Return of PhoneSaber – this week?

TheMacBox’s PhoneSaber was one of the most talked-about applications for the iPhone 3G when the App Store opened in July 2008. This fun and free download transformed your iPhone into a Star Wars-style “Light Saber” weapon, making clever use of the phone’s accelerometer to produce sound effects as you wave it around.

PhoneSaber was hugely popular during the initial rush on the new App Store – definitely one of the coolest, totally free downloads available for App-hungry iPhone freaks. Indeed, urban legend tells of spontaneous “PhoneSaber duels” breaking out between iPhone owners in shopping malls around the world – but its mysterious disappearance from the App Store left many fans wondering… what happened?

Here’s a video in case you missed out on all the PhoneSaber fun:

Sadly, on 7th August the PhoneSaber was removed from the App Store. Creators of PhoneSaber, TheMacBox.co.uk made this statement about PhoneSaber’s disappearing act -  

Good news and bad news, PhoneSaber fans.

As of now, PhoneSaber will no longer be available, I’ve had a chat with a guy from THQ Wireless (who own the rights for Star Wars apps on mobiles) and as we were always expecting, PhoneSaber is not allowed to be on there.  It was a very friendly chat, and the future of PhoneSaber was discussed.

They want to do some sort of official, Star Wars branded version of PhoneSaber, and will be working with us on that one.  We’re really excited about this – it means that PhoneSaber has the potential to be even better than it originally was!  I don’t know any information beyond that, whether they plan to charge for it, advertise with it or what, but we’ll keep you updated on as much as we’re allowed to tell you.

Apologies to everyone who loved PhoneSaber, we didn’t really have much choice in the matter, but we’re certain that the new, official, PhoneSaber will be even more great than the original was!

The great news is that the return of PhoneSaber appears imminent. In its latest release “The Return of the PhoneSaber“, TheMacBox says - 

The app will have a new name and a whole new look.  The new version, Lightsaber Unleashed, will have a strong link to the new multi-platform title Star Wars ®: The Force Unleashed™, which is out soon.  Lightsaber Unleashed will feature exciting characters from this new game as well as vastly improved graphics, sound effects and optional dueling music (which was a popular request).

We are still going to be publishing the application, and it will still be free. 

So keep your ears to the ground. According to Wikipedia, The Force Unleashed game will be released in North America on September 16, 2008, and other parts of the world September 19, 2008.  It would not surprise me if the release of Lightsaber Unleashed in the App Store coincides with the game’s release.

In the meantime, enjoy some preview screenshots of Lightsaber Unleashed (aka “The New PhoneSaber”), used with permission from TheMacBox.

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Other Links to this Post

1. PhoneSaber 2.0 “Lightsaber Unleashed”, unleashed | iPhone 3G blog — September 19, 2008 @ 10:19 am

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