Software :: Big Game Publishers Embrace App Store

While many of the early successful iPhone and iPod touch games came from small-time developers, big-name content creators like Electronic Arts, id Software and Konami are flocking to the platform, using their brands and marketing muscle to compete. The App Store has about 13,000 games in 19 separate categories, ranging from old-fashioned board games to complex first-person shooters. Many games are the work of independent developers like Tapulous, creator of the "Tap Tap Revenge" series.

But brands like EA have an advantage with popular licenses like Tetris and The Sims 3, which casual audiences are familiar with. The latest version of The Sims released simultaneously on the iPhone and PC in June. It is priced at $9.99. Larger companies like Gameloft are now looking to take a bigger piece of the action. Those companies typically spend more money to develop a game, well beyond what most independent developers are able to invest............