But why not make an ATV PRO that does compete with PS5 and XBox? I mean maybe there a those of us that don’t want to buy a console and an ATV. Merge the two and save us some money. Hey maybe merge it with the Home Pod also and you will get the best bad ass streaming/console/speaker in the market! Ok, I got too excited. Just make a console like ATV, would you? Pretty please.
I would love that, but it would be difficult for the following reasons (in my opinion):
1. While they could build the hardware, pricing the hardware would be an issue. As stated in the Epic lawsuit, Microsoft has never made money on the Xbox console sales, rather they get the money back via game sales (the Razor Blade profit model.) Apple has really never really (to my knowledge) used that model before, although they do make money on app store sales.
2. It's all about the games. Microsoft has been buying up lots of game studios, just to fill out their exclusive library. Apple would have to start completing in that inflated market with Sony/Microsoft, making acquisitions even more expensive.
3. Developer and Customer confidence: Apple has more that once promised increasing gaming tools/focus, but has then backtracked. (I am thinking of an interview a few years ago by former Doom/ID software's John Romero.) Customers in the high end gaming market are a skeptical bunch as well, and Apple would really need to work to win them over.
4. Censorship. Xbox/Sony have allowed some games in the past that have really tweaked off the "Think about the children" groups. Even the Wii had Manhunt 2, where you used the nunchucks as a strangulation wire motion in the game. I honestly don't think Apple is willing to have anything that controversial or violent on the service. (I believe they also prohibit lots of things the other consoles allow, as you can't do a civil war sim game accuratly without the stars and bars, or a WW2 game accurately without the Rising Sun or Nazi flag.)
At one point (maybe still) you were not allow to put firearm images in the app previews, I believe. I am not sure if that has changed. Good luck with putting anything sexual like are in some modern games as well.
(It's a double standard vs content in movies available on iTunes, I agree.)
Apple is doing a couple of good things for gaming however.
One of Microsoft's strengths is that the xbox/windows are build off of the same base. DX graphics pretty much are universal, so it makes porting very easy. Apple is even better, metal is metal is metal, and the game porting between iOS/ipados/macos/tvos should be extremely easy (even more so when intel macs are discontinued.)
iCloud makes universal same saves, should developers implement it. It should make it stupid easy for a gamer to pick up and play on any device.
I personally would love for apple to get into the "hardcore" game system market. They are putting some good things together, but I am very skeptical that they would follow through.
