The gaming industry came out early and strongly in favor of the new features the iPhone brought to the scene just over a year ago. Developers constantly chatted about how eager they were to build applications for the device, but had to wait seven months before Apple (NSDQ: AAPL) announced plans to offer its software development kit and launch an App Store where publishers could sell their work. mocoNews caught up with Sega Mobile VP Linda Chaplin today to talk about the iPhone’s impact on the mobile gaming space and what it could spell for the future from other device makers. Here’s some highlights from the interview:

-- Impact on wireless industry: “We refer to the iPhone as the first version of mobile 2.0 … I just think it’s going to change our industry,” Chaplin said. “It’s been fantastic for the mobile industry as a whole. I think it has awakened the other hardware partners to want to do something more innovative. It’s fantastic for us.”

-- Evolution in mobile gaming capabilities: “We’re thrilled we can make more unique and exciting games.” Most mobile games in Sega’s catalog have four or five levels, while the publisher’s first title brought to the iPhone, Super Monkey Ball, has 110 levels of play.

-- App Store as sole distribution point and Apple’s revenue share model: “We were a little bit limited with the type of value chain that we have been subject to in the past and it’s tough. This is a much more fair revenue split … we look forward to a much more publisher positive revenue split.”

More thoughts on content discovery and features yet to come, after the jump…

-- Discoverability on the iPhone: The device has brought content providers an entirely revamped opportunity to be found in the gauntlet of mobile content floating around. “It’s fantastic for discovery of content.” It also opens up the playing field. “Let’s face it, it’s been really tough on discoverability and the ability to find content on the carrier deck … we just weren’t able to tap into the masses because they couldn’t find the content.”

-- Still to come: “I think that we can still make it even better.” The iPhone’s accelerometer, for instance, “it’s good for some types of games, but not great for others … that’s not something you can use in every type of game.” What Chaplin would really like to see from the next leapfrog device is a physical d-pad: “There are so many unique things we can do … there’s so much out there that can be discovered …there’s nothing but excitement.”