Apple Extending Trademark to Include Hand Held Gaming

[diamond.g]

Millions buy a Touch or iPhone, presumably 20 million before 2009 starts. This alone makes it more popular than the Gameboy, i say it has more than one advantage over the DS except for the games. A nice game library is all it needs to be a successful game console, we already have the users and now we only have to wait for the SDK and the games.

Apple will never promote it as a game console because it degrades the device, people expect a console to be cheap.

You do realize that the DS ≠ Gameboy right?

So what you are saying is as a gaming device they don't offer anything better than what the DS does. So you expect it to do better at games when its main focus isn't games. Your expecting a general purpose device to do better than a dedicated one? Um, the PSP says hi.

I am excited about iPhone games, but I am also pretty sure it won't put any sort of dent in the Nintendo handheld space.

 

[ringmod82]

Apple has no future in gaming unless you go buy the games that are available. So go buy some games, you knuckleheads.

If you want games to come to OSX, then stop using Boot Camp for gaming.

I think that Apple has no intention of "going big" here. I think that the AppleTV could very well grow into a good gaming system if it is supported enough by it's users..... so um, go buy one when they start offering downloadable iTunes games. Don't expect BioShock or Unreal Tournament to be on your iPhone or AppleTV though. This will be baby-steps into the gaming industry, peoples. I'm thinking more like most of the indy games you see on the apple.com action games downloads section. Family stuff. An easy to use family friendly ALL IN ONE home entertainment system. Apple has always made the best all-in-one. I think this all about improving the all-in-one by adding a few good games.

 

[Bonte]

uh? More popular than Gameboy? Lets take a look at some numbers

Original Game Boy: 70 million units
Game Boy Color: 50 million units
Game Boy Advance: 80 million units

Nintendo DS: 65 million units
Nintendo DS Lite: 46 million units

The GB SP is part of GB Advance?
ok, Nintendo has there past sales but the numbers are fairly close when we look at the projected US sales for 2008, the iPhone isn't available everywhere.

Nintendo DS/Lite sold 6 million units in the VS in 2006 and 10 million in 2007. US Touch and iPhone sales will surpass this in 2008 or be really close.

As they don't release iPod touch #'s separate, and the iPhone has about 4 million users, what numbers are you talking about? Its nothing compared to the DS's 46 million and growing. Lets not forget how poor the controls of the iPod touch/iPhone lend itself to simply games such as Mario Bros. Have you tried the NES emulator? No tactile feedback is horrible.

We're talking about casual games, the PSP has arguably better controls than the DS but the stylus interface proved more popular aka the brain games and Nintendogs. I played Bond 007 on the DS and the controls are horrible, Brain Train is perfect and these few games accounted for the DS success. All we need is a few good games that show off the touch capability's.

 

[diamond.g]

Nintendo DS/Lite sold 6 million units in the VS in 2006 and 10 million in 2007. US Touch and iPhone sales will surpass this in 2008 or be really close.

But how many games will a DS sell versus how many games will the iPhone/Touch sell. That is where it matters. I have no doubts that the iPhone/Touch could outsell the DS hardware wise. But software wise? IMO, no contest. The DS will win bar a wide margin. In the respect to games, think of the iPhone/Touch as the Zune.

 

[eldeecee]

I am hoping that Capcom will get onboard and port Phoenix Wright to the
iPhone/iPod Touch.

 

[Bonte]

But how many games will a DS sell versus how many games will the iPhone/Touch sell. That is where it matters. I have no doubts that the iPhone/Touch could outsell the DS hardware wise. But software wise? IMO, no contest. The DS will win bar a wide margin. In the respect to games, think of the iPhone/Touch as the Zune.

I Googled half an hour but can't find game unit sales for the US, Nintendo sold 8,5 million DS consoles in the VS (2007) but no word on the game sales in units.

 

[diamond.g]

I Googled half an hour but can't find game unit sales for the US, Nintendo sold 8,5 million DS consoles in the VS (2007) but no word on the game sales in units.

This is only a sub section, but you can look at the media create numbers (which are weekly) to get an idea of how well the DS is diong (at least in japan).

I found Decembers NPD but the breakdown isn't exactly like Media Creates.

 

[BongoBanger]

Well, unlike many of the posters here, a huge percentage (about 100%) of the adult population actually went outside and played. Hard to believe, I know, in the rain, snow, heat, mud. None of the stuff required a power adapter or batteries.

But it was also fun to play with the LCD games we used to have or listen to our Walkmen.

No adult supervision was needed.

Rubbish. I was in the scouts in the 80's and we needed adult supervision for most things.

A bike (NO HELMETS--any nobody ever died because of this omission)

A guy at our school actually did.

or any kind of ball was enough to get started--no manuals (make up your own rules as you go) and scores were kept in your head. We could travel UNACCOMPANIED to other neighborhoods far, far away. None of it proved fatal, and no parental abuse lawsuits were filed as a result of these activities. THAT was fun.

Actually they were sometimes - about as often as they are today. You need to take off those rose tinted specs and realise the 70s and 80s (when I was a kid) were not the paradise you fondly recall.

So e-games aren't my thing, but I'm happy Apple may be addressing a different generation of fun things to do. I still think going outside is better than staying inside, but ce la vie.

See, I actually do both. I played the Atari, the Spectrum, Doom and Quake when they came out, CS, webbrowser games and a whole host of other things. I also achieved my Chief Scout Award, played rugby for my district and for my clubs for years and had a very active social life.

You can actually do both, you know. It's called 'balancing your life'.

 

[BongoBanger]

As for mobile gaming, the success of any device is entirely down to its software catalogue and ease of use. If you can't get developers to build for you then you're wasting your time.

 

[diamond.g]

As for mobile gaming, the success of any device is entirely down to its software catalogue and ease of use. If you can't get developers to build for you then you're wasting your time.

True, I think Apple would do well in the cell phone game market. But you won't get a toppling of Nintendo in the handheld one.

 

[w00master]

Not true at all. It needs good controls, looks, and stability. The 360 by far has the best game library yet it was quickly surpassed by the Wii, who's game library can be considered lackluster. In Europe, the PS3 is outselling the 360 also, despite its lackluster game library.

Not to start a debate on numbers, but where are you getting this stat from?

Still overall in worldwide sales, PS3 is in a *distant* third.

w00master

 

[darkblu]

a gaming platform does not need to be successful by nintendo DS standard for it to be successful per se.

the iphone/touch needs neither DS' install base, nor DS library volume to be a viable gaming platform - the PSP, which has been pummeled in sales by the DS for a couple of years now in every territory, is still doing well (actually is gaining momentum in JP). as the game industry has proven again and again, a gaming platform needs have one or two 'killer' titles to create a market (google for 'console system sellers').

bottom line being, apple are taking a natural step by the trademark expansion. there will be games on the platform, and plenty of that, regardless of who reigns the gaming handheld market.

 

[Bertmg]

Apple should buy Nintendo...

Instead of reinventing the wheal, Apple should buy Nintendo...And put Nintendo DS games in iPhone and merge Nintendo DS with iPod Touch and Nintendo Wii with Apple TV... (Imagine the market share for Apple and product possibilities) but I guess it may be too obvious for Apple to get into this... they are very proud stubborn people.

 

[cyberjunky]

Instead of reinventing the wheal, Apple should buy Nintendo...And put Nintendo DS games in iPhone and merge Nintendo DS with iPod Touch and Nintendo Wii with Apple TV... (Imagine the market share for Apple and product possibilities) but I guess it may be too obvious for Apple to get into this... they are very proud stubborn people.

Its not to do with pride, steve jobs once hit on something quite important once during a keynote a long time ago. He said that apple could go and spread out making everything they need and everything customers needs and do it all themselves, but he knew that if they did they would loose the focus of whats really important. Apple sticks what what it does best, creating all in one solutions through a marriage of hardware and software, designed to simplify and enhance our lives. That said they achieve this through distributing a lot of the work to other companies of say hardware, they buy in components and make very little hardware wise except the Motherboard and cases, keyboards/mice, they make their own software but keep things like processors to intel and certain software to other companies.
Apples business model has never accounted for games, it might be able to adapt but apple is Steves baby, i just dont see him having room or time for games, he makes a vein effort merely to please the customers but i doubt he has any interest in it.

Games dont really fit the profile of simplifying and enhancing our lives.

 

[darkblu]

Games dont really fit the profile of simplifying and enhancing our lives.

wow.

 

[Syrus28]

Instead of reinventing the wheal, Apple should buy Nintendo...And put Nintendo DS games in iPhone and merge Nintendo DS with iPod Touch and Nintendo Wii with Apple TV... (Imagine the market share for Apple and product possibilities) but I guess it may be too obvious for Apple to get into this... they are very proud stubborn people.

Apple can't afford Nintendo. Nintendo's current market value is around $85 billion. That is some $35 billion more than Sony, and is only behind Toyota as biggest company in Japan... Apple, with a market value of $113 billion and about $13 billion in cash, would be EXTREMELY [impossible really] hard pressed to finance such a large purchase like Nintendo That's how much the Wii/DS has done for them. I posted a link a page back I think.

Now, 2 years ago, Apple could have bought them. They were worth some $17 billion then [5x less than now]. To put it in perspective, They would have to cough up more than about twice as much as Microsoft is offering Yahoo.

Not to start a debate on numbers, but where are you getting this stat from?

Still overall in worldwide sales, PS3 is in a *distant* third.

PS3 is still being outsold by 360 worldwide, but in Europe (where the Playstation brand is pretty strong), the PS3 has outsold the 360 for the last couple of weeks. [which is what i should have said] Here's a 6-page article that breaks down console sales for the year of 2007. Kinda interesting that the 360 gave the Wii some serious competition during the end of the year. LINK

 

[Syrus28]

Its not to do with pride, steve jobs once hit on something quite important once during a keynote a long time ago. He said that apple could go and spread out making everything they need and everything customers needs and do it all themselves, but he knew that if they did they would loose the focus of whats really important. Apple sticks what what it does best, creating all in one solutions through a marriage of hardware and software, designed to simplify and enhance our lives. That said they achieve this through distributing a lot of the work to other companies of say hardware, they buy in components and make very little hardware wise except the Motherboard and cases, keyboards/mice, they make their own software but keep things like processors to intel and certain software to other companies.
Apples business model has never accounted for games, it might be able to adapt but apple is Steves baby, i just dont see him having room or time for games, he makes a vein effort merely to please the customers but i doubt he has any interest in it.

Games dont really fit the profile of simplifying and enhancing our lives.

Uhh...someone has indeed drunk the Kool-Aid.

Sorry to break it to you, but Apple is in business to make money,nothing more. If their primary purpose was creating all in one solutions through a marriage of hardware and software, designed to simplify and enhance our lives. then why sell their products at a premium?

Apple is a publicly traded company, which means they are controlled by the shareholders, not Mr. Steve. This would lead me to believe that making money for the stockholders is more important than, say, simplifying and enhancing our lives And the truth is that the Video game industry is worth some $18 billion dollars, which has to look attractive to any company such as Apple.

 

[VicMacs]

the patents are there and a lawyer I know told me its coming

 

[Bertmg]

There are gamming areas not well exploited yet, with few competition!

Uhh...someone has indeed drunk the Kool-Aid.

Sorry to break it to you, but Apple is in business to make money,nothing more. If their primary purpose was creating all in one solutions through a marriage of hardware and software, designed to simplify and enhance our lives. then why sell their products at a premium?

Apple is a publicly traded company, which means they are controlled by the shareholders, not Mr. Steve. This would lead me to believe that making money for the stockholders is more important than, say, simplifying and enhancing our lives And the truth is that the Video game industry is worth some $18 billion dollars, which has to look attractive to any company such as Apple.

As much as an Apple fan I am, I am not blind. Well put, Apple is very aggressive about making money mainly offering solutions to simplify your life at a costly premium. The gamming industry is quite attractive for them too.

But they need to come up with a solution that makes it attractive to "All" consumers, not just Apple purists. The top game business models are already pretty good at what they do and figting each other, Xbox and PS3, why get into that fight. Instead, Nintendo has it's own niche with no competition (affordable, simpler gamming which is also portable). Sounds more like something Apple can easily get into, specially if we recognice that gamming is one of teh areas Apple is waaaay behing on (you ourists out there I am not arguing, is MHO), here is where I see Apple making a dent. They can easily use what they already have in teh market and push it even further. If Apple cannot buy Nintendo they should either create a partnership or get Nintendo game developers to also play in iPhone and iPod Touch, or Apple TV or at least think about hitting that non competitive "niche".

Isn't some of Apple OS platform open Unix based, Darwin? or are they closing up their doors and becomming another Microsoft fortress?. I think a great winning strategy is to open and accept more third party developers to create more functionality for its products (that is how Facebook and Google are growing at enourmous steps)

 

[Bertmg]

I'll buy an Apple TV where I can play games

It is time for an Apple TV upgrade: give me a BluDisc Player, a programable internet tv guide (like the one that comes with Formac's digital TV), HDMI connectios and wireless games at an affordable price.

check out: http://www.formac.com/webapp/products_av_watchandgo.php