Other Ocean Interactive, which has worked alongside SEGA of America to develop the iPhone port of Super Monkey Ball, has announced plans to create a specialized iPhone division at its studio in Prince Edward Island, Canada.

Other Ocean Interactive is just one of many companies using the iPhone as their own launching pad. A game like Super Monkey Ball, which leverages pretty much every groundbreaking technology crammed into the iPhone, is the perfect example of why the platform is the Holy Grail of mobile developers.

"Our experience working with Apple's SDK has been extremely positive and the iPhone, with its accelerometer, opens up exciting opportunities for game development on this platform," explained Gordon Wood, Other Ocean's technical director and senior programmer. "The iPhone platform has generated a lot of attention and people are excited for the opportunities that lie ahead."

Mr. Wood will head the technical elements of Other Ocean's new iPhone division. Chris Sharpley, senior artist on Super Monkey Ball, will lead the division's art and design department. David Cobb, Sega's Vice President of Product Development, also had a few words to say about Other Ocean's plans with Apple's device:

"Choosing Other Ocean as our development partner to bring Super Monkey Ball to the iPhone was absolutely the right decision. Other Ocean's dedicated and talented team has established itself as an industry leader on this new platform."

Super Monkey Ball is probably the best known and most advertised game for the iPhone yet. Apple's last two major events featured video demonstrations of the exciting title in action. The game uses the iPhone's accelerometer. Players have to tilt their devices in the right direction to control a bubble-monkey through intricate, floating stages with obstacles and goals. It combines puzzle-platform and racing elements. The player needs not press any buttons throughout the whole experience. Everything is controlled by tilting the device and using the touch-screen functions when in the game's menus.

A video demonstration of Super Monkey Ball can be viewed here. Visit the App Store to download and play the game on your iPhone / iPod touch right now (OS 2.0 required).