Apple moving into gaming?
Via AppleInsider, a six-figure analyst at Prudential ruminates on the possibility of Apple Computer entering into the hotly contested console market. Jesse Tortora writes in a research note that the hiring of game developers may have larger implications for the "digital hub" strategy Apple has been pursuing, most recently with the iTV product.
"The game console device could be morphed out of some combination of the MacMini and iTV, while the handheld player could be developed as an enhancement to a future version of the widescreen iPod," the analyst explained.
Okay, right there you can pretty much ignore this. Anyone who knows anything about the Mac Mini knows that making it into a gaming "ecosystem" competitive with today's consoles would require something like the discovery of super-futuristic alien technology buried for a million years beneath the The Campus in Cupertino. Setting aside technical hurdles, Tortora's logic comes down to the need for Apple to compete for the box that goes by the TV. Presumably, Microsoft and Sony have an advantage because their consoles can be used for games and movies. Of course, Apple has done quite well ignoring the need for convergence with the iPod, the ubiquitous device predominatly being a media player, but this brings us to the obvious.
Apple is making games for the iPod.
Having introduced nine games, two of which were made by Apple, it only makes sense that the company wants a larger piece of the potentially lucrative market. Also, consider the fact that longtime Mac game makers have been shut out of the iPod game market, as Macworld reports.
“It was lame of Apple to ignore the guys that have been loyal to them,” said a developer who asked not to be named. “We were ready, willing and able to create anything they wanted.”
While one could argue that shunning third-party developers is unfair, business is not about being fair, and eight million iPods a quarter is a lot of gaming business to ignore. Still, it would be nice if Apple could get Dark Castle on an iPod.
Charles Jade
arstechnica.com
Okay, right there you can pretty much ignore this. Anyone who knows anything about the Mac Mini knows that making it into a gaming "ecosystem" competitive with today's consoles would require something like the discovery of super-futuristic alien technology buried for a million years beneath the The Campus in Cupertino. Setting aside technical hurdles, Tortora's logic comes down to the need for Apple to compete for the box that goes by the TV. Presumably, Microsoft and Sony have an advantage because their consoles can be used for games and movies. Of course, Apple has done quite well ignoring the need for convergence with the iPod, the ubiquitous device predominatly being a media player, but this brings us to the obvious.
Apple is making games for the iPod.
Having introduced nine games, two of which were made by Apple, it only makes sense that the company wants a larger piece of the potentially lucrative market. Also, consider the fact that longtime Mac game makers have been shut out of the iPod game market, as Macworld reports.
“It was lame of Apple to ignore the guys that have been loyal to them,” said a developer who asked not to be named. “We were ready, willing and able to create anything they wanted.”
While one could argue that shunning third-party developers is unfair, business is not about being fair, and eight million iPods a quarter is a lot of gaming business to ignore. Still, it would be nice if Apple could get Dark Castle on an iPod.
Charles Jade
arstechnica.com
Labels: News
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