Gameloft's iPhone games scoring well with critics

For the last two quarters, we've published the PG.biz Quality Index, tracking review scores of mobile games, and then analysing them by publisher. We're at work right now on the Q3 edition, so expect it in the coming days.

However, we've also been tracking a new area – iPhone game reviews – which we've separated out from mobile. This means a new set of sites to track.

Besides Pocket Gamer and IGN Wireless, the iPhone Game Quality Index currently includes Slide To Play, Macworld, Mac|Life and iPhone Games Network (we would have included the excellent Touch Arcade too, but they don't give scores in their reviews).

Every review published by these sites in July, August and September has been tracked, with scores converted to a rating out of 10 for those sites using alternative score formats.

For publishers, we've boiled down the list to companies who've had more than five reviews on these sites during the period, covering more than one game. The chart runs thus:
 

Publisher	Reviews	Avg Score
Gameloft	24	8.00
Ambrosia Software	5	7.40
Pangea Software	10	7.15
Publisher X	9	7.09
Hudson Soft	9	6.99
I-play	5	6.98
EA Mobile	12	6.92
THQ Wireless	8	6.71
Freeverse	12	6.08
Namco Bandai Networks	9	5.43
Astraware	5	5.38

 
Gameloft is clearly bolstering its reputation for high-quality games so far –with its impressive average score all the more notable from coming from 24 different reviews.

Mac publisher Ambrosia Software is also doing well, albeit mainly from high scores for its Mondo Solitaire game. Another firm with its roots in the Mac sphere, Pangea Software, has scored well across its games, including Enigmo, Cro-Mag Rally and Billy Frontier.

EA Mobile's mid-table position is due to the mixed reviews the publisher has received, with some games (for example Spore Origins and Tetris) dividing critics.

Near the bottom of this chart, Namco Bandai Networks has received poor reviews for its retro games Pac-Man, Ms Pac-Man and Pole Position Remix.

Astraware is perhaps unlucky to be occupying last slot in this chart, given that four of its five reviews were for one game, GTS World Racing.

So what about individual games? 36 games have been reviewed by more than three of the websites being tracked for the iPhone Game Quality Index.

Gameloft is well represented, but interestingly, developer Igloo Games tops the chart with Dizzy Bee, while fellow indies Demiforce and IUGO also nestle inside the Top 10. The full chart follows:
 

Game	Publisher	Revs	Avg. Score
Dizzy Bee	Igloo Games	3	8.67
Asphalt 4 Elite Racing	Gameloft	6	8.58
Texas Hold'em	Apple	4	8.5
Crash Bandicoot Nitro Kart 3D	Vivendi	3	8.27
Trism	Demiforce	4	8.25
Real Football 2009	Gameloft	4	8.13
Mondo Solitaire	Ambrosia Software	3	8.00
Toy Bot Diaries	IUGO	5	7.98
Brain Challenge	Gameloft	3	7.97
Critter Crunch	Publisher X	3	7.83
Space Monkey	Glu Mobile	4	7.75
Zen Pinball: Rollercoaster	Publisher X	3	7.67
Diner Dash	PlayFirst	3	7.33
Super Monkey Ball	Sega	5	7.3
Spore Origins	EA Mobile	4	7.25
Diamond Twister	Gameloft	3	7.17
SolarQuest	Neon Surge	3	7.17
Cro-Mag Rally	Pangea Software	4	7.00
De Blob	THQ Wireless	4	7.00
EA Sudoku	EA Mobile	3	7.00
Big Bang Sudoku	Freeverse	3	6.67
Funky Punch	Solus Games	3	6.67
Space Invasion	StarByte	3	6.67
X-Plane 9	Laminar Research	3	6.67
Jewel Quest II	I-play	3	6.47
Star Wars: The Force Unleashed	THQ Wireless	4	6.4
Aqua Forest	Hudson Soft	3	6.33
Bomberman Touch	Hudson Soft	3	6.33
Tetris	EA Mobile	3	6.33
Vay	SoMoGa	4	6.25
Moto Chaser	Freeverse	5	6.2
Bejeweled 2	PopCap	3	6
Flick Bowling	Freeverse	3	6
GTS World Racing	Astraware	4	5.98
Pac-Man	Namco	4	5.5
Cybersaurus 3D	Darxun Games	3	3.17