A few years back, it was certainly debatable that the iPhone would be a viable platform for gaming; limited performance and a fledgling App Store  would create doubts in the mind of many an analyst and gamer.

Now, it's basically un-debatable that the iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad are viable devices for gaming... at least casual gaming.  The App Store has exploded (it even has FarmVille.) 120 million iDevices have shipped to consumers.  There have been 6.5 billion downloads on the App Store, with 200 apps downloaded every second.  About 36,000 of those available apps are games, according to 148apps's tracking.  Clearly, the numbers don't lie. (See Apple's latest keynote for more fun numbers, random adjectives, and marketing fluff.)

The problem is that the iDevice app world simply can't erase its image as a land where only toothless, soft-bellied casual games roam.  I mean, seriously, real gamers don't want to toss birds at pigs or drop coins do they?  Marcus thinks so.

Enter Epic Citadel.  (App Store link) There have been a few moments in my life when I have been blown away by a video game (or at least, in this case, a tech demo) and this is one of those rare moments.  You can watch the video, but you have to see it in person to believe it.  This is running on a phone.

I have a feeling this is only a very brief glimpse into what the iDevice world can do for "real," immersive 3D gaming.  Play this on an iPad (it's Universal) and tell me that a full-fledged Oblivion clone wouldn't work... 'cause it would, and it would kick ass.

I won't make any predictions, but I will say this.  The iPhone 4 and iPad are viable gaming devices, and Epic Citadel could merely be scratching the surface of its performance potential.

Let's all join hands and wish for full-flavor games like this to be born for iOS - the gaming world will be better for it.

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