Apple only other company that can release a game console
The video game industry is a hotly contested space that's currently being dominated by three major companies: Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo. And although companies like Sega and others have tried to solidify their brands in the console space, they've failed in the face of those three giants.
But just because the past is littered with companies that have failed miserably at trying to capture a place in the world of hardware, does that mean that no company ever will do it again? Microsoft is a late entrant into the space and Sony came on the scene in a big way when columns were being written about the same basic premise: companies can't break into the console war.
Sorry, but I just don't buy the logic.
That said, I don't think any company can break into the console space. In fact, I would say that only one company can do it. Not because it has worked in the video game business for such a long time or that it's uniquely positioned to break in. No, the real reason why I believe this company could make a splash in the video game business (and why it possibly will) is because it commands the kind of hype and respect that no other company in the space does.
If you ask me, Apple could (and should) release a video game console. And not just because it'll be a success, but because it's the only company that could make a dent in the market.
The App Store has taught us a few things about Apple. It has taught us that the company is ready and willing to work with developers trying to create sound businesses and it's taught us that Apple can create a device, albeit a bit small, that can provide users with a powerful gaming experience.
But because of the App Store, everyone is looking in the wrong direction. Everyone believes that the App Store is how Apple will break into the gaming business and make the iPhone a compelling gaming platform.
I think that argument is pure rubbish.
In reality, the App Store is the first step in Apple's would-be plan to dominate the video game market by providing a service that can handle the console business and capture a significant portion of the market that it's trying so hard to be a part of: home entertainment.
Rest assured that Apple is a hardware company. If Apple was really concerned about software, it would have licensed Mac OS X again and it wouldn't have spent so much time trying to find unique ways of bringing Apple products to people in different ways. There would have been no iPhone, no iPod, and Macs may have been irrelevant.
Suffice it to say that Apple is inexorably tied to hardware.
But Apple's vision for the future is also tied to its obsession with controlling all the facets of your life. It already controls the music enjoyment part of your life and has taken a significant slice of the communication pie. It has Macs for those who want to be productive and an Apple TV for those who want to extend the capability of their home entertainment rig. But what about gaming?
The gaming market is one of the largest and most important industries in technology. But it's also one of the few key markets where Apple doesn't have a presence. Beyond that, it's one of the few places in the technology space that may actually be receptive to an Apple device.
One of the key success factors in the console market is playing well with developers. And although Apple has been less than ideal in that space in the past, its work with video game developers on the App Store is the ideal entree into coaxing them to support Apple's game console.
Even better, Apple has the infrastructure in place through iTunes to create a real value proposition for those who want to extend the capability of their console beyond gaming. Also, the company has the cash--about $20 billion--to not only invest in the best components on the market, but in an online gaming experience that could rival Xbox Live.
That cash could also be put to good use by acquiring major developers (did someone say Take-Two?) that could go from third-party powerhouse to Apple's first-party publisher.
And all the while, Apple can solidify its position in the space as the de facto "cool company."
Apple has a number of things going for it: it's successful, people love the brand, and people will buy its products regardless of their usability. And although the Apple TV could have performed a bit better, a video game console is the kind of product that would make Apple zealots and hardcore gamers flock.
That's not to say that it'll be easy for Apple to solidify itself in the gaming business; it's a tough industry, after all. But Apple's track record of working with game developers, its unprecedented control over the general population, its cash on-hand, and its ability to understand what people want make it the ideal company to break into the video game industry and supplant the major players.
Will it happen? Who knows. But if you ask me, it should. And soon.
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Don Reisinger is a technology columnist who has written about everything from HDTVs to computers to Flowbee Haircut Systems. Don is a member of the CNET Blog Network, and posts at The Digital Home. He is not an employee of CNET. Disclosure.
Apple has a game platform - iPhone and iPod Touch. If Apple makes those sucessful and sells enough games on them, then, maybe, Jobs will become more interested in games.
Entering the game console market takes very deep pockets. Both Microsoft and Sony lost billions launching new consoles and it takes years to break even. Why would Apple want to take them on directly? It makes no sense.
-Don
As far as a gaming platform, I definitely agree with everyone here that maybe this isn't the right time.
Apple needs to 1. get their house in order and 2. be much more cooperative and communicate much better with its existing developers before they could reasonably take on a huge task such as launching a gaming system.
interesting take, though. Thanks for it!
-Don
If it acquires Take-Two like I said it should, it won't have to worry about publishing games prior to release, it would have already had that.
-Don
Competition is exactly what drives lower prices for us consumers. That's a major contributing factor as to why you can now buy your PS3 for $399 and an XBOX360 (the one with a HDD) for what, $299? You want to pay more for systems and games?
Microsoft and Sony are also, as you somwhat pointed out, competing for the same base - that being hardcore gamers. Nintendo is clearly not. If they merged, there would be one company fufilling that base.
So no. They should absolutely NOT merge.
And also, in reference to Don's blog - Apple is NOT a hardware company. Yes, they are vertically integrated to the point where yes, the whole package, physically and otherwise are overseen by them. But, as Steve Jobs has even said himself (at the All Things D: Digital Conference), Apple learned from Microsoft that it's really in the software. They believe that the user end experience is really on how you use it aka software aka interface aka GUI.
Microsoft also turned a profit. I never said it was easy, but I think it can be done and only Apple can do that.
-Don
I don't think what Apple does best is making computers at all. I think it makes entertainment products, which is what it does best. Don't you?
-Don
1) They will have to establish an online network which functions smoothly, similar to that of Microsoft's Network for the XBoX. In contrast, Sony's flimsy online network has hurt the PS3's appeal.
2) Have gaming software developed which works both with the Apple Game Console and various Mac Computers. Since software which works both with a gaming console and a computer has yet to become reality, Apple can take advantage of this unchartered territory and get a leg up on the competition. Just like you can play music & videos in various devices, why shouldn't you be able to play games in multiple devices?
Don't you think that will happen?
-Don
Everything Apple has was created by open source developers - so Apple is just taking all the credit...
-Don
Really if it was going to be anyone, I would think Valve would have the best chance. They have no hardware background, but they do have Steam, which is by far the best PC software distribution system. They also would have a fantastic first party developer. I'd seriously consider a steam console.
Interesting take. Thanks for it!
-Don
But the bottom line is this: Apple can't afford to lose the kind of money it would take to produce a game console.
I think Apple CAN afford to lose the money by getting into gaming and if it's smart, it'll make money on the deal. Nintendo can, why can't Apple?
F that. Apple needs to learn to work with the developer community if it wants to break into gaming (which I seriously doubt it does).
Duplicating a process to pull hits away from iTMS, just what idiot thought Apple would want to put that same application into iTMS. Does CBS run ABC ads?!
-Don
I think Apple is too busy being lucrative to really take that kind of risk. More likely, companies like Nintendo will seek to lift their hardware into the mainstream and adopt the tactics Apple is using right now, rather than Apple trying to make a splash in a hotly contested space that is risky and have probably a low ROI.
-Don
You have got to be kidding me. Apple is to gaming as stripes are to plaid. In other words, they do not go together. As Mr. Spock would say, there is a serious flaw in your logic. Just because they do a great job with phones and PC's does not mean they will be successful with game consoles. Besides, that is just the tip of the iceberg. Anyone can make a console. Who is going to make games for it? Who is going to buy it? A console from apple would likely cost over $1000 because they do not have the cash to subsidize it. They won't even do that the the friggin iPhone and they sell like hotcakes.
an open source game system that runs multiple apps that integrate (cough Android cough)?
save money on R&D and just get homebrewers to fuel the network of downloadable games...
the "Little Big Planet" system
Unless Apple envisions, AND has the ability to create an inexpensive, full 3-D immersion concept there is not a chance. Apple doesn't see the world as a consumer of single purpose, Apple products. One caveat would be Apple creating a beefed up AppleTV unit, that supported existing, and future PC games, in fact I am sure many 3rd party attempts have already been successful in that area. The unit, is after all, just a PC.
Apple products may play games, but I am sure they aren't looking for the extra headache, and revenue loss of being a follower in the gaming world. So no, bottom-line, my crystal ball says "Apple will not create a game console, while Steve Jobs is CEO".
Hey Prince2k3, sorry to break your psychic know it all bubble, but I own both a PS3 and XBox 360. Maybe you should try using another mind reading crystal ball, instead of wasting your time telling others what to do. Your post was quite insightful in that it set the bar for the lowest common denominator. Well done!
So to recap, just build the capabilities to play MAC games into a full speced Apple Media Server.
But is any of that really going to happen? That would be a BIG HECK NO!!
That aside, there's one big, fat question missing: If there's no real potential in it, why would Apple bother? I know you (the author) say there is, and while it's true that Apple already has a decent infrastructure in place to do it, there are obstacles here.
First off, getting game developers to take on Yet Another Platform is going to be prohibitive vis-a-vis game consoles. Unlike computers, game consoles are highly proprietary, and there's little programatically that can be made cross-platform in a given game's codebase (meshes, textures, audio... sure. But code? Heh.)
Also, it took Microsoft 8 years of pouring billions of dollars down a big black hole (with a red ring around it) to just get a marketshare... (not to mention a lot of channel-stuffing and other accounting lies) and they have yet to realize any real profit from it yet. Apple isn't in the habit of falling into traps like that.
Finally, the next-next-gen (man I wish they'd quit using the term "next gen") consoles are likely nearing a testing phase in all three console competitor corps right now. If Apple was wanting a piece of that, they should have started the R&D three years ago.
/P
Microsoft made countless mistakes with the Xbox and that's why it took that long. Apple can learn from those mistakes and do it right.
Who said Apple would need to compete in this generation? I think it should compete in the next one and start working on it now.
-Don
- by umbrae September 15, 2008 1:00 PM PDT
- Yeah, just what the console market needs: A new console released every 15 months, even worse DRM, and Apple Green light on Game releases. Apple getting into the Game market will kill it. Apple may have fit well into the trendiness of music and mp3 players, but I doubt this will fly in the gaming market.
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- by dd13reis September 15, 2008 2:53 PM PDT
- No. You're applying current Apple practices to its future and that doesn't make sense. You need to apply what makes sense in the industry to Apple's decision-making ability to see if this is possible.
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Showing 1 of 4 pages (97 Comments)Honestly, they most I see apply doing is making you buy Zuma over and over on each revision on the iPhone and Touch they release.
I think it is given that line of thinking.
-Don