Sega's Mobile division has rolled out Super Monkey Ball for iPhone and iPod Touch platform. Developed by Other Ocean Interactive, Super Monkey Ball will be available for download at $9.99 from Apple's App Store. Sega Mobile is the second big publisher to use the iPhone platform, after Electronic Art, which announced Spore for iPhone.

In an interview with the media at E3 2008, Simon Jeffery, President and COO of SEGA America, expressed delight in making Super Monkey Ball available on iPhone and Touch. Also iPhone's potential was acclaimed to be as powerful as Dreamcast. Yeah, Dreamcast is that same sixth generation gaming console by Sega, which couldn't stand the competition from PlayStation 2.

Super Monkey Ball game is about controlling either of the four monkeys - AiAi, MeeMee, Baby and Gongon, inside a transparent ball. The iPhone or iPod Touch should be tilted carefully to save the monkey from number of obstacles like gaps, slops, ledges or moving platforms. By tilting the player accelerates or reduces the pace of ball to make it pass through 110 different stages.

"Super Monkey Ball offers consumers a whole new way to interact with a handheld game- this time with just a tilt of the device," said Simon Jeffery, President and COO of SEGA America. "While remaining true to the look and feel of the popular franchise, Super Monkey Ball for the iPhone OS has been designed to take advantage of the three-axis accelerometer, creating a very natural and direct correlation between the actions of the player and the gameplay. The result is an extremely accessible, imaginative and fun gaming experience."

After hours of the announcement, many users-gamers wanted to see more classic Dreamcast games like Shenmue coming from Sega to prove their claim that the iPhone is as powerful as Dreamcast. Yes, iPhone OS is indeed a powerful platform for gaming. Current buzz in the gaming industry is that it will compete with existing handhelds like Sony PSP and Nintendo DS. Perhaps not, as the iPhone will address larger masses with more casual, arcade and racing games in App Stores, as opposed to the gaming-specific handheld platforms like PSP and DS.