Apple CEO Steve Jobs said today he wants to create 'a vibrant third party developer community' for the iPhone and iPod Touch - and got the ball rolling by unveiling the new SDK for the touch-screen devices and naming EA and Sega as key firms already making games for the device.

While Apple's focus is still predominantly on enterprise and non-games software, the device has attracted the support of Electronic Arts and Sega, who are preparing versions of their titles Spore and Super Monkey Ball for the platform. The games make use of the devices' touch-screen and tilt-sensor.

EA said a number of other games were also already in development also.

An official press statement offered comments from EA and Sega bosses backing the games push.

“The animation technology in the iPhone OS enables us to build awesome games,” said John Riccitiello, CEO of Electronic Arts. “I think iPhone consumers are going to be blown away by the games we create for this platform."

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Simon Jeffery, president and COO, Sega of America added: “The iPhone OS is a robust development platform that will allow Sega to deliver mobile gaming experiences that are truly compelling.

“Using the iPhone’s accelerometer to power a tilt control feature adds a whole new dimension to Super Monkey Ball, and we can’t wait for gamers to try it.”

Apple, meanwhile, named another game - the internally developed Touch Fighter, a 3D space shooter, which it said was developed in just two weeks using the SDK.

The news follows speculation a few weeks ago that Apple was upping its games activity - and an excluse report from our sister magazine Develop revealing that Apple would remain focused around the iPod rather than new devices or consoles.

The SDK was revealed at a special event hosted in the US.

More details on the event and the SDK can be found at Develop.