Who will get their Pac on (or around) April 3? New iPad owners, that’s who. Namco Networks’ General Manager of Apple Games, Jon Kromrey, confirmed that the original videogame star is heading to the iPad very soon and will take full advantage of the extra screen size to host a full maze; no more scrolling around and seeing only part of the labyrinth. While there are no screens to share at this time, there is this little extra tidbit: with a very content smile, Kromrey also said some of Pac’s family might be along for the iPad ride.
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Ave!Comics says it will release an iPad app at the device’s launch, while Capcom has released details on its upcoming Street Fighter IV port for the iPhone.

Ave!Comics has announced that it is working on a iPad application, one which should become available with the tablet’s launch. Users will be able to download digital comics, specially optimized for mobile viewing. Ave! is also integrating a store, set to begin with more than 300 titles, gaining new items on a weekly basis. Titles will be available in several languages, and some social networking and sharing functions should be present.

Street Fighter IV for iPhone due in March

Capcom says it will be bringing Street Fighter IV to the iPhone and iPod touch this March. The port has been in development for several months, and is built off assets taken from the current console games. Players control a fighter with a virtual joystick and onscreen buttons, which in theory allow all of the same punches, kicks and ultra attacks available in other versions. Capcom has only confirmed Ryu and Ken as playable characters so far, but promises that many favorites should round out a large roster. Planned options include customizable controls, multiplayer via Bluetooth, and a Dojo mode.

via ipodnn

Could this be the iPad’s “killer app”?

Microsoft has revealed to T3 that it may be ready to unleash a version of Office for Mac for the Apple iPad.

The Seattle-based company let slip the possibility of a suite for the new tablet during a demonstration of the brand new Office for Mac 2011, which is scheduled for release in late 2010.

“Yeah, it’s something that we’re looking at,” said Microsoft’s Mike Tedesco, who is the Senior Product Manager for WindowsBU. “Obviously the announcement (of the iPad) is really fresh and there’s nothing to announce or nothing that I can talk to you about today.

“We’ve had tablet technology forever and both Windows 7 and Windows Vista automatically detect that and you can be running your Office on there.”

Obviously, an iPad incarnation of Office would be a massive win for the fledgling creation, and although we’re not holding our breath for anything anytime soon, this little snippet certainly gives us hope that we could be seeing Word and Powerpoint coming to the App Store.

Microsoft is, of course, getting pretty excited about the HP Windows 7 tablet that was unveiled at CES so we wouldn’t be surprised to see that catered for well before Apple gets any love.

IPhone (and now iPad) developer Kevin Ng took his game, WordCrasher, and fired it up in the new iPad software development kit. Using the iPad simulator, he hit the multiplier button to fully utilize the iPad screen… Pixelarity resulted with jaggies spoiling the clean lines of his pastel letter tiles

WordCrasher is a stressful, Tetris styled Scrabble game

Ng reworked the graphics for the full-screen of the iPad, and the results look lovely. Of course, the full effect can’t really be seen on your computer, as the screen resolution of the iPad is higher. What can been seen is the result of “bump maps and other shader techniques” which are available thanks to OpenGL ES 2.0. You’ll need to click through to Ng’s site to see the full images.

Quoted from Ng

“Apple is keen for us developers to create strong real world metaphors by simulating real world materials, objects and their behaviors.”

You know what Steve Jobs said about having “the internet in your hand”? It seems that Apple is pretty serious about that, rather than it being just a throw-away line. MacBreak Weekly stated that the screen is so fast and responsive it seems like moving physical objects about the screen.

The lack of multitasking will help your iPad still run this quick after a year, something we can’t say about our PCs and Apples.