Palm gets serious about 3D gaming on webOS

Aw, snap! If you thought Apple was the only player in town who could convince gamine execs to walk on stage at and partner up, think again. Palm just announced that a PDK (plugin developer kit) would be loosed at the Game Developers Conference in March, and that'll enable coders to get their own games onto webOS. In the meanwhile (meaning today), Palm users will be able to sink their teeth into Need for Speed and and Sims 3 (among other titles) thanks to a partnership with EA Mobile. We're told that "lots" of games will be available in the App Catalog starting today, and the demo shown during the press event was remarkably lag-free. Another neat bit is the ability for games to integrate seamlessly in webOS, so any new texts you receive can be spotted while the game is playing, and if you switch cards to respond, the game just pauses until you return.

Update: The official release is out, and we're told that titles from EA, Gameloft, Glu Mobile and Laminar Research are available to users today. Head on past the break for a more thorough look.

Seven 3D games were introduced today in the Palm App Catalog for Palm Pre customers:

* "Need for Speed(TM) Undercover" (EA Mobile)
* "The Sims(TM) 3" (EA Mobile)
* "MONOPOLY(TM)" (EA Mobile)
* "Asphalt 5: Elite Racing" (Gameloft)
* "Let's Golf!" (Gameloft)
* "Glyder 2" (Glu Mobile)
* "X-Plane" (Laminar Research)

Five other mobile games were also introduced: EA Mobile's "Tetris(R)," "Sudoku," and "SCRABBLE(R)," and Gameloft's "The Oregon Trail" and "Brain Challenge."

[Techeternity Posted Jan 7th 2010 3:09PM]

3D gaming take that iPhone, I am just kidding. I guess I should be excited because AT&T is getting 2 webos phones, I am switching to AT&T in spring. But then I will probably go android, I don't know.

[mcfine Posted Jan 7th 2010 3:11PM]

So what happened with all the GPU enabled talk? If these games are available today then GPU acceleration is working as of 1.3.5?

[flobo Posted Jan 7th 2010 3:14PM]

@mcfine Should be the case... At least the necessary librarys are in 1.3.5 already... the homebrew guys got doom and quake working recently, you know?

[Cin Posted Jan 7th 2010 3:15PM]

@mcfine
It's been enabled since 1.3.5. Homebrew hakcers ported over Doom and Quake about a week ago. Pretty much everyone in the homebrew community saw this coming since 1.3.5 went live.

[cell128 Posted Jan 7th 2010 3:13PM]

I wonder if these new 3d games have multitouch.. I know that all previous apps did not support it... can someone download a game and post any details...maybe a video????

[jstrickb Posted Jan 7th 2010 3:58PM]

@cell128
Web OS supports multitouch. Unlike the Droid, the maps, browser, and photo apps all utilize multitouch.

Palm Pre FTW.

[cell128 Posted Jan 7th 2010 4:25PM]

@jstrickb
I know webos has multitouch but none of the apps from the app catalog supported multitouch because the sdk did not allow devs to access for it.. Maybe the new sdk does... Im anxious to know because I might switch back to pre plus for att or if sprint gets it, ill drop att

[ebgolfin Posted Jan 7th 2010 3:26PM]

I'm glad to see that Palm users are finally able to get into the mobile gaming scene. As an iPhone user, I can tell you that it's really nice to be able to have a couple fun, high quality games on your phone that you can pick up and play just about anywhere.

Here's hoping that chillingo releases Zen Bound for WebOS, it's a fantastic game that can only be done on a touch screen.

[glamajamma Posted Jan 7th 2010 3:32PM]

These games are now showing up in the app catalog.

[Vdek Posted Jan 7th 2010 3:41PM]

@glamajamma
Yes, just purchased Asphalt 5 since I'm a sucker for racing games, hope it's not crap.

[theomeny Posted Jan 7th 2010 3:41PM]

I haven't seen NFS but they are indeed showing up now. Sims 3 is 10 bucks. I suppose so will NFS.

[RyanS Posted Jan 7th 2010 3:52PM]

Sorry, but is she... is she wearing 'F-Me' boots?

O_O

[Canizorro Posted Jan 7th 2010 7:44PM]

"If you thought Apple was the only player in town who could convince gamine execs to walk on stage at and partner up, think again."

I don't think anyone thought that.

[Oducayen Posted Jan 8th 2010 2:40AM]

NO 3D ON THE PIXI...At the time of purchase(which was 3 days after pixis release) there was no specs. the sales rep said it is the same phone as the pre with a different form factor no wifi and a 2MP camera. the pre was 150$ and the pixi was 100$ which seemed fair as there was no wifi and th 2MP camera. there was also no more information in the store as to any other differences between the phones. so needless to say when 3D games and flash support were demoed on the pre at CES 2010 with no mention to the pixi and no 3D games in our app store we were taken by surprise. This is a shock to pixi(webos) customers and one that has not yet, but needs to be addressed by palm.

[Ploni Almoni Posted Jan 8th 2010 7:30AM]

@Oducayen the sales rep lied to you, but that couldn't really be blamed on Palm. The Pixi has a different, weaker CPU. The Pixi CPU isn't even binary-compatible with the Pre's CPU, making the new native games in the app catalog written for the Pre incapable of running on the Pixi's CPU. It also has a different resolution for the screen. The Pixi is a nice "starter smartphone" and has a fun form-factor, but it isn't cut out to be a high-end device.

[Oducayen Posted Jan 8th 2010 1:26PM]

@Ploni Almoni The sales rep worked for sprint. sprint corporate is suppose to make sure the sales reps are informed and product information is in the store. sprint is parnters with palm... If i knew i was getting an "entry level phone" i would have got something else. so yes i was lied to by sprint and palm. that is what i have issue with

[Shawn Posted Jan 8th 2010 3:27PM]

Okay I know I am a nerd when I get this excited about an announcement from Palm. I have never loved my Pre so much before! I love the support that Palm has for their platform! Always releasing updates for it, always improving the platform. Keep up the good work Palm!