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Is writing games for IPhone still a good option for Indie Game developers ?

One look at the IPhone app store for games and you will for sure get a sense that the days were small stupid games made huge money are over.

Writing games these days for IPhone is no more a walk in the park ( talking about the days when games were first introduced into the Apple App Store ) .

There might be several reasons for the same:

1. ITune store users have gone smarter ,using the rating system and reviews to buy and download good games ( or close to good games ), Applications like PandoraBox and AppMiner help end users to get the best out of the app store
2. Games are pouring in like crazy and most of them lack quality or required juice to keep a player hooked. ( Number of applications that allow one to write game for IPhone have increased, It was once just limited to XCode + Objective C and the classy MACosx geek . With Applications like Torque, Unity 3D allowing artists and non-geeks to write games has led to games explosion on the ITune Store)
3. Big Players like EA have started to tap into the IPhone market and competing with them is not that easy.

Does this mean its the end of an era if you have just thought of writing games for IPhone ?

Not exactly ! If you have a closer look at the games that are doing good, you get to understand the true picture:

1. Games that are well designed and have enough game-play to at least hook a player for >10min on an average are doing good.
2. Not all games need jazzy looking artwork and renders ( few of the indie developers are good at it :p ) , its about gameplay ( how well is the game designed and how rewarding or challenging the game is ).
3. Most of the popular games are not even 3D, that means if you are good at writing 2D games and have the talent to write something unique and playable, you have a chance. ( watch out for the increase in games when Flash CS5 comes in with ability to publish to IPhone )
4. Best of the games get publicity just by friends who bought it first ( so if your game has a multiplayer or social networking touch to it , higher the chances of downloads and hits )
5. Last but not the least ; good games are not overcharged and are never subject to greediness ( when the game starts selling , don't increase its pri$e , that's one tactic that will spoil the reputation of a game developer on a long run )

All the best and happy coding ( after all... its just fun :D )