Apple Video Game system?

[thewireman]

Does anybody think Apple would come up a video game system in the future? It would be so sweet...:D

[chrmjenkins]

Define video game system and define the extent of future :D

[wilmor42]

maybe, but maybe not.. the market is saturated enough..
they tried once with the pippen didn't they? did it actually come out?

[~Shard~]

Apple should resurrect Pippin (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_Pippin). :cool:

[iTeen]

i would buy it sooooo friekin fast

[CarlsonCustoms]

I think they should just buy nintendo.

[~Shard~]

I think they should just buy nintendo.

You're not the first one to suggest that, nor will you be the last.... ;) :cool:

[siurpeeman]

i think the video game market is a little too small and a little too crowded for apple to be playing.

[~Shard~]

i think the video game market is a little too small and a little too crowded for apple to be playing.

I'm sure some people said the same thing about the phone market too though... ;)

[CarlsonCustoms]

I'm sure some people said the same thing about the phone market too though... ;)

Very good point, ALOT of markets are crowded but the market will always make room for great products and elegant design. Look at cars for example.

[siurpeeman]

I'm sure some people said the same thing about the phone market too though... ;)

the phone market may be crowded, but it's a huge market that can accommodate new products. remember, apple's initial goal is only one percent, and all you need is a quality product to break through. there's no reliance on third party companies like there is in the video game industry, an industry so small that one percent wouldn't cut it. no third party developer would produce games for your console. developers are already complaining about the existence of three consoles (plus two handhelds); i hardly think they'd be happy about the emergence of another player.

[Nugget]

siurpeeman has it exactly right. To succeed in the console video game market requires a robust marketplace of third party developers willing to port their games to your platform. It's difficult to imagine how Apple would find success given that fact.

[CarlsonCustoms]

Just imagine being able to download brand new games directly to the console with the ITMS instead of having to go out and buy a disc. And no more scratched discs or anything.. sounds good to me!

[Mac OS X Ocelot]

siurpeeman has it exactly right. To succeed in the console video game market requires a robust marketplace of third party developers willing to port their games to your platform. It's difficult to imagine how Apple would find success given that fact.

Isn't that what people said about the XBOX? And continued to say while its sales paled in comparison to the PS2 throughout its whole life. Second time around, the XBOX is doing really well. But it also helps that it has the Halo franchise that so many people are obsessed with (for some reason).

I don't think Apple would bother with the videogame market. I'd see them as a very Nintendo company (which I hate) if they did.

[Virgil-TB2]

Does anybody think Apple would come up a video game system in the future? It would be so sweet...:DThe problem with video game systems is that you need games to play on them (i.e.- an ecosystem of players and developers) and that doesn't happen overnight.

Also, even though there is no real advantage to dedicated hardware in the market anymore, the market hasn't yet developed to the point that the various systems that abound are compatible with each other. All the good games are customized for proprietary junk like "DirectX" or for the various processors of a particular gaming system (or both.)

Lately, there is whiff of convergence in the air and like as not, in a few years you will see more and more games focussing on open and easily portable alternatives to DirectX like OpenGL and moving away from proprietary hardware like Playstation.

That's when games will happen on the Mac and probably you will be using your AppleTV for the purpose at that time as it will have a optical drive, and be even more hackable than today.

[CarlsonCustoms]

Why can't they just buy a large stake in nintendo and start throwing their weight around?

[Cameront9]

Why can't they just buy a large stake in nintendo and start throwing their weight around?

Because Nintendo is a 100+ year old company and probably wouldn't allow it?

Althought Nintendo and Apple have many similarities, at this point in their respective histories, Apple buying Nintendo is a ridiculous idea..

[Much Ado]

No-> Apple like profit, and their hardware is always profitable.

The gaming industry is a money-drainer, and there's nothing to say it will last in its present format anyway.

[siurpeeman]

No-> Apple like profit, and their hardware is always profitable.

The gaming industry is a money-drainer, and there's nothing to say it will last in its present format anyway.

that's true. microsoft and sony lose money on every console sold. i don't think apple would ever put itself in such a situation.

[Mac OS X Ocelot]

that's true. microsoft and sony lose money on every console sold. i don't think apple would ever put itself in such a situation.

I always hear this, but businesses aren't in the business of losing money, so then why would they even enter the market?

[Much Ado]

I always hear this, but businesses aren't in the business of losing money, so then why would they even enter the market?

For Sony, it's about getting Blu-ray into your hands.

For MS, it's about game sales (as with Sony) and also about getting you into the whole social-live-online-connected thing.

For both, it's about being the next PS2, and utterly dominating game sales and leading an industry. Apple don't work like this. They want their cash up front. If you've studied economics you'll know that mono/oligopolies don't always behave with immediate profit in mind ;)

[DarthTreydor]

i don't understand why people don't get it.

APPLE DOESN'T CARE ABOUT GAMES!

Why would a computer company that doesn't even bother to put decent videocards in their systems go through all the trouble/risk associated with releasing a video game console.

Its never going to happen. Sorry guys.

[disconap]

For Sony, it's about getting Blu-ray into your hands.

For MS, it's about game sales (as with Sony) and also about getting you into the whole social-live-online-connected thing.

For both, it's about being the next PS2, and utterly dominating game sales and leading an industry. Apple don't work like this. They want their cash up front. If you've studied economics you'll know that mono/oligopolies don't always behave with immediate profit in mind ;)

Um, sort of. There is also the profit from licensing titles to the system, which is significant. Plus both design their own titles, and let's not forget the importance of corporate branding, which is, when considering the loss or even break even point of developing and cheap selling a system, the equivalent of blanket advertising.

[chrmjenkins]

Actually, Microsoft is turning a profit on Xbox 360's at this point. They enter knowing their hardware will turn a loss so they can get an installed base and sell games. Then, after a couple of years the hardware becomes profitable, and a good chunk of adopters buy when the hardware becomes cheaper anyway. Apple is just now seeing the benefit of more games developed for its OS. I think they'll be happy with that growing for a while.

[OdduWon]

Microsoft could start a fire if they went internal HD-DVD before christmas. Not this "solution (http://www.xbox.com/en-US/games/viewer.aspx?productId=1544&assetTypeId=1&shotId=2)"Sony has a good market with the ps3, BR and their online network. if apple wants to go for a gaming system i doubt it will be based on a disc format. Apple will go online with games through :apple:Tv or a Mac. Not a console, but a personal gaming machine.

[disconap]

Actually, Microsoft is turning a profit on Xbox 360's at this point. They enter knowing their hardware will turn a loss so they can get an installed base and sell games. Then, after a couple of years the hardware becomes profitable, and a good chunk of adopters buy when the hardware becomes cheaper anyway. Apple is just now seeing the benefit of more games developed for its OS. I think they'll be happy with that growing for a while.

True, it's not uncommon for systems to turn profit after the first couple of years, as so much is spent on r&d and launch. Plus the materials to build the system become cheaper to produce the more they become outdated (even though they aren't outdated in the specific market; the PPC chips in the PS3, for example, have already started to drop in cost).

[06clindsey]

Nintendo is on the verge of losing it's edge, no doubt. When you consider all different types of gamers out there however, you realize that Nintendo will always appeal to the family-oriented, quality fun. Apple buying Nintendo would give them a head start definitely, but I wouldn't want to see such potential go to waste on a Family oriented system.

Now to say that Apple doesn't care about games, that's not entirely true. In the past, they've just been more focused on other things. Apple being the leading creators for the computer that allows creativity to flow in every direction, according to its user. . . I think this market is definitely for them.

That being said, it will be hard to start off, as it is for any company looking to enter into it. We've all witnessed failures such as Sega as far as hardware developing goes, but Apple has the budget, the innovative technology, and the audience to become amazing in the gaming field. It's their call.