Apple getting in the gaming console market?

[Uberfuhrer]

So Apple has patented their own version of the Wii? Yep, apparently, Apple is getting into the console business, here's the scoop at Wired (To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 2 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.), with their new 3D remote control device that will be put to use for a 3D gaming console.

Details are scarce, but I'm intuiting that this will be one of the more innovative things that Apple has released in a while...and infinitely more innovative than an iPhone...

[Airfire]

Fascinating quick read, Uberfuhrer. As a Game Designer (ironically a Mac user, too) I find this particularly interesting. If this new technology is implemented with the Apple TV, I have a feeling it is going to appeal to the casual gaming market with titles that are oblivious to the hardcore gaming crowd. Still, kudos to Apple for investing in new technology in the gaming market (my classmates would kill me for making a comment like this!).

With bloated games today (I say that in terms of games that take years to develop and large teams to produce) it is reaching a pinnacle in terms of graphical capability. In the near future, we are going to see a flood of newer technologies that utilize innovation in terms of gameplay, rather than making games look more real.

And to be honest, many may not realize it but 2D still overwhelms the gaming market in terms of audience and overall sales (think of how many people play online and mobile games). The new motion-controlled technology could pave the way for 3D having a final stronghold on the gaming market.

[Mozzes]

I wish them the best of luck because they'll probably need it. As far as gaming I don't see them getting the 3rd party development support to compete with Sony or Microsoft.

There's a chance they're trying to cash in on the Wii market, but, really, I don't think the non-traditional gamers that bought the Wii will be interested in another gaming platform, especially if it comes with the typical Apple price tag. :yuck:

[zhangxy]

Let me guess, the best build, nicest looking, most expensive gaming platform I will ever see? :p

[Erika Redmark]

Let me guess, the best build, nicest looking, most expensive gaming platform I will ever see? :p

Haha, most likely. I love Apple, but I'm not optimistic.

[HackerX]

Nah, Apple just noticed that somebody else built a popular too white toy and want in on the action.

[Zadoc]

Let me guess, the best build, nicest looking, most expensive gaming platform I will ever see? :p

Expensive? You betcha. Best built and nicest looking? Me thinks not. Meet the "Pippin," a happily forgotten Apple console from the mid 1990s that was marketed and licensed by Bandai:

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[EmporerD]

I don't really see Apple being very successful at all in the gaming market. If they wanted to make a game console, they should have started way earlier, or they should've waited until 4th gen. Jumping into the biz right now seems like big waste of money to me. I also highly doubt very many game companies will want to invest the time and money to make exclusive games to that console, and I'm sure the big ones won't. And as far as ports go, no console can survive on those alone, and the fact that they're ports makes them far less appealing to buy than the original version, especially since they won't be able to take full advantage of the consoles "3d" technology.

[44sunsets]

I've got my doubts about this. I can't see Apple getting into the gaming market via a console of their own. It's just too much of a risk -- they don't have the expertise.

More likely, the 3D space controller is for another computing device of some sort... perhaps a new home multimedia/TV system, like AppleTV on steroids, which can do "lifestyle computing" tasks as well as playback movies and TV shows.

(I'm a big Apple fan as well)

But hell, I dunno. Steve Jobs is a marketing genius. If anyone can pull it off, he can. Either way, Apple is going to be the next IT giant, probably the one that will replace Microsoft on the throne within a decade.

[Aronnax]

This may be a console device but perhaps it's a clever new mouse for 3D applications.


Either way, Apple is going to be the next IT giant, probably the one that will replace Microsoft on the throne within a decade.

I don't see Apple becoming that dominant, their computers are too expensive to have huge mass appeal, especially in the developing world. I do see a computer market "sandwich" happening. Where Apple cuts out part of the high end PC market, Linux boxes cutting out more of the affordable PC market and MS occupies the middle price range.

[Zadoc]

But hell, I dunno. Steve Jobs is a marketing genius. If anyone can pull it off, he can.

But he didn't pull it off. :huh:

[knock7]

I have thought for a long time that a merger or acquisition between Nintendo and Apple should be considered. If you pool Apple's devices and market with Nintendo's games you get a very powerful combination.

[Zadoc]

I have thought for a long time that a merger or acquisition between Nintendo and Apple should be considered.

There's absolutely no business need for it, especially on the part of Nintendo. This idea can only come from the mind of an Apple fanboy. :)

[44sunsets]

T
I don't see Apple becoming that dominant, their computers are too expensive to have huge mass appeal, especially in the developing world.

Apple targets specific market niches. They don't do everything, but what they do they tend to do very well. You'll see them expand into more and more markets over the coming years. For example, the iPhone is an example of Apple's brilliant strategy. There's still a lot of clueless people or haters who say the iPhone is a failure. The iPhone is going to totally dominate the mobile phone market in the next few years.

So no, Apple will probably never dominate the personal computer market. But they don't have to. They have lots of parallel streams in other markets bringing in revenue.

[Aronnax]

Apple targets specific market niches. They don't do everything, but what they do they tend to do very well. You'll see them expand into more and more markets over the coming years. For example, the iPhone is an example of Apple's brilliant strategy. There's still a lot of clueless people or haters who say the iPhone is a failure. The iPhone is going to totally dominate the mobile phone market in the next few years.

So no, Apple will probably never dominate the personal computer market. But they don't have to. They have lots of parallel streams in other markets bringing in revenue.

It's just a matter of what Apple has chosen to specialize in. They make very nice, very expensive hardware but have limited experience developing low cost, minimalist products. In order to "replace Microsoft on the throne" they'd have to dominate every market, low end included. If Microsoft is displaced nobody is going to take the throne.

On the subject of the iphone it'll remain a nice toy, not an essential product because of the changing economy. Spending $600 on a cell phone just isn't in the average person's budget, with disposable income drying up the iphone will be restricted to a very limited customer base. I have no doubt that Apple will make a profit on iphones but I just don't see market dominance in the same way ipods have taken off. A combination phone/PDA/browser/music device has a future but unless Apple figures out a way to cut the price in half they won't be the market leader.

[44sunsets]

On the subject of the iphone it'll remain a nice toy, not an essential product because of the changing economy. Spending $600 on a cell phone just isn't in the average person's budget, with disposable income drying up the iphone will be restricted to a very limited customer base.

You have a point, and I think Apple will find a way to cut the prices. The price of iPhones has already been dropping quite a bit since their launch last year. I think Apple will offer 3 different levels of config, with a base model which will be very attractive price-wise.

More importantly, the apps which will be available for the iPhone and the overall user experience will completely trump that of any other smartphone on the market.