Rumour: Apple is making a console

[Noobie]

famousringo said:

Noobie said:

Gamerace said:

ChichiriMuyo said:

It won't be $800, it'll be $250. Essentially all they have to do is make a second generation Apple TV and the are good to go. They really have most of the work done for them, and even a vast amount of the infrastructure is in place. They just need a few tweaks and tune-ups to their existing product line and they'll be able to put out a casual-ready console the delivers both movies and gaming in no time.

Really,  if you look at Apple TV as it is right now the specs are very similar to the Wii and the cost is already sub $250.  Should they release a slightly more powerful update with added gaming features they will be ready to do battle in console arena, and unlike Sony and MS they can afford to only sell a few million units because they won't be going for an over-the-top system.  The focus is on the casuals, where the money is, and Apple isn't going to screw that up.

This. 

I've always maintained Wii's success would lure others into the market and everyone claims the cost of admission is too high.   Total poppycock!!  The 'cost of admission' is only as high as you set it for yourself.   MS & Sony use a lose leading stategy that costs them billions.  Nintendo makes money on every console sold and game sales are gravy on top for them.

By merely attaching games to Apple TV service, much like games on iPhone/iTouch, Apple effectively plops themselves into the market with very little added expense to themselves (unless they do buy EA) and without having to be dependant on game sales to be profitable either (because it's still primarily based on tv/movies).

but from where the games will come?

 

Unless you believe the EA buyout rumour, the same place iPhone games come from. Amateur developers, PC shareware developers, and budget ports from large third parties, at first. Big budget development comes after the platform proves viable.

How big is EA? until or unless u don't have half a dozen launch title, and steady stream afterwords, i m not sure u r going to survive. 

The iphone is not very successful as a game machine..

http://www.bruceongames.com/2009/05/04/is-the-iphone-game-bubble-about-to-burst/

Is the iPhone game bubble about to burst?

May 4th, 2009 | News analysis and background

Could the huge bubble of iPhone game success be about to burst? We have seen many times in the history of the video game industry that customers are very keen to steal the games we have worked on rather than pay for what they have had. This has already destroyed the viability of many gaming platforms. The iPhone could be next.

Basically the App Store mechanism gives no protection to what it hosts, so anyone else can host whatever they want elsewhere and allow free downloads. And this is what is happening, you can get any App you want for the iPhone for free. Up until now most iPhone users were unaware of this so continued paying for their Apps, but the word is getting round very quickly. So now TAG Games are saying that two thirds of users of their game Car Jack Streets have been thieves who have not paid for the game.

Once this particular genie is out of the bottle it is just about impossible to put him back in. So pretty soon, as the word spreads, iPhone App piracy will be in the 90+% that it is for boxed PC games. Which will destroy the business model, just as it has for so many gaming platforms before, and so people will stop developing for the iPhone. Which will damage the iPhone as a gaming platform.