We're not going to bore you with details, but we are going to tell you that it's more than worth your while to watch this demo video for the iPhone title "Endless Racing Game." We can't attest to how fun (or not fun) the game is to play, but the clip is certainly worth your 90 seconds of attention. Check it out after the break.

[Thanks, Lena]

Yes, we know Madden's nothing new on phones, but we had to highlight Madden 2010 for iPhone -- which EA just confirmed today will be ready in time for the start of the NFL season -- because it looks really damn good. Console quality, even. That's great and all, but Madden's the kind of franchise that really needs quick reflexes and a whole lot of buttons positioned conveniently around the entirety of a console-ready controller to control with any precision, and buttons are something the iPhone distinctly lacks. So yes, we get it, the iPhone's capable of some stellar graphics -- but the real question is whether you'll be able to play through four quarters without punting it into the opposition's territory.

Nokia's Ovi Store duplicates one of N-Gage's main lots in life -- to serve as an over-the-air distribution channel of paid and trial apps -- and in the long term, it certainly seems to make sense that Espoo would be looking to merge the two initiatives into one. The company hasn't announced anything to the effect just yet (and even if it did, it'd have to find some creative way to duplicate N-Gage's social aspect), but it's now taken one small step by porting game trials over to the Ovi Store. If you want the full game you'll still need to buy it using the N-Gage app, so the maddening duality of Nokia's software strategy still basically continues as-is for the time being -- let's just hope this is a promising sign of things to come.

[Via Phone Arena and ZOMG its CJ]

The last time we saw the Pre's Classic Palm OS emulator in action, we had a few lingering questions in our mind, chief among them being how well can it game? From the looks of this latest video, released by Motion Apps to answer that very question, pretty well so far. In addition to confirming sound support for the latest build, we also get a brief glimpse of the software handling 3D driver GTS World Racer. Of course, seeing this makes us even more curious about the gaming potential for the native webOS, but alas, we're in the cold there. In the meantime, check out some classic 3D racing in the video after the break.

Hey, Palm, you know when isn't a good time to brag about your rich, time-honored tradition of gaming software stretching back some ten-plus years? Right before the release of webOS and the Pre, a device you've straight-up told us isn't intended for games -- that's when. A lighthearted post on Palm's official blog today waxes poetic about the top Palm OS game downloads on Handango and mentions a few favorite classics from around the blogosphere, but here's the thing: unless Palm wants to get serious about bringing entertainment to the Pre, this just rubs salt in our TurboGrafx-16 emulator-craving wounds. The TI-sourced OMAP3430 underneath the Pre's skin is more than capable of knocking console-quality games out of the park, so we'll just have to twiddle our thumbs for a few months and see how this plays out; at the end of the day, it might simply be a question of how open Palm ultimately wants to get with its SDK.

Apple's doing it. RIM's doing it. Google's doing it. Heck, even Microsoft might be doing it. As the peer pressure mounts, Palm has finally decided to cave and introduce its very own applications market place, which is simply being christened Software Store. Oddly, it looks as if Palm farmed out the production of said store to one PocketGear, but we're assured that the app will hum along just fine on over 25 Windows Mobile / Palm OS-based Palm devices. Available for download as we speak, it offers up over 5,000 apps and games, 1,000 of which are completely free. Hmm, we wonder if Palm's keeping a Nova-compatible version in its back pocket?

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Update: Palm pinged us to say that this is actually the very same software store that has been around, it's just a sweet looking veneer to make accessing it easier.

Hot on the heels of Electronic Arts kinda-sorta slamming Nokia for its lackluster N-Gage gaming platform comes word that the video game giant will be dabbling in the world of Android here shortly. Unsurprisingly, we're informed that Tetris will be the first Android title out, while Bejeweled and Monopoly should follow suit in November. According to EA Mobile vice president Adam Sussman, "Android is another exciting new platform to offer customers great games with enhancements like touch and tilt capabilities," and while we weren't given specifics outside of the aforesaid titles, more games are definitely "in development."

Unlike the Bell X-1, the first aircraft to break the sound barrier, the Spice X-1 isn't going to break any speed records limping along with a quaint little GPRS chipset. After the initial bout of browsing withdrawal, though, the average user might be able to settle in, enjoy the phone's rather comprehensive gaming facilities, and forget about data connectivity altogether (that's not us, necessarily, but we imagine those people must exist somewhere). The phone ships with a dedicated gaming controller that can be snapped on and used when trying to blast your foes away on the standard numeric pad just isn't cutting it, and the touted surround sound and stereo Bluetooth should help give it some street cred, too. It can be had for 8,899 rupees (about $212), which isn't bad considering the feature set; just don't expect the bundled Opera Mobile to take you very far.

[Via Unwired View]

Perhaps one of the largest barriers to a massive, all-out, unqualified success for Nokia's latest incarnation of N-Gage is that it takes two to tango -- yes, it's as much a single-player gaming platform as it is a multi-player one, but the community features are its crown jewel and it's pretty tough to find another N-Gager in some parts of the world. Nokia's Aki Jarvilehto told attendees of the Develop 2008 conference that it's looking at using N-Gage's "assets" on Xbox Live or PlayStation Online, though it's not clear whether there'd be any interactivity between console players and their mobile equivalents, or if Nokia's just looking for another revenue stream to augment on-phone sales. Either way, Creatures of the Deep on the big screen without having to jack into our N95's TV-out? Bring it on.

[Via The Nokia Blog]

Our first thought when we heard the news that there was an NES emulator in the works for the Sidekick series of text machines was one of pure, unabashed elation. The classic Hiptop form factor is pretty much exactly what the doctor ordered for effective old-skool gaming, after all -- and let's be honest, any time Nintendo playtime comes to a new platform is cause for immediate and overindulgent celebration. Our second thought was, "wait, what?" It's pretty unclear how the emulator would be loaded with legally-obtained ROMs and we have our doubts that Nintendo signed away the rights to any binaries, so we're a little confused about the word that this would be officially offered through the Danger's Software Catalog. Let's all cross our fingers, continue to pay our T-Mobile bills on time, and hope that tomorrow might bring countless hours of Skate or Die while we're... you know, actually skating or something.

Update: While not technically fake, it turns out that this 80s-vintage action is going to remain a pipe dream (and no, we're not talking about the NES game Pipe Dream, either). Danger's developer tools allow arbitrary Java to be loaded into the Hiptop emulator -- not just approved stuff, obviously -- so odds are that someone loaded an NES emulator (like, say, vNes) and went to town with the screen shots. Official offering through the Catalog, though? Not so much. Thanks, Jim!

Spore aside, we imagine we'll all occasionally need something just a little less cerebral and involving to pass the handful of minutes between trains, buses, meetings, connecting flights, and the like when third-party games hit the iPhone in full force come this June. To that end, Gameloft's got your back, announcing that it'll be flush with "over 15" titles for Apple's piece before the year's out. No specific games have been announced in the company's initial press release, but it does mention that they've "started to create a strong line-up" already, so here's hoping a solid percentage of 'em won't suck.

Just in case you didn't catch the blip earlier between Steve's announcement of the iPhone SDK and the App Store, here's some fantastic news for the thumb-happy sect: Spore is coming to the iPhone. In fact, the EA Mobile title will go down as "the first 3rd party game on the iPhone." Sadly, it won't actually be available until September, but at least you've got a month to circle on your calender, right? Additionally, EA affirmed that there were "other games in early stages of development," and that it was "actively using the new iPhone SDK to develop games for the iPhone OS." Jump on past the break for the full release.

Stoked about the little SDK that was announced today? Apparently, so was Apple, as it's already starting to announce the first games to go along with it. For starters, we've got Touch Fighter and Spore (!!!), the first of which was somehow thrown together in two weeks, the latter of which won't be available until September. Also, users can expect Super Monkey Ball, which was hailed being a notch above your average "cellphone game." For whatever it's worth, EA also affirmed that more iPhone titles were in the pipeline, and best of all, those elusive titles are already "in early stages of development." Simmer on that for a second, we'll keep updating as we get more in.

Truth be told, we could sort of see this one coming -- after all, why wouldn't N-Gage developers seek to use a handset's built-in functions to enhance gameplay? Nevertheless, the folks at Nok Nok were able to pick the brain of Will Shen, N-Gage Head of Production in North America, and found out quite a few tidbits about the future of the platform. Reportedly, Mr. Shen went so far as to confirm that it is "looking at creating games that harness the power of [a mobile's] built-in camera, GPS receiver and any relevant skill [that it] may possess that could help inspire and execute innovative games." Granted, location-based titles aren't anything new in the grand scheme of things, but Shen also noted that his team is looking to "focus on innovation" rather than "gimmick gaming." Marvelous -- now let's get this stuff rolled out en masse, shall we?