There are about 250 iPhone games available on Apple's Web Apps list, but, according to Amplified Games' Tom Hubina, most of them are "not so hot." In fact, the entire mobile gaming industry here in the US isn’t exactly what you’d call robust. But the iPhone represents a potentially huge boost to the mobile gaming market.

There are a number of challenges facing mobile game developers: The many mobile devices on the market all have different capabilities and input systems, for one thing. And the lack of a powerful web browser on most devices means that developers have virtually no visibility to the user – instead, they have to rely in large part on the mobile carriers to market their games. This has limited the mobile gaming business significantly.

Apple’s highly successful mobile device features a web browser that actually works well, opening up new possibilities for developers to target and communicate with mobile gamers. Because AT&T offers an unlimited data plan for the iPhone, games can simply be downloaded and played as web apps. This has the added benefit that game developers don’t need to rely on carrier deck space, which can often be quite limited, to host the game before it's downloaded onto gamers' mobile devices.

The functional Safari mobile web browser also allows developers to target iPhone-wielding gamers in ways that weren’t possible before. It's a pretty safe bet that all iPhone users use email, so a developer can simply email a link to a user who shows interest in their games. Then it's as simple as opening the and downloading a game directly to the iPhone. Future release announcements can also be emailed directly to the user, and more aggressively connected games and platforms can be developed.

This kind of ease-of-use and direct communication is what could ultimately open up the mobile gaming market, making it more lucrative for major developers to devote resources to this underserved gaming niche.

In contrast to the US, a very healthy mobile gaming market exists in Korea, where mobile games are popular enough to support game networking features that utilize SMS to let you know if your high score has been beaten or if a friend wants to challenge you to a match.

Similar systems seem eminently viable on the iPhone, and could lead to viral marketing capabilities that are virtually unthinkable in today’s American mobile gaming market.

Marketing is one thing, though, and game playability is another. The iPhone’s ample screen size and mouse-like input system make it one of the best mobile platforms available for gaming, but even the iPhone has its shortcomings. While it could open up the mobile gaming market, it is definitely not the end-all device.

Probably the biggest problem with mobile gaming is the controls. Anyone who’s ever played a game on their mobile phone knows what I’m talking about: Many mobile game titles just aren’t nearly as fun as their console- or PC-based cousins simply because the controls are terrible. While the mouse-like controls of the iPhone’s touch-screen solves these problems to a degree, it isn’t exactly like a mouse – there are no mouse buttons, for instance – meaning controls are still limited. And because of the latency inherent in the iPhone’s tap-to-click system, and the fact that the network is fairly slow, high-speed action games can’t be done very well, if at all. So don’t expect to play BioShock on your iPhone any time soon.

A variety of interfaces – from single button to using the entire keypad, or even flipping the device around – are being used in Korea. It remains to be seen whether the iPhone’s mouse-like touch screen or some other interface system will help make mobile gaming a viable market in the US, but, as a mobile game player, I submit that the controls are what need to evolve first. Once the games are actually fun and easy to play, the marketing will probably take care of itself.