Original Story:Apple's iPhone and iPod Touch may be getting a gamepad and official support for it, if a purported accessory leak is to be believed. A supposed information sheet from accessory maker Belkin on TouchArcade added to a handful of claimed gamepad accessories for the iPhone.

This one, however, claims to support the iTunes App Store, the online store to buy software and games for the iPhone. Supporting the App Store implies that Belkin has gotten clearance from Apple to sell the pad, which means support for it could even be included in future versions of the iPhone SDK, the software package for iPhone game creators.

Combining touch sensitivity with motion sensing has even led Forbes to declare that the iPhone "could kill the Nintendo DS," which was the first gaming handheld to support a touch screen. Stylus support a la Nintendo DS also remains a possibility, as stylus accessories are currently on sale.

While the iPhone's runaway success is still a far cry from the DS's 70 million units sold worldwide, economics could play a major factor. Demand for iPhone games has exceeded expectations, with the motion-sensing Super Monkey Ball alone selling 300,000 units in the three weeks following its launch. With traditional buttons adding to the iPhone's game-controlling repertoire, the device's threat to traditional gaming handhelds only looms larger.

The availability of a gamepad accessory does not guarantee its official adoption as a standard. Rather, it could mean that the pad--if it is released--would be supported on a game-by-game basis. Further, Apple's support for the games industry has historically been spotty at best. With Apple CEO Steve Jobs predicting the iPhone applications market to crest $500 million and eventually $1 billion in the future, traditional buttons may be just what the mobile games industry needs to make its mark on that figure.