August 4th, 2009 by Arjan Olsder Posted in People, Platforms: iOS | No Comments »
More news surfaces on Namco's new Apple Games unit as they hired Jonathan Kromrey (fa ormer Apple games producer) to head up the division as general manager.
In his job, Jonathan Kromrey will be responsible for creating new franchise oppertunities, overseeing research, managing design and development of internal and external teams as well as developing and publishing new and original IP.
“It’s an exciting time at Namco. We are preparing to usher in a new generation of games that capitalize on changing consumer preferences, like ‘anywhere’ gaming and social games,” said Kromrey. “With the iPhone and iPod touch, Apple has provided truly innovative platforms and is challenging developers to push these devices to their limits. I’m going to ensure that Namco answers that challenge and exceeds consumers’ expectations.”
One of his missions will be to take full advantage of what the platform has to offer. Both new and existing games will receive support for various 3.0 features.
At Apple, he was responsible for R&D on the iPhone OS and AppleTV platforms where he worked on several new hard- and software products. This is very interesting for Namco as this means he has in depth knowledge of Apple and where Apple is going. There are plenty rumours that Apple wants to open up Apple TV to games as well.
Next to Apple, Kromrey also held a position at I-Play where he was responsible for BREW, J2me and Symbian development.
“While working at Apple, I was amazed by the renewed passion for gaming that seemed to grow by the day,” said Kromrey. “The gaming community has never been broader, both in terms of the types of games being played and the audience. This is a great time to be developing games for Apple’s devices.”
In an interview with MocoGames, Kromrey said that he has brought a group of former Apple developers into the new unit and that he is considering partnerships with other developers as well and perhaps to 'bring them into the Namco family'
He also outlined his interest in creating yet another social platform for indies to join. With this statement, he makes clear that Namco is looking for original games and is giving everybody a chance to take part.
Gameplay is even so important to the company that ad-funded gaming is no option at this point. Gamers will be receiving a complete, uninterrupted, gaming experience from the company, no matter what the price point is. Speaking of price points, the unit will be releasing games between $0,99 and $9,99.
In an interview with IGN, Kromrey outlined that the catalogue of games will be highly diversified. The company plans to meet the demands of the wide App Store audience.
The current team holds 16 members and for this month, they should be releasing 5 games apart from Pac-Man Remix.
