160+ Games for iPhone App Store Launch

More than 160 games will be available from Apple’s new iPhone software portal when its launches this Thursday.

Coinciding with the release of its iPhone 3G, Apple’s online App Store will offer more than 500 software applications upon launch, a third of which will be games.

Apple CEO Steve Jobs told The New York Times that 25 percent of the first 500 applications will be free. Of the commercial applications, 90 percent will be sold for $9.99 or less.

According to Jobs, Apple doesn’t believe the App Store will be a great revenue driver itself, but views it as a vehicle for selling more iPhones. The platform holder will give developers a 70 percent cut of sales, as well as handling distribution and marketing responsibilities.

“The reaction we have gotten so far has been really strong,” Jobs said. “The quality and the sophistication of the applications you can write for the iPhone is in a different class.” via NextGen