They can do their own thing with the iPhone just as mobile phones already but as for as an actual home console....not gonna happen thsi generation.

The development cycle is already too deep in motion for Apple to gain any traction at all.    Retail space is at a premium and cramped as it is already meaning actual retail support with product would be very, very limited.  It's plan and simply too late this generation.  

Not even EA can alter their current development structure enough to offer Apple anything remotely serious.

They have no target audience that isn't already covered.  Appealing only to Apple/Mac fans is a highly niche market that can't support a home console.

 Wow man you're kinda a fanboy.

As much as I love Apple, if this becomes true, I smell a flop.

I'm the guy that submitted the story to N4G....the image was found doing a google image search for "apple tv game console" and is absolutely a flight of fancy.

 For instance you'll also find:

@Viper1

Yes. In fact, nobody actually thinks Apple will sweep away the big three this generation. Not even Apple themselves, I think.

But that still doesn't mean they will not join the market with some half-assed console in preparation for the next generation, despite the obvious barriers to entry that you correctly pointed out.

The rumors about Apple entering the industry have been around for a while. I've seen their patent application for motion-sensor controller on news sites a while ago.

Perhaps, Apple thinks they can lose money on this generation in exchange for getting some experience with the industry. I don't know, but it's fun to think about their business plan.

Their patents appear more likely as a remote for a set top box and not a games console. Their entry in the games market is most likely through a partnership with one of the current console makers to provide their entertainment catalog and services to their feature set.

An actual console in the sense that we are accustomed to just isn't going to happen.

Well, it pretty much comes down to the definition of "console" then.

If Apple do enter the market this generation, they will most likely make their system like another type of AppleTV that can sell game only through online distribution (but not through retail stores). If this is the case, it's indeed different from the existing consoles that we are used to.

But it still doesn't change the fact that Apple enters the game market, in their own way.

I would like to see a partnership where for PS4 Sony creates a games only console that just plays DVD and Blu-Ray movies, and Apple creates a deluxe PS4 compatible system with all of the special media center features that cost extra. Toss up on whether they should both be Backwards compatible or just the apple version.

Oh well it's a pipe dream, but it would be nice, a deluxe for the upmarket and a PS4 made by Sony that everyone can afford...

To add to the above,

I'm simply trying to rationalize why they would do it despite the obvious difficulties. This is of course based on the assumption that Apple do enter the market, which in fact may or may not be true.

AppleTV is already here. It resembles Wii in their intension to become a center in living room (brose internet, photo, family-get-together, etc), although it hasn't been quite as successful. Adding some game distribution function to AppleTV is not going to hurt them. Apple won't go head to head with the big three this generation, because they can't. Gaming can be simply considered as an added value to the AppleTV system. I can't think of the purpose of motion-sensor control other than for gaming.

didnt read all this thread - but an interesting side note. i have a buddy who has worked at Dell Computers for years told me he has heard rumors recently that Dell is looking into make a home gaming console...