Resident_Hazard said:
kitler53 said:
theprof00 said: kitler, while those are all really great reasons, it leaves a company like apple in a state like, "shit let's do it, where do we start". Then we have another overpriced console that does the same thing as another one but forces us to pick between hardware as if we didn't pay enough in hardware as it is. |
i think you're missing my point though.
the iphone/itouch has been out for 2 years (i think) without any apps store. and yet people were buying it. now suddenly those tens of millions of people (guessing here, idk the actual numbers) wake up one day and find out they already have a gaming device in their pockets. instant market.
okay sure, maybe the hardcorez wont buy one specificaly to game but it doesn't matter. nintendo has already proved that you can make billions of dollars a year selling games without the hardcorez.
games or no games - i will have an iphone this febuary once my current contact expires. you can be sure that i will check out any apps the iphone supports and will gladly put out a few bucks for a quality title. it's not as direct of an approach as when MS entered the gaming market but slowly and surely apple is going to become a major player because there is basically no way for them to fail: their product will find its way into consumers hand with or without developer support.
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You're guess is way off. EGM's actual numbers on installed iPhone userbase was about 6 million. Not "tens of millions." That's an awful lot less than the roughly 85 million DS's and 40 million PSP's. And not everyone who buys an iPhone is going to be focused on the gaming aspects, so the number is likely quite a bit less than 6 million potential iPhone gaming customers.
Although, and keep this in mind as it was revealed by IGN on the Wii channel some months back, Apple patented Wiimote-like technology. But for what purpose? Their success with everything-i has given them money in the bank. I wouldn't be surprised if Apple stepped in to the gaming industry in the next generation. If they tried to come out in the current generation, they'd be buried beneath the current 3 market owners. They wouldn't have any recognizable or important 1st party wares to compete against Nintendo, MS, or Sony, and they'd no doubt have some trouble getting 3rd party companies to actually jump on-board because they'll all already have millions invested in Nintendo, Microsoft, and Sony.
No doubt, they're using the iPhone to test the waters.
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source: http://en.wikinews.org/wiki/IPhone_sales_exceed_BlackBerry?curid=116480
"According to tech analysts Canalys, the number of iPhones shipped in the third quarter of 2008 was 6.8 million, while RIM shipped 6.1 million BlackBerry phones"
source: http://www.canada.com/calgaryherald/news/calgarybusiness/story.html?id=af1af663-05e9-4f79-98de-3698ca7678cc
"Apple sold a record 6.89 million iPhones last quarter, said chief executive steve Jobs"
edit: i can't find sales data for the itouch which you seem to keep forgeting exists and has full access to the apps store and all of its games.