Hundreds Of Games Hit The App Store Ahead Of iPad Launch

With the impending launch of Apple's iPad tomorrow, a wide range of game developers, from smaller operations to big corporations, have affirmed their support for Apple's latest gadget. Already, there are around 900 games on the App Store. EA, for instance, confirmed five iPad games that will be available when the product launches tomorrow: Scrabble, Tetris, Need for Speed Shift, Mirror's Edge and Command & Conquer Red Alert. Need for Speed Shift costs $14.99, Command & Conquer Red Alert and Mirror's Edge have an introductory price of $12.99, Scrabble sells for $9.99 and Tetris sells for $8.99. 2K confirmed that Civilization Revolution, already available for iPod Touch, iPhone, consoles and handhelds, has come to the iPad with a $12.99 price tag. Rolando creator ngmoco and its recently-acquired studio Freeverse confirmed seven apps for the iPad: GodFinger (not yet listed), We Rule (free), Charadium ($4.99), Flick Fishing ($4.99), NBA Hotshots (not yet listed), Warpgate ($7.99) and CastleCraft (free). Telltale Games released The Penal Zone, the first game in a new Sam & Max: The Devil's Playhouse series, for $9.99. The game is developed "specifically" for iPad. PlayFirst is bringing its popular Diner Dash series to the iPad with Diner Dash: Grilling Green, which sells for $4.99. Other notables include PopCap's Plants vs. Zombies HD ($9.99), Activision's Geometry Wars ($9.99) and Firemint's Real Racing HD ($9.99) and Flight Control HD ($4.99). There are many more games available not listed here, covering a relatively wide span in pricing. With proper support from small one-man developers as well as big publishers, the iPad is poised to be another viable platform for game developers. "I think that Apple just found a way to get into the living rooms without having to build a dedicated game console," speculated ngmoco co-founder Neil Young shortly after the iPad was unveiled in January.