I wasn't directly comparing the two. I'm just comparing the sales figures. What I was getting at is that Apple TV's volume is comparable right now and they don't even have gaming capability...YET. If and when they do, Apple TV will explode.
I don't think Apple's hardware will rival the console makers - Sony/MS/Nintendo (SMN) - anytime soon. Maybe never. BUT, I don't think they need to. My opinion is that the majority of people who buy consoles *aren't* hardcore gamers. Here's my reasoning:
I think we can deduce this by looking at a popular console exclusive game like Halo 3. It's the best selling game on the XBox 360, and it's been on sale for 5 1/2 years now. The cumulative worldwide sales is just over 11 million. Cumulative sales for the XBox 360 just hit 76 million. Let's say the Halo 3 buyers are all hardcore gamers (probably not all of them are - since Halo 3 was packaged with quite a few XBox's as well). That would suggest that less than 1/7 of all XBox 360 buyers are hardcore gamers. Let's be generously conservative though and say that 1/4 of all XBox 360 owners are hardcore gamers and will buy the next XBox 360 no matter what. That would mean there are 57 million XBox owners who could be swayed to forego the next console if a $99 Apple TV could fulfill basic gaming needs like Fruit Ninja, or have yoga or Nike workout type "games" that don't need a console's graphic power.
The new consoles would have to provide something so above and beyond the current consoles in terms of gameplay or story that people would feel compelled to pay the $300 + $40-60 games. The novelty of the Wii controller, Sony Move, and Kinect has worn off. Increased realism in FPS isn't making them any more enjoyable. Just look at the titles available for consoles. MOST of them don't need a console's graphics power. So why would you buy a $300 console to play them? Remember that it took a damn long time for the PS3 to outsell the PS2 and spec-wise, it was considerably better. How much better can the eye-candy be for the PS4? Will it be so mind-blowing that it can get all 77 million buyers to upgrade again? I highly doubt it.
The way I see this current argument is the same one that Blu-Ray owners made about 4-5 years ago. A lot of them insisted that Blu-Ray would win because it was the best video/audio quality spec-wise. I was among the people who thought that while Blu-Ray would remain a viable medium, streaming would overtake it. The reasoning is simple: the vast majority of consumers are looking for good enough, not the best. Compressed video streaming at 1080P is good enough and conveniences outweigh any decrease in video quality. Blu-Ray has never surpassed DVD in cumulative sales and has already long been outsold by iTunes movies. Why? They're *good enough*. Blu-Ray is not dead yet, but it's never going to surpass streaming/downloads.
Likewise, gaming on an Apple TV may not surpass any gaming console based on specs, but the convenience and savings of downloading a game that costs less than $10 will crush the console makers. I think that will have the added effect of driving the big game makers to divert more resources towards developing games for the Apple TV.
I wouldn't worry to much if you're a hardcore gamer. I think the big titles will always be made because they sell so well. On the plus side, there might be less crap game titles produced for the consoles too. But no console will ever sell as much as the current crop of consoles have again, and Apple TV will outsell the consoles by an order of magnitude.
I find there are many people here who share my viewpoints on the various topics that we discuss. And I proved your point because I asked someone who criticized Sony for their propriety if they felt the same way about Apple, the king of propriety and closed wall garden? I am quite objective.
