EA brings Pogo on to the iPhone

Electronic Arts has become the first traditional gaming group to challenge Apple on its own turf, as it launched an alternative games portal on the iPhone and the iPod touch.

EA has already published individual games, but yesterday launched Pogo in the App Store, which has five titles and is expected to expand.

This comes just months after Apple's latest software upgrade heralded its own Game Centre.

The video game group has been looking to expand its digital reach after the traditional publishers suffered during the downturn. A year ago it moved heavily into social gaming, buying Playfish for $300m, which developed games played on Facebook including Fifa Superstars.