Carmack: iPhone a serious threat to other hand-helds

In an interview with Chris Morris for CNBC, id Software founder and chief programmer John Carmack said that Apple’s iPhone may be a serious threat to the hand-held gaming market - specifically Nintendo’s DS and DSi.

It’s a pretty interesting comment if you consider that earlier this week a prominent analyst (who I won’t name here) said that the iPhone - in the long term - will not be a viable game platform. Carmack sees it another way - and he should know, he’s been working on the platform and selling his games via Apple’s app store for quite some time.

Earlier this week it was announced that there are now 100,000 apps available on the iPhone, and while not all of those are games, a good portion of them are and many of them sell for anywhere from 99 cents to $9.99 USD.

“I think mid- to long-term it’s a significant threat,” he says. “I don’t carry a DS or a PSP around, but I’ve got my iPhone everywhere. So if it plays good games, I’m less likely to pick one of the others up. … I think the stars could align and it could start to eclipse those other systems in terms of unit sales.”

While Carmack is a PC guy through and through, he has fallen in love with developing games for the iPhone. He describes his time developing games on the system “fun.”

“I wouldn’t be shocked if someone has one in development right now, though they probably don’t realize it will run that high yet,” he told CNBC. “If a title could do well at $9.99, you could put [Nintendo] DS level development expenses into it.”

id Software has made it their goal to release one iPhone game every quarter over the next year. Most recently the company released an iPhone remake of the classic DOOM game called “Doom Classic.” iPhone versions of one of my favorite id Software titles - Quake - and a follow-up to the popular Doom RPG are also in the works. id Software is also planning on having its latest game, RAGE, ready to go for the iPhone when it is released in 2010.

Source: CNBC

Zenimax Media Acquires id Software

ZeniMax Media, parent company of Bethesda Softworks and Zenimax Online, announced that it has completed the acquisition of legendary game studio, id Software, creators of such hits as DOOM, QUAKE, Wolfenstein, and its upcoming title, RAGE. Bethesda Softworks will publish all future id Software releases - other than upcoming releases previously committed to other publishers.

Founded in 1991,  created the popular first-person shooter, Wolfenstein 3D, and went on to set new standards in the genre with DOOM and QUAKE titles. In addition, id Software develops cutting edge, proprietary game engine technology with the id Tech engine which powers many notable FPS titles, and continues to make great advances in game technology under the direction of John Carmack, one of the country’s technology leaders and a member of the Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences (AIAS) Hall of Fame.

“This was a unique opportunity to team with a smart, sophisticated publisher like Bethesda Softworks where the interests of the studio and the publisher will be fully aligned in the development and marketing of our titles,” said Todd Hollenshead, CEO of id Software. “In addition, we will now have financial and business resources to support the future growth of id Software, a huge advantage which will result in more and even better games for our fans.”

“This puts id Software in a wonderful position going forward,” said John Carmack, who will continue to serve in his current role as Technical Director. “We will now be able to grow and extend all of our franchises under one roof, leveraging our capabilities across multiple teams while enabling forward looking research to be done in the service of all of them. We will be bigger and stronger, as we recruit the best talent to help us build the landmark games of the future. As trite as it may be for me to say that I am extremely pleased and excited about this deal, I am.”

id Software will continue to operate as a studio under the direction of its founder, John Carmack and no changes will be made in the way id Software develops its games. All the principals at id Software have also signed long-term employment contracts, assuring they will continue in their roles developing games at the studio.

Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed at press time.

Carmack Wins Level One Lunar Lander Challenge

id Software founder John Carmack and his team Armadillo Aerospace, has won $350,000 in this year’s Northrop Grumman Lunar Lander Challenge. Carmack can make more than just genre defining franchises and fabulous game technology - he’s also very good at creating things that can fly. The Northrop Grumman Lunar Lander Challenge is an annual $2 million contest that sees teams try to build and sucessfully deploy a lunar vehicle and then simulate a 90 to 180-second moon flight and landing. The event is hosted by the X Prize Foundation and sponsored by NASA.

As usual, the event was held at the Las Cruces International Airport in New Mexico over the weekend. Armadillo Aerospace managed to win Level One of the challenge, which required the team to launch its contraption to an altitude of 150 feet, hover for 90 seconds, and then touch down safely at a landing pad 150 feet away. The team was also required to repeat the flight in reverse within two and a half hours.

You can check out some great footage from the events below - available from our fabulous Community Site:

- Day One Footage

- Day Two footage

Source: C|Net