yes but now with wireless internet connectivity, handheld and mobile gaming, online play and communication the industry is a lot bigger than it was.

Right now all "non hardcore" gamers only have one handheld and one console to choose from and that means people will be thinking about competing.

Please, just don't D=. I can't imagine what an apple console would be like, and apparently the Pippin is terrible. And I think four consoles is just too much.

I also think 4 is too much and I dont own a single piece of Apple equipment and you'll have to trust me when I say i'm not a fan of them either but I still think they'll be looking at Nintendo's success and audience and thinking we want some of that.

It realy wouldn't suprise me thats all.

If Apple goes through with this, here's what you'll probably end up getting:

*A 'next-gen' Apple TV unit (and by 'next-gen' I merely mean it'll be the newest model in the line, not that there will be anything overtly 'gamer' about it). It'll be small, cute, and nowhere near the graphical power of a 360 or PS3 (think more of something fitting between Wii and the hardware behemoths). It'll have a faster proc than a standard, limp, Apple TV box, more RAM and a beefed up video card over what comes stock in an Apple TV today (one of the newest NV GO! boards or somesuch). I'd also expect a larger hard drive for true HD content (the current Apple TV, frankly, sucks for this sort of thing). Naturally you can do all the things with it that an Apple TV unit can do plus play games (it'll be branded as Apple TV Plus or Apple TV iGamer or some other, horrifically generic, Apple-ish name). And like an Apple TV  unit (with video), I wouldn't be surprised to learn that it can stream games to other TVs in the house (or even to your iPhone a la PSP remote play). It will also come with a 'wii-mote' of some sort if only to draft off Nintendo's slip-stream to some degree (and, of course, the iPhone has its tilt functionality so it'll have to support that) and will also likely resemble a remote control just like the wii-mote (there's no way this thing comes with a standard game pad, even had the wii-mote not been invented). There will be no Blu-ray drive or any drive at all, just some USB ports.

*The games will be iTunes store-only and will play both the current iPhone games as well as iGamer-specific titles. I also wouldn't put it past them to make sure that all their games play on both the box and the phone, thus killing two markets--portable and home--with one software stone (whether or not this merely means remote play writ large or scalable software, it could go either way). They will also be heavily-weighted towards 3rd party vendors, and it's very highly improbable (look at Apple's business model for everything else) that they will produce anything but the most basic and generic games. Do not expect to see Super Steve Bros. (starring Jobs and Wozniak, of course!). They will also be mostly of the PopCap variety, i.e. super-casual (yes, moreso than the Wii for those of you that insist the Wii is only adored by grandma and not actual gamers).

What this all boils down to is this will be Apple's play for the living room super-hub that MS and Sony have been desperately attempting to create for the past two generations. They'll probably be more succesful at creating such a device than either of the latter simply due to Apple's current market cachet, but any 'hardcore' impact on the gaming sector will likely be minimal (unless Apple does something incredibly un-characteristic--and stock price-damaging--and starts springing for lots of exclusive content).

They won't go the 'full fat' console route for several reasons:

* They won't relish the idea of spending tons of their iPod booty on R&D for such a box (e.g. custom GPU, CPU, etc.)
* They won't relish the idea of spending tons of their iPod booty securing exclusive content.
* The competition in the gaming sector is about as cut-throat as it gets and they'd have to spend *tons* of money in marketing just to make a dent in the consciousness of the average consumer (please note "average" i.e. the people that are buying Wiis in droves, not the fanatical Mac fans or your average NYC, SF or LA-dweller that thinks it'd be 'hip' to own an Apple game machine).
* There's no way this device costs under $250 and, thus, no way it competes with the Wii--Apple will want to be number one (which is another way of saying, actually, that Steve Jobs want to be number one) and it just won't happen with the hardware they'll need to bring to the table to make this device work (and to make a tidy profit on the hardware), so they'll forge their own path to set-top glory (again: this is merely game-playing functionality built into a pre-existing product line--it is not a game console in the traditional sense).
* Going the traditional console route is, essentially, a 'bet the company' deal if you don't have billions in cash you can *afford to lose* in carving out a sizable marketshare. Apple will simply not do this--it's not in their DNA nor are they as loose with cash (or nearly as rich) as, say, Microsoft who has managed to lose about 5 billion bucks in far less than a decade.

Naturally my greatest fear (already echoed here) is that it'll bring the Macolytes out in even greater force and, as others have noted, there is literally *nothing* worse than a Mac fanboy--they are literally the Scientologists of the consumer electronics universe and are simply maddening to deal with even in quantities of *one*.

Disclosure: I own a multiple Macs (but spend most of my time on a PC), mutliple iPods and own Apple stock so if you hate this take on what it mgiht look like, realize that it isn't coming from someone that dislikes Apple (but I most certainly do hate the cult of Apple).

 Only one person remembered that EA wants their own console also?  but I digress, this would make me sad, as then Microsoft would have a even stronger hold on the PC market and the next version of Vista will be even worse.  but if they do go in and EA does also, it would virtually guarantee the destruction of EA, which would make me happy (stupid company putting horrid drm in the only good games they make).

It makes a fair bit of sense

Apple has a long history of creating both software and hardware, they could have an easy to use interface, and already have things like safari and itunes, which could easily be adapted for a console. There would also be none of the overheating problems which, lets face it, were caused by the fact that microsoft was purely a software company.

Knowing Apple, it would interact with everything, including ipods and iphones

They already have some degree of gaming contacts, from imac, ipod and iphone gaming.

Shiny white consoles sell like hot cakes.

So if they do enter into the 8th generation (ie to compete with the Wii2, xbox720 and PS4)
- Who believes that 4 console makers can survive?
- If not, who is more likely to be forced out?

I would say that if apple make a console for the 8th generation, and it's successful, there won't be an xbox1440
If it's not successful, then they wont bring out an igame2

I think exindguy is almost on the money. There are a couple issues I have with what he's said. First, the AppleTV is already cheaper than the Wii for it's lowest model and has a faster processor, more gpu ram, and a HDD built in. It should easily compete with the Wii in terms of game-quality, it simply seems the AppleTV lacks certain functions to make it a full gaming device.

Ergo, a second-gen system wouldn't need to be significantly more powerful to becomes semi-competitve in the game market. This is a likely path for Apple because it doesn't mean any significant risk yet the potential rewards are tremendous. While they expected to sell 1.5 million AppleTVs for the first gen, the addition of gaming features could boost the 2nd gen hardware sales much further, and it'd also increase the volume of content sales. Plus, by not drastically improving hardware there will be a great deal of compatability between each of Apple's devces.

This may, however, require a second generation of the Apple Remote. Something that has added functionality but doesn't compromise the simplicity. Though I may be wrong, and it may be capable of handling controls for games like Madden. If it does in some fashion, they'd be content getting in on the PS2/PSP/Wii pool of games (and gamers) while still beating MS and Sony to the punch on having the all-in-one box (and at an affordable price).

I think it'd be a bit foolish to compete head-on with MS and Sony on the game side of things. That has led to the high prices and sluggish sales for both companies, and it has also distracted them from getting the rest of their content up to snuff. Basically, they'd be cutting both of those systems off from tapping into the "120 million PS2 owners" often mentioned, as well, since many of the people who bought it did so because it was cheap and offered them access to a large amount of entertainment.

Apple could attempt to compete with MS and Sony in terms of power. They certainly have the money. But the industry is already proving that those two companies have begun heading in the wrong direction, as the Wii frequently outsells both combined. Many people don't want to pay a lot more for slightly prettier graphics, and both companies have essentially failed in regards to being all-in-one content providers. Furthermore, even when they begin to match AppleTV's price they still won't have the depth of content a competitive infrastructure. If those two companies really were competing for the livingroom they would essentially get suckerpunched if and "AppleTV+Game" launched at a lower price and gaming content the mainstream gamer will find enjoyable.

Basically, they'd remove the complexities of gaming, as the Wii has, provide the same (type of) content the massively popular PS2 offered, they'd make the games cheaper overall, and they'd have the advantage of their product being seen as an all-in-one from the start. Most people see Xbox or PlayStation and they only think games. A lot of those people wouldn't buy either if they thought otherwise, because they don't think it's worth another $100 (+live) or another $150 for gaming features they didn't even ask for. But that won't stop them from buying the occasional game from the iTunes store.

I've never owned an Apple product in my life, but I sure do wish I owned Apple stock. They already have a business model that is quite lucrative if they only sell a couple million pieces of hardware, I can only imagine if they "failed" their way to 10 or 15 million.

Remember Apple Pippin? It sold like below 1 million consoles worldwide and was launched at $700 price tag. It was a huge failure.

 There is  my wingman... now according to the scientific research the real mafoo did (as in he went the whole random sample 0.05 significance route) there are about 18 guys trying to beat on us, its no wonder your worst fear is the coming of the Macolytes hahaha