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SEGA's Ethan Einhorn Talks More Super Monkey Ball, Casual Games for iPhone

Associate Producer at SEGA reveals that they have a flourishing relationship with Apple and that more games are in the scope for the accelerometer-enabled handset

Apr 15, 2008 10:46 GMT  ·  By
Ethan demonstrating Super Monkey Ball on Apple's iPhone during the March 6 event, in Cupertino
   Ethan demonstrating Super Monkey Ball on Apple's iPhone during the March 6 event, in Cupertino

GameCyte has scored an interview with Ethan Einhorn, Associate Producer at SEGA, shedding more light on the upcoming installment of Super Monkey Ball for the iPhone and the company's relationship with Apple. The Producer also spoke his mind about Apple's intuitive handset and casual gaming in general, as an ultimate goal for every video game maker and especially those taking aim at the iPhone.

Speaking about casual games and how they are perfect for platforms like Apple's iPhone, Ethan Einhorn emphasized that a successful casual game is one that allows you to "understand almost immediately what you're supposed to do." No "detailed tutorials ... just pick-up-and-play," which is Super Monkey Ball's middle name if you've watched SEGA's demonstration during Apple's iPhone Software Roadmap event, March 6.

Back then, SEGA's Ethan Einhorn was confirming to the media that developers had a maximum of two weeks to get the Super Monkey Ball demo up and running on Apple's accelerometer and touchscreen-enabled device. Ethan now reveals that it was actually "incredibly easy to work with the SDK," more so as "the development team had not worked with Cocoa and OpenGL" prior to picking up on Apple's SDK.

Einhorn also emphasized on the iPhone's accelerometer and how it opens new doors to developing casual games for Apple's handset.

Ethan also found relevant to note that "SEGA and Apple have a terrific relationship" and that they've had "a lot of fun working on the Super Monkey Ball demo and it would make sense to take the next natural step." SEGA's Producer then hurries to say that they "haven't announced anything at this time" but does assure that SEGA is "excited to see what other SEGA properties would make sense on [the iPhone] platform." Einhorn concludes: "there's a lot of discussion and I think fans are going to be very happy.

Well, as soon as Super Monkey Ball is out through the AppStore, we can be sure to hear more from Apple and SEGA in terms of games for the iPhone." Until then all we can do is hope everything Ethan told GameCyte materializes.