By using this site, you agree to our Privacy Policy and our Terms of Use. Close

Forums - Gaming Discussion - Apple should turn the Apple TV into a console

Turkish said:
AlfredoTurkey said:

Guys, Apple entered the gaming industry with the advent of the app store. lol. They're the owners of the number one gaming device on the planet RIGHT NOW.

So my question is... why would they release ANOTHER product to sit under our TVs that wouldn't even begin to compete with another product that is selling way, way better?

Maybe read the OP? "why would Apple do that" is a tired argument, when they're getting into all sorts of markets like watches, headphones and cars, the idea of them entering the console business shouldn't be shocking. Consoles and the products they sell aren't mutually exclusive. Apple TV can serve as a true console with some beefier specs. Why is Apple willing to spend billions on exclusive TV shows when they have all of the streaming services on their devices already, and just leaving consoles aside for a moment: is it me or is getting 100% of the revenue better than the 30% cut they get now?

I think you should stop looking at it from console war goggles, but realize Apple seriously is lacking a capable, competitive device under the TV.


Dont think so. Once again, Microsoft took Halo from them. In the console realm you need stand out titles to separate your brand from another. Halo was supposed to be Apples answer for the PC realm as a proving ground that Apple could be seen as competent gaming machines. The console realm would require quite a bit of time on new ips. Based on the way Steve Jobs handled the situation with a lack of desire to buy studios like bungie (which cost them halo) I dont know how this will all be handled. 



Around the Network
AlfredoTurkey said:

Guys, Apple entered the gaming industry with the advent of the app store. lol. They're the owners of the number one gaming device on the planet RIGHT NOW.

So my question is... why would they release ANOTHER product to sit under our TVs that wouldn't even begin to compete with another product that is selling way, way better?

I generally agree but I would state this another way: because of Apple's unique corporate structure (leaders own a functional area rather than a product), it tends to suffer from an attention deficit.  Because the iPhone is doing so well and deserves a lot of resources, updates to Macs have fallen by the wayside (also because of a lack of competitive pressure from the stagnating PC market).  So Apple needs to have a deep strategic reason to enter a new market, which acts as a distraction.  They didn't get into the watch market per se, it is part of a wider foray into wearables, health research, and it has the side benefit of further increasing stickiness of iPhones (which already have phenomenal loyalty rates).

Getting into the console market could have some side benefits: there would be synergies in game development as the iPhone runs the same OS, so it could attract a higher class of game developers to the shared platform and thus be accretive to iPhone (and especially iPad which is a major focus for them right now).  But I think Apple would only do it if they had some ulterior strategic reason (e.g. they have some brilliant idea that ties in with their work on AR and autonomous vehicles), because the business by itself is not that large, particularly in terms of user base.  The number of iPhones sold is 1.2 billion, and even the modest Apple Watch sales are probably outpacing the Switch.



Turkish said:
VGPolyglot said:
I don't think Apple even want to get involved in the console market. They're already making a killing as is, so they probably feel like it isn't necessary, and they don't want to get bogged down into the console wars.

Thats a weak observation, Apple is willing to go to war with Netflix, HBO and Amazon for exclusive TV content. They will pour billions into their own shows. What makes you think they won't get themselves into other content? Especially something so big as gaming, the biggest form of entertainment. Why would they moneyhat thatgamecompany's next game? They dont control the living room, and sooner or later they might think about changing that. They might realize the best way to do that is a box that primarily plays games.

If not consoles, they could push for their own games in the App store, getting 100% of a game's revenue is better than a 30% cut. They could release a controller and make it the standard. Anything is possible, but I'm certain Apple will get into games one day.

Apple is losing relevance daily. This latest launch only further shows how out of touch they are. Animated poop emoji’s is not what consumers want or need. Their attempt at facial recognition is laughable considering Samsung’s works flawlessly.



Superman4 said:
Turkish said:

Thats a weak observation, Apple is willing to go to war with Netflix, HBO and Amazon for exclusive TV content. They will pour billions into their own shows. What makes you think they won't get themselves into other content? Especially something so big as gaming, the biggest form of entertainment. Why would they moneyhat thatgamecompany's next game? They dont control the living room, and sooner or later they might think about changing that. They might realize the best way to do that is a box that primarily plays games.

If not consoles, they could push for their own games in the App store, getting 100% of a game's revenue is better than a 30% cut. They could release a controller and make it the standard. Anything is possible, but I'm certain Apple will get into games one day.

Apple is losing relevance daily. This latest launch only further shows how out of touch they are. Animated poop emoji’s is not what consumers want or need. Their attempt at facial recognition is laughable considering Samsung’s works flawlessly.

The next few quarterly financial statements are gonna blow your socks off, stay tuned!



Pemalite said:
S.T.A.G.E. said:

Good point. Circumvention. After they lost the PC space other opportunities opened up with cellphones.

Didn't realise that Apple owned Android?

Notice the part where I saide "device"? 



Around the Network

Apple does not care about games and never have. Apple does not have a game division, develop games or have any interest in doing so even though games sell great on their devices. While it seems like Apple can just jump into the console market because they are Apple but would they not pretty much be in the same place as MS. They would need to develop a games division or they would just be another 3rd party machine fighting against Sony, Nintendo and even MS. Having a device that can stream 4K content is nothing new and pretty much all the other OEMs do this besides Nintendo. Sony has no mind share as a gaming company so getting your hardcore to get the device will be a challenge. Going for the casual, they would need to go up against Nintendo which would not be a good decision unless they have something to separate Apple TV from what Nintendo offer.



Machiavellian said:
Apple does not care about games and never have. Apple does not have a game division, develop games or have any interest in doing so even though games sell great on their devices. While it seems like Apple can just jump into the console market because they are Apple but would they not pretty much be in the same place as MS. They would need to develop a games division or they would just be another 3rd party machine fighting against Sony, Nintendo and even MS. Having a device that can stream 4K content is nothing new and pretty much all the other OEMs do this besides Nintendo. Sony has no mind share as a gaming company so getting your hardcore to get the device will be a challenge. Going for the casual, they would need to go up against Nintendo which would not be a good decision unless they have something to separate Apple TV from what Nintendo offer.

They do have some interest in games, since they hired Matt Casamassina away from IGN to manage the games section of the App Store.  But yeah, the total number of games Apple has produced and sold in its entire existence can be counted on one hand (I can only think of Alice for the original Mac and Texas Hold'Em for the iPod and iPhone) — they are happy to provide platforms for third parties to develop games on, but they haven't shown any interest in becoming a games studio.  To some extent, they don't need to: as long as the iPhone continues to deliver huge software sales, third-party developers will have an incentive to bring their A game to the iPhone, so there is less reason to pull a Nintendo and provide top-tier first-party titles.



The apple TV is already a console. So uhh... mission accomplished.



LurkerJ said:
Pemalite said:

AlfredoTurkey said:

Guys, Apple entered the gaming industry with the advent of the app store. lol. They're the owners of the number one gaming device on the planet RIGHT NOW.

Didn't realise that Apple owned Android?

They don't, and depending how you look at it, they don't have to for his statement to be true. Reading the article, you'd realize that not even Google owns android, and in terms of revenues from games, Google doesn't come close.

Just because Apple is leading on revenue doesn't mean it's a bigger gaming platform, it means it is a more profitable platform.
And even that link hints towards Google overtaking Apple in terms of app/game revenue eventually.

Android is still ahead in terms of the amount of games available and the amount of downloads and the amount of users.



--::{PC Gaming Master Race}::--

ebw said:
sethnintendo said:

Why would Bungie develop a game solely for the Mac in the 90s?  No one gamed on Macs in the 90s and barely anyone does now.  Everyone went to PCs during the late 80s and 90s.  Back then it would take a game a year or more to port to Mac (if ever) because there was such a low install base. 

Is this facetious?  Bungie was a very prominent exception to this rule.  The first time Bungie demonstrated Halo publicly was at MacWorld Expo in 1999.  For pretty much the entire decade before that they were a Mac-first developer (Minotaur, Pathways into Darkness, Marathon).

I see.  I had no clue such a big name developer would be Mac only in the 90s when Apple was about to go belly up considering no one wanted their products anymore.  I could see a small developer trying to carve a niche out on Mac.  Perhaps back then Bungie was small.  Also, I don't really hold Halo in that high of regard.  I played better FPS shooters back then on ISDN when everyone was on dial up.  It was called Tribes.