Apple Inc (AAPL)

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09:44 AAPL Apple to battle Nintendo, Sony? - Red Herring (85.93 -0.86) -Update-

Red Herring reports one group drooling over the iPhone are game cos that see it as a killer platform for their newest mobile titles. Mr. Jobs has not said a word about games. But given Apple's recent decision to offer downloadable games for the iPod music player, some game industry officials think popular titles will hit the iPhone before too long.

Asked to comment on iPhone games, officials from Electronic Arts (ERTS) provide a predictable response. "It's fair to say we're looking at it," says spokesperson Tammy Schachter.

But despite the enthusiasm among developers, analysts aren't entirely sold on the iPhone's potential as a game machine. "It's already a multifunction device," says Brian O'Rourke of research firm In-Stat. "Adding another capability and trying to market it... might be too much."

Another potential hitch: the iPhone will run on Apple's OSX operating system, a platform third-party developers haven't rushed to embrace.