An iPod click wheel game or iPod game is a
video game playable on the various versions of the
Apple
An apple is an edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus domestica''). Apple trees are cultivated worldwide and are the most widely grown species in the genus ''Malus''. The tree originated in Central Asia, where its wild ancestor, ...
portable media player, the
iPod
The iPod is a discontinued series of portable media players and multi-purpose mobile devices designed and marketed by Apple Inc. The first version was released on October 23, 2001, about months after the Macintosh version of iTunes ...
. The original iPod had the game ''
Brick
A brick is a type of block used to build walls, pavements and other elements in masonry construction. Properly, the term ''brick'' denotes a block composed of dried clay, but is now also used informally to denote other chemically cured cons ...
'' (originally invented by Apple co-founder
Steve Wozniak
Stephen Gary Wozniak (; born August 11, 1950), also known by his nickname "Woz", is an American electronics engineer, computer programmer, philanthropist, inventor, and technology entrepreneur. In 1976, with business partner Steve Jobs, he co ...
) included as an
easter egg
Easter eggs, also called Paschal eggs, are eggs that are decorated for the Christian feast of Easter, which celebrates the resurrection of Jesus. As such, Easter eggs are common during the season of Eastertide (Easter season). The oldest trad ...
hidden feature; later
firmware versions added it as a menu option. Later revisions of the iPod added three more games in addition to ''Brick'': ''Parachute'', ''
Solitaire
Solitaire is any tabletop game which one can play by oneself, usually with cards, but also with dominoes. The term "solitaire" is also used for single-player games of concentration and skill using a set layout tiles, pegs or stones. These game ...
'', and ''Music Quiz''. These games should not be confused with games for the
iPod Touch
The iPod Touch (stylized as iPod touch) is a discontinued line of iOS-based mobile device, mobile devices designed and marketed by Apple Inc. with a Touchscreen, touchscreen-controlled user interface. As with other iPod models, the iPod Touch ...
, which require
iOS
iOS (formerly iPhone OS) is a mobile operating system created and developed by Apple Inc. exclusively for its hardware. It is the operating system that powers many of the company's mobile devices, including the iPhone; the term also include ...
and are only available on Apple's
App Store
An App Store (or app marketplace) is a type of digital distribution platform for computer software called applications, often in a mobile context. Apps provide a specific set of functions which, by definition, do not include the running of the c ...
on
iTunes
iTunes () is a software program that acts as a media player, media library, mobile device management utility, and the client app for the iTunes Store. Developed by Apple Inc., it is used to purchase, play, download, and organize digital mu ...
.
History
On 23rd December 2005,
CoolGorilla, a new start-up, launched a trivia game for the iPod. It was titled “Rock and Pop Quiz”.
In September 2006, the
iTunes Store began to offer nine additional games for purchase with the launch of
iTunes 7, compatible with the
fifth-generation iPod with iPod software 1.2 or later. Those games were ''
Bejeweled
''Bejeweled'' (also referred as ''Bejeweled Deluxe'' in some releases) is a tile-matching puzzle video game by PopCap Games, developed for browsers in 2001. The first game developed by PopCap under their current name, ''Bejeweled'', involves ...
'', ''
Cubis 2'', ''
Mahjong
Mahjong or mah-jongg (English pronunciation: ) is a tile-based game that was developed in the 19th century in China and has spread throughout the world since the early 20th century. It is commonly played by four players (with some three-pla ...
'', ''
Mini
The Mini is a small, two-door, four-seat car, developed as ADO15, and produced by the British Motor Corporation (BMC) and its successors, from 1959 through 2000. Minus a brief hiatus, original Minis were built for four decades and sold during ...
Golf
Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various Golf club, clubs to hit Golf ball, balls into a series of holes on a golf course, course in as few strokes as possible.
Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standar ...
'', ''
Pac-Man'', ''
Tetris
''Tetris'' (russian: link=no, Тетрис) is a puzzle video game created by Soviet software engineer Alexey Pajitnov in 1984. It has been published by several companies for multiple platforms, most prominently during a dispute over the appro ...
'', ''
Texas Hold 'Em
Texas hold 'em (also known as Texas holdem, hold 'em, and holdem) is one of the most popular variants of the card game of poker. Two cards, known as hole cards, are dealt face down to each player, and then five community cards are dealt face ...
'', ''
Vortex
In fluid dynamics, a vortex ( : vortices or vortexes) is a region in a fluid in which the flow revolves around an axis line, which may be straight or curved. Vortices form in stirred fluids, and may be observed in smoke rings, whirlpools in t ...
'', and ''
Zuma''. These games were made available for purchase from the iTunes Store for
US$
The United States dollar (symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the official ...
4.99 each. In December 2006, two more games were released by
EA Mobile
EA Mobile Inc. is an American video game development studio of the publisher Electronic Arts (EA) for mobile platforms.
The studio's primary business is producing games for mobile phones. It has also produced other entertainment-related softw ...
at the same price: ''Royal
Solitaire
Solitaire is any tabletop game which one can play by oneself, usually with cards, but also with dominoes. The term "solitaire" is also used for single-player games of concentration and skill using a set layout tiles, pegs or stones. These game ...
'' and ''
Sudoku
Sudoku (; ja, 数独, sūdoku, digit-single; originally called Number Place) is a logic-based, combinatorial number-placement puzzle. In classic Sudoku, the objective is to fill a 9 × 9 grid with digits so that each column, each ro ...
''. In February 2007, ''
Ms. Pac-Man'' was released, followed in April 2007 by ''iQuiz''. Until this time, all the available games could be purchased in a package, with no discount.
In May 2007, Apple released ''
Lost: The Video Game'' by
Gameloft
Gameloft SE is a French video game publisher based in Paris, founded in December 1999 by Ubisoft co-founder Michel Guillemot. The company operates 18 development studios worldwide, and publishes games with a special focus on the mobile games m ...
, based on the
television show
A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, or cable, excluding breaking news, advertisements, or trailers that are typically placed ...
. In June 2007, "
SAT Prep 2008" by
Kaplan was introduced as 3 separate educational games based on the subjects of writing, reading, and mathematics. In December 2007, Apple released a classic
Sega
is a Japanese multinational video game and entertainment company headquartered in Shinagawa, Tokyo. Its international branches, Sega of America and Sega Europe, are headquartered in Irvine, California and London, respectively. Its divisio ...
game, ''
Sonic the Hedgehog
is a Japanese video game series and media franchise created by Sega. The franchise follows Sonic, an anthropomorphic blue hedgehog who battles the evil Doctor Eggman, a mad scientist. The main ''Sonic the Hedgehog'' games are platformers ...
'', which was originally packaged with the
Sega Genesis
The Sega Genesis, known as the outside North America, is a 16-bit fourth generation home video game console developed and sold by Sega. It was Sega's third console and the successor to the Master System. Sega released it in 1988 in Japan a ...
system in the early 1990s.
With third parties like
Namco
was a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational video game and entertainment company, headquartered in Ōta, Tokyo. It held several international branches, including Namco America in Santa Clara, California, Namco Europe in London, Na ...
,
Square Enix
is a Japanese multinational holding company, production enterprise and entertainment conglomerate, best known for its '' Final Fantasy'', ''Dragon Quest'', '' Star Ocean'' and ''Kingdom Hearts'' role-playing video game franchises, among numero ...
,
EA,
Sega
is a Japanese multinational video game and entertainment company headquartered in Shinagawa, Tokyo. Its international branches, Sega of America and Sega Europe, are headquartered in Irvine, California and London, respectively. Its divisio ...
, and
Hudson Soft
was a Japanese video game company that released numerous games for video game consoles, home computers and mobile phones, mainly from the 1980s to the 2000s. It was headquartered in the Midtown Tower in Tokyo Midtown, Akasaka, Minato, ...
all making games for the iPod, Apple's dedicated MP3 player took great steps towards entering the video game handheld console market. Even video game magazines like ''
GamePro
Gamepro.com is an international multiplatform video game magazine media company that covers the video game industry, video game hardware and video game software in countries such as Germany and France. The publication, GamePro, was originally l ...
'' and
''EGM'' have reviewed and rated most of their games.
The games are in the form of files (iPod game), which are actually .zip archives in disguise. When unzipped, they reveal executable files along with common audio and image files, leading to the possibility of
third-party games, although this never eventuated (with the exception of superficial user-made
tweaks). Apple never made a
software development kit
A software development kit (SDK) is a collection of software development tools in one installable package. They facilitate the creation of applications by having a compiler, debugger and sometimes a software framework. They are normally specific ...
(SDK) available to the public for iPod-specific development. The
iOS SDK covers only
iOS
iOS (formerly iPhone OS) is a mobile operating system created and developed by Apple Inc. exclusively for its hardware. It is the operating system that powers many of the company's mobile devices, including the iPhone; the term also include ...
on the
iPhone and
iPod Touch
The iPod Touch (stylized as iPod touch) is a discontinued line of iOS-based mobile device, mobile devices designed and marketed by Apple Inc. with a Touchscreen, touchscreen-controlled user interface. As with other iPod models, the iPod Touch ...
, not traditional iPods.
In October 2011, Apple removed all the click wheel–operated games from its store.
Games
This is a list of games that were made available for the newest iPods, excluding the iPod Touch. Each game (other than ''Reversi'' and ''Chinese'' ''Checkers'') cost
US$
The United States dollar (symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the official ...
4.99 to buy prior to their discontinuation in 2011.
The list contains games that are known to exist. The list is always kept up to date by this
script
Script may refer to:
Writing systems
* Script, a distinctive writing system, based on a repertoire of specific elements or symbols, or that repertoire
* Script (styles of handwriting)
** Script typeface, a typeface with characteristics of hand ...
.
Default games
These are the games that originally came with an iPod.
Criticism
iTunes had come under much criticism due to the
UK price of iPod games,
GB£3.99 (about US$7.40). Many people from the UK had given the games 1-star ratings, stating that Apple was
"ripping off" Britain.
A similar situation occurred in
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country b ...
, where the price was
A$7.49, even though the Australian dollar was (at the time) worth more than the US dollar (A$7.49 = US$7.76).
Developers had criticized Apple for not creating a
software development kit
A software development kit (SDK) is a collection of software development tools in one installable package. They facilitate the creation of applications by having a compiler, debugger and sometimes a software framework. They are normally specific ...
(SDK) for software developers to create new iPod games; this was likely to keep the
digital rights management
Digital rights management (DRM) is the management of legal access to digital content. Various tools or technological protection measures (TPM) such as access control technologies can restrict the use of proprietary hardware and copyrighted wor ...
of iPod games closed. Despite this, it did not prevent users from running an alternative OS on the iPod such as Linux, whereby, for example, there are ports of ''
Doom'' that will run on fifth-generation iPods. Running Linux on an iPod retains the music-playing functionality of the device while also adding features such as the ability to create voice memos through the headphones.
When the iPod Classic and iPod Nano third generation were released, games which had previously been purchased could not be synced to the new iPods. Understandably, this made many consumers angry due to losing their investment.
It is also notable that after a download had been made for a game, it couldn't have been downloaded again unless a separate purchase was made for the same item. This is different behavior than applications downloaded on the App Store, which can be downloaded an unlimited number of times. These issues were later fixed, however, making it possible to install any single game on any number of iPods registered under the same account.
Unofficial games
Some older iPod units are capable of using replacement
firmware such as
iPod Linux and
Rockbox
Rockbox is a free and open-source software replacement for the OEM firmware in various forms of digital audio players (DAPs) with an original kernel. It offers an alternative to the player's operating system, in many cases without removing the ...
. These firmware projects can play many other games, including the aforementioned native port of ''
Doom''; and, via a native port of the
Game Boy
The is an 8-bit fourth generation handheld game console developed and manufactured by Nintendo. It was first released in Japan on April 21, 1989, in North America later the same year, and in Europe in late 1990. It was designed by the same ...
emulator
In computing, an emulator is Computer hardware, hardware or software that enables one computer system (called the ''host'') to behave like another computer system (called the ''guest''). An emulator typically enables the host system to run so ...
Gnuboy, many other games could be played, including ''
Super Mario Bros.
is a platform game developed and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES). The successor to the 1983 arcade game ''Mario Bros.'' and the first game in the ''Super Mario'' series, it was first released in 1985 for t ...
'', ''
Tomb Raider
''Tomb Raider'', also known as ''Lara Croft: Tomb Raider'' from 2001 to 2008, is a media franchise that originated with an action-adventure video game series created by British gaming company Core Design. Formerly owned by Eidos Interactive, th ...
'', ''
Mega Man
''Mega Man'', known as in Japan, is a Japanese science fiction video game franchise created by Capcom, starring a series of robot characters each known by the moniker " Mega Man". The original game was released for the Nintendo Entertainme ...
'', ''
Kirby'', ''
Metroid
is an action-adventure game franchise created by Nintendo. The player controls the bounty hunter Samus Aran, who protects the galaxy from Space Pirates and other malevolent forces and their attempts to harness the power of the parasitic Me ...
'', ''
The Legend of Zelda
''The Legend of Zelda'' is an action-adventure, action-adventure game franchise created by the Japanese game designers Shigeru Miyamoto and Takashi Tezuka. It is primarily developed and published by Nintendo, although some portable installmen ...
'', ''
Street Fighter
, commonly abbreviated as ''SF'' or スト (''Suto''), is a Japanese media franchise centered on a series of fighting video and arcade games developed and published by Capcom. The first game in the series was released in 1987, followed by six ...
'', and hundreds more.
Games using the ″Notes″ feature
With the release of the third-generation iPod in 2003, Apple introduced a ″Notes″ feature to the iPod's firmware. This functionality provided the first opportunity for third-party developers to create simple text and audio games which could be installed and run on an iPod without users needing to replace the official firmware.
With a limit of 1,000 individual .txt files, each with a maximum file size of 4kb, the Notes feature made use of a limited set of
html tags.
Hyperlinks
In computing, a hyperlink, or simply a link, is a digital reference to data that the user can follow or be guided by clicking or tapping. A hyperlink points to a whole document or to a specific element within a document. Hypertext is text w ...
could also be used to link to other .txt files or folders and play audio files stored on the device. The limitation of available html tags meant that developers were restricted to
Choose Your Own Adventure
''Choose Your Own Adventure'' is a series of children's gamebooks where each story is written from a second-person point of view, with the reader assuming the role of the protagonist and making choices that determine the main character's actio ...
–style text-based games or multiple choice–style quizzes with narrated audio.
Subsequently, very few developers used the Notes feature as a way of publishing games.
References
External links
iPod game pageat
Apple.com
Apple Inc. is an American multinational technology company headquartered in Cupertino, California, United States. Apple is the largest technology company by revenue (totaling in 2021) and, as of June 2022, is the world's biggest company b ...
{{Video game lists by platform
ITunes