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My prediction is that Apple has been biding their time and preparing to dominate the console gaming market. Think about it- the iPod touch and iPhone are becomi

My prediction is that Apple has been biding their time and preparing to dominate the console gaming market. Think about it- the iPod touch and iPhone are becoming more and more robust in terms of hardware, I don't know the benchmarks but I'd wager they're close to consoles in terms of actual power. Apple has enabled "AirPlay" through AppleTV, which allows the iPhone/iPod to stream directly to the TV. So what you have is a gaming platform that's already ubiquitous, can act as it's own controller (gyro, accelerometer, speaker, mic, vibrate, touchscreen, buttons are all built-in), and is able to stream wirelessly to any AppleTV. These devices already have a fantastic network in terms of downloading and paying for content. At this point all you need is some games to take advantage of it and you're set. OR they could just be trying to integrate Steam into their upcoming tv. My hope is for the former though.

glhaynes 14y ago
I think Apple has a chance of doing well and perhaps dominating the console game industry but I don't think it'll be through iPhones and iPads via AirPlay — the Apple TV already has an A5 in it with—I assume—a comparable GPU to that which drives the iPhone and iPad. Why require the battery consumption and latency of processing on a handheld? The Apple TV's only $99 and has been for many months. And iPhones and iPads don't make good controllers for lots of games, anyway. So I'd sooner bet on an updated Apple TV (or even perhaps a software update to the existing one) and a range of purchasable, button-having controllers. And it's possible that some games could be optionally- or even only-playable with iOS devices as controllers — an iPad coupled with an Apple TV seems able to do much of what a Wii U will be able to do.
nextparadigms 14y ago
I've been waiting and suggesting Google to turn Google TV/Android into a "console platform" and try to take over the console market the same way they did it with phones - by getting all companies to make mini-Android consoles with high-end ARM chips that have "good enough" graphics. They could've started doing this from day one of Google TV. Instead they still keep focusing only on the "TV" part. I think they will miss a huge opportunity here, and like you said Apple will probably turn it into another blockbuster success a year from now, and Google will only then scramble to catch-up and do the same. It baffles me how Google can't even get these pretty obvious "visions" sometimes. Even tablets should've been a pretty predictable market coming as a sort of upgrade from smartphones, and not how Microsoft tried to do it before with a full PC OS. I'm sure Apple had the idea for years before the iPad launch, but the first "public" suggestion for such a thing I think was Mike Arrington's idea with the Crunchpad. I think it was 2008 when he started talking about it and getting people involved. Since then I myself started thinking that I would want a "tablet" rather than a mini-laptop/netbook in many situations (couch, bed, travelling, etc). But the iPad also seems to have caught Google completely off-guard back in 2010, as it took them a full year to even release a half-baked Honeycomb OS version.
- warpspeed 14y ago
  It should be interesting to see what happens when Sergey and Larry gain complete control over the company after the stock split. "Tech Dictatorship" seemed to work well under Jobs, maybe these guys will make some riskier decisions in the name of progress.
  - ipince 14y ago
    uhm.. maybe im mistaken, but i thought their current control would remain the same. the new class of stock allows them to give out more stock without losing any more control. but their current control remains as is. or am i missing something?
    - mongol 14y ago
      I think you are completely right.
muhfuhkuh 14y ago
Interesting, but true: Apple actually did enter the console market, in 1995. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_Bandai_Pippin http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_Bandai_Pippin It was an unmitigated disaster the likes of which wouldn't be repeated until the CueCat 5 years later, but it was their first foray into the gaming market.
DavidAbrams 14y ago
If Apple were interested in serious gaming on iOS devices, they would've put application-assignable buttons on their edges. We all know that didn't happen, so now they have the hokey volume-control workaround for the camera's shutter release.

glhaynes 14y ago

I think Apple has a chance of doing well and perhaps dominating the console game industry but I don't think it'll be through iPhones and iPads via AirPlay — the Apple TV already has an A5 in it with—I assume—a comparable GPU to that which drives the iPhone and iPad. Why require the battery consumption and latency of processing on a handheld? The Apple TV's only $99 and has been for many months. And iPhones and iPads don't make good controllers for lots of games, anyway. So I'd sooner bet on an updated Apple TV (or even perhaps a software update to the existing one) and a range of purchasable, button-having controllers. And it's possible that some games could be optionally- or even only-playable with iOS devices as controllers — an iPad coupled with an Apple TV seems able to do much of what a Wii U will be able to do.

nextparadigms 14y ago

I've been waiting and suggesting Google to turn Google TV/Android into a "console platform" and try to take over the console market the same way they did it with phones - by getting all companies to make mini-Android consoles with high-end ARM chips that have "good enough" graphics. They could've started doing this from day one of Google TV. Instead they still keep focusing only on the "TV" part. I think they will miss a huge opportunity here, and like you said Apple will probably turn it into another blockbuster success a year from now, and Google will only then scramble to catch-up and do the same. It baffles me how Google can't even get these pretty obvious "visions" sometimes. Even tablets should've been a pretty predictable market coming as a sort of upgrade from smartphones, and not how Microsoft tried to do it before with a full PC OS. I'm sure Apple had the idea for years before the iPad launch, but the first "public" suggestion for such a thing I think was Mike Arrington's idea with the Crunchpad. I think it was 2008 when he started talking about it and getting people involved. Since then I myself started thinking that I would want a "tablet" rather than a mini-laptop/netbook in many situations (couch, bed, travelling, etc). But the iPad also seems to have caught Google completely off-guard back in 2010, as it took them a full year to even release a half-baked Honeycomb OS version.

warpspeed 14y ago
It should be interesting to see what happens when Sergey and Larry gain complete control over the company after the stock split. "Tech Dictatorship" seemed to work well under Jobs, maybe these guys will make some riskier decisions in the name of progress.
- ipince 14y ago
  uhm.. maybe im mistaken, but i thought their current control would remain the same. the new class of stock allows them to give out more stock without losing any more control. but their current control remains as is. or am i missing something?
  - mongol 14y ago
    I think you are completely right.

muhfuhkuh 14y ago

Interesting, but true: Apple actually did enter the console market, in 1995. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_Bandai_Pippin http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_Bandai_Pippin It was an unmitigated disaster the likes of which wouldn't be repeated until the CueCat 5 years later, but it was their first foray into the gaming market.

DavidAbrams 14y ago

If Apple were interested in serious gaming on iOS devices, they would've put application-assignable buttons on their edges. We all know that didn't happen, so now they have the hokey volume-control workaround for the camera's shutter release.