iPhone 3.0 firmware will include several new gaming features

Apple announced the features that will be included in the upcoming iPhone firmware update, version 3.0 yesterday and a few of them will be of interest to anyone who likes gaming on their ‘mobile console’.

App store developers will now have the ability to offer paid-for DLC, some examples of this that were shown included being able to purchase furniture and clothing from the in-game store for The Sims 3 or having the option of downloading additional levels for your favourite game without having to search through the App Store.

Even better than that however, is the fact that this lastest update will add the facility of local multiplayer via Bluetooth, whereas currently local multiplayer is only available when players are connected to the same Wifi network which limits things immensely.

Online gaming on the iPhone is taking step forward too with the addition of in-game voice support so now you can be verbally abused just like on Xbox Live or PSN! Apps will also now be able to push notifications directly to your phone, which could be used for sending friend requests or game invites.

Third-party apps will now also have access to your iPod’s music library, which hopefully means that almost all forthcoming games will support your own custom soundtracks.

Other non-gaming related features that are much welcomed include the arrival of copy, paste and cut tools, MMS support meaning you can now send picture and audio messages and a built-in Voice Memo app.

This lastest upgrade will be available sometime “this summer” and will be free to all iPhone owners, although apparently it will cost $9.95 (approx. £7) for iPod Touch owners to take advantage of the new features.