First iPhone games priced, dated

While gaming isn't the primary selling point of the iPod or its iPhone sister product, Apple has made no secret of its intention to carve out room for interactive entertainment in its line of portable media players. The latest news on that front came during a Worldwide Developer Conference presentation today hosted by Apple CEO Steve Jobs.

According to a News.com live blog of the event, games will be among the first offerings when Apple launches its App Store for third-party iPhone software early next month. The previously announced Super Monkey Ball from Sega will be available day one for $9.99. The game takes advantage of the iPhone's tilt-sensing capabilities to let players guide one of four ball-encased primates through more than 100 levels.

Super Monkey Ball wasn't the only game on show. Pangea Software showed off a pair of Mac ports for the iPhone and the iPod Touch. Cro-Mag Rally is a prehistoric kart racer with players getting behind the (newly invented) wheels of 11 different vehicles on nine separate tracks. Cro-Mag also lets users tilt the iPhone to steer their contraptions.

Pangea's other game on display was the 3D puzzler Enigmo, which sees gamers moving obstacles around a playfield in order to get falling water, oil, and lava from a basin at the top of the screen to their intended targets. Both games will sell for $9.99 on the App Store.

Finally, Digital Legends Entertainment took the stage to announce Kroll, a fantasy-themed 3D action-adventure game unrelated to the 1983 film Krull. The demo showed off some action sequences and puzzles, with September given as the expected launch window. Digital Legends previously developed the fighting game One for the ill-fated Nokia N-Gage.

While games were a very visible part of Apple's conference, the biggest news to come from the presentation was the introduction of a new 3G- and GPS-enabled iPhone. That product will be available July 11 in 8GB and 16GB models, priced at $199 and $299, respectively.

Sega and Electronic Arts confirmed their iPhone support in March with the announcements of Super Monkey Ball and Spore for the handheld. Other publishers appear to be getting in on the act as well, with a Ubisoft producer spilling the news about her company's iPhone plans last week. When contacted by GameSpot, the publisher refused to confirm the producer's claim.