this as a possibility – after all, the iPhone does make a perfect platform for games perhaps twice as fun as Sony's and Nintendo's – it is hard to believe that gamers are simply going to drop their favorite systems over Apple's handsets.

But with the promise of 15 games coming to the touchscreen devices from just one big developer, who knows what to expect? Apple is probably waiting to see who develops more, and what, and eventually it will decide which direction is better for its handhelds.

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