iPhone 5 ups ante for mobile gaming

With the introduction of the new Apple iPhone 5 with its larger 4-inch 1136 x 640 16:9 widescreen Retina Display and faster A6 processor, gamers will be in for a real treat when it comes to mobile gaming on the new phone.

EA Studios' Rob Murray says users will see "full console quality" 3-D graphics on the iPhone 5's larger screen. During Apple's Sept. 12 presentation, Murray showed off "Real Racing 3" to highlight the new phone's better graphics. This will all be enhanced by new sRGB rendering, 40 percent better color saturation and a 326 ppi Retina Display.

Apple claims the new A6 processor is twice as fast as the A5 chip in the iPhone 4S and it will be two times faster and two times better with graphics. "To marry mobile with console graphics, it's never been done before," said Apple's Phil Schiller. Actually, it has, with NVIDIA's "Tegra 3" for Android -- but don't tell Apple that.

Apple also showed off a new feature in its Game Center that will allow for head-to-head racing against a friend. This probably means online multiplayer for other iOS games is coming. Maybe Apple can get Siri to chime in with cheats and tips to help you frag that opponent on the other side. The new support for 4G LTE will also help so as not to get fragged by the other side because your wireless connection is too slow.

Apple claims that more than 175,000 games are now available at the Game Center and there are more than 150 million players. One of the other new games Apple showed off was "Clumsy Ninja," which is like "Nintendogs," but with ninjas. You can train your little ninja with things like punching bags and trampolines as well as tickle your masked friend.

In addition to the iPhone 5, Apple also showed off a fifth-generation iPod Touch powered by an A5 chip, which will be "seven times faster" than the last iPod Touch and will sport the same 4-inch widescreen Retina Display as the iPhone 5 so you can get your iOS gaming kicks without buying an iPhone 5, though probably at iPhone 4S speeds..

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