SGN iPhone games nearing 8m downloads mark

Social games firm SGN is on the verge of notching up more than eight million downloads of its suite of iPhone games, which includes iBowl, iBaseball, iBasketball and SGN Golf.

"We have captured the iPhone market with at least one of our applications on 15% of all iPhones and iPod touch devices," says CEO Shervin Pishevar (pictured).

iBowl has been particularly popular, with more than four million downloads already making it the fourth most popular free iPhone game. That appears to be accelerating too, with Pishevar saying that it's grown by 72 per cent since December.

The big thing about social games on Facebook is that they're constantly evolving, and that's certainly the case with SGN's iPhone titles.

The company has just updated iBowl to add live over-the-network multiplayer features. The game's new Challenge mode allows players to compete against strangers, or their friends.

It's a sign that SGN is keen to bring the connected features that drive its Facebook games onto iPhone. "With the new iBowl update, we continue to engage people through the power of the network effect, across multiple platforms and social networks with new features designed to entertain all audiences," says Pishevar.

SGN has also launched i(fluff), an iPhone version of its popular (fluff)Friends Facebook game.

The company isn't the only social games publisher looking to bring its titles from social networks to iPhone: check out yesterday's interview with Zynga for more on that company's strategy.

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