Rockstar has announced that it's bringing GTA: Chinatown Wars and the music creation app Beaterator to the iPhone and iPod touch. The former was originally released on the Nintendo DS to huge critical acclaim earlier this year, while the latter is due on PSP and PlayStation Network at the end of the month. Both were originally created by the Rockstar Leeds studio and will arrive on Apple's handsets this autumn.
There's no word yet on any new features, but it looks like we can expect reasonably straightforward conversions of both titles. It would be fun to see a version Chinatown Wars that exploits some of the functionality of the iPhone, perhaps texting you with drug deals throughout the day - though this could lead to some tricky misunderstandings. With Beaterator, though users will be able to share their tracks with others via the Rockstar Social Club, there must surely be a way of getting the best user-generated music onto the iTunes Store...
Whatever the case, it's another indication that iPhone is now being fully integrated into publisher release plans. EA has so far led the assault with high profile translations of Sims 3 and Spore, but 2K Games is doing well with Civilization Revolution; as is Lucas Arts with Secret of Monkey Island.
The question is - how will official titles in familiar genres fair against specifically-designed iPhone lookalikes? Chinatown Wars is likely to be priced in the £5.99 region, but it'll be up against established mobile variations such as Gameloft's Gangstar: West Coast Hustle (£3.99 - and full 3D!), Apex Designs' Payback and Tag Games' Car Jack Streets. Will brand loyalty carry across into the less predictable iPhone sector? Oh okay, with Chinatown Wars I think we know the answer.
