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If it looks like a DS and plays like a DS

... then it must be a DS, right?

Wrong.

We've been buzzing about the App Store lately, which will allow iPhone and iPod Touch users to download games onto their devices. A few titles and prices have been announced today at Apple's WWDC '08, including Super Monkey Ball, Enigmo, and Cro-Mag Rally, each of which will cost $9.99.

All this talk about gaming on the iPod caused us to run across the iControlPad, which is an add-on for the iPhone that provides button and D-pad support. It makes the mobile look a little familiar, doesn't it -- perhaps like another handheld we know? Or maybe it even resembles a DS/PSP hybrid.

The iControlPad is still in production (aiming for a July release), but development kits are being given to developers interested in adding support for the peripheral to their games. With the iControlPad, not only will the iPhone utilize touchscreen play like the DS, but users could also play games with buttons ... like, uh, the DS.

Don't get us wrong -- we still don't think Apple can compete with the dominance of Nintendo's handheld. Yet, it does look like Steve Jobs and co. are really, really trying to get of piece of the handheld gaming pie, doesn't it? With the recently announced $200 3G iPhone, Apple is headed in the right direction. Now, if it wasn't for that silly AT&T tie-in plan, they might have a major threat on their hands.

[Via Gaming Angels]