“With the dust settling on the recent Xbox and PS4 launches, Apple appears to have its own plan for the console gaming market — though it’s keeping pretty quiet about it, particularly since these plans could reflect its intentions for an Apple television,” Jonny Evans writes for Computerworld.
“The company this week discussed its newly published (and still in development) Game Controller APIs, revealing both Logitech and MOGA intend launching games controllers for iOS devices this Fall. (Apple sure seems to be investing in one big harvest inQ4),” Evans writes. “The company has designed specifications for Bluetooth-based hardware controllers for iOS — one specification describes a device which wraps itself around an iPhone, so you can use its display as your gaming surface; the other discussed a handheld controller which is used separately, like any other gamepad.”
Evans writes, “Attach iOS to a 4K Apple television, add one of these games controllers and you can imagine titles with at least as much gameplay depth and graphics quality as those available on any other console platform, current or future.”
Much more in the full article here.
About freaking time. They could have taken out the hand held gaming market years ago with a controller like this.
Just wait.
Apple’s going to walk into the arena wearing a suit of powered armor with a 2mm electrically fired three-barrel Gatling gun loaded with incendiary-tipped rounds. 😀
The other guy has a knife.
And Sony & Microsoft will sucks in 3..2…1…
Phil Schiller’s Ass, you got big aspirations buddy.
Wait, you mean Sony and Microsoft don’t already suck? o.O
Well, okay, Sony’s alright. But I have a feeling that my trusty Xbox 360 will be my last major Microsoft purchase.
An Apple TV with a special version of either Mavericks or iOS built inside… along with the VAST ecosystem of apps… and some console quality controllers would eventually absorb 50% of the market share. It may even kill the entire console industry. Or at least change the business model entirely.
Yup. What you said.
While the analyst and pundits focus on Apple’s so-called ‘need’ to develop an iPhone with large screens, Apple may be moving in another direction that will, once again, shake up the market. Apple would be wise to go ‘all in’ – delivering the tools game developers need/want, developing stronger ties to prominent game publishers, collaborating w/ companies like Logitech to develop optimal game controllers, etc.. Apple is definitely in a strong position to steal marketshare away from hand-held and console game developers. This is also an area where Android would likely have a difficult time competing, given the hardware and software fragmentation, plus the lower ROI for app development. All of a sudden, Apple could be a real player with games that can be played across phones, tablets, computers and TVs all synching in the cloud. Time to buy more stock?
Apple’s gaming domination checklist:
Step 1) Get controllers on the market.
Step 2) Get game titles that utilize the controllers.
Step 3) Open up Apple TV for games that have controller support.
Step 4) Game over for Xbox, Playstation, and Wi.
I doubt Step 4 is realistic. But Apple would certainly be providing a great extension to its already hefty gaming capabilities.
It’s pretty realistic.
If your family’s AppleTV and your kids’ iPads & iPhones are all playing fun, engaging games, the high-end console market becomes a very small niche.
Sony & MS have show their hands, and the world’s reaction is “meh”. Apple can do it better.
Emphasis on “family.” Sony and MS’s main customers are the more dedicated solo (or network) gamers, and their biggest titles are aimed at them. Some of the more popular family-oriented titles like the dance or rock-band ones don’t use normal controllers anyway. Saying high-end console gaming will become a “very small niche” is like saying the Mac Pro is aimed at a “very small niche”.
Sure, such a move would take away sales from PS4 and XO, but this would hurt Wii the most.
Actually, Mac Pro sales are a good analogy.
When the market only had towers to choose from (Power Macs / Mac Pros), business bought them for everyone, even spreadsheet jockeys and secretaries. (iMacs were for schools & homes.) Now that the iMac is enough for essentially all business needs, even for graphic designers, the Mac Pro really is serving just a niche.
A lot of families buy consoles now, simply because that’s the way to play the games. I would guess that the console market without these users will be a shadow of itself.
Step 5) Gamer over also for FB games and Windoze gaming
Actually, the casual gaming market is already owned by Apple. they really dont need to do anything more. But the fact that they are will help increase the popularity of the device for playing games. idk that it will sell more phones though.
I think your step 3 is incorrect. The console is the device. The handheld controller will control the game streamed to the TV by AirPlay. It will support 4 players based on the LEDs. Step 4 is never going to happen.
The wrap around controller would be used for single player or peer to peer playing without an Apple TV.
All that is wishful thinking. Apple may have no aspirations at all of becoming a dominant player in the gaming industry. With all the billions in cash Apple has to spend it appears that Apple doesn’t seem to want to dominate any industry. I believe Apple’s goals are entirely different.
Apple seems to take pride in being a niche company, selling products to consumers within a narrow profit range. I think Apple is deliberately controlling its own growth. Solidly building upon itself. It might be hell to shareholders, but in the long run it’s probably the best way for a company to grow. Apple realizes that it doesn’t have to be dominant player in any industry in order to be profitable.
There is no Apple Branded actual TV. This is a pipe dream for morons. There is nothing broken about a market where I can buy a 70″ LCD 240 hz 3D TV with 5 HDMI inputs for 2500 or less. None of the things that Apple would want to “fix” about TV as we know it has anything to do with the part that shoots photons into your %#£king eyes! Content delivery and centralization issues do not require Apple to make a line of products that compete directly with Sony, Samsung, LG, etc etc…
I agree with you. And articles that try to attach an Apple 4K TV set to Apple’s future success irritate me… (future headline: “Apple fails to deliver expected 4K TV…”).
All things aside, I just would like to get a 4K Apple TV. 🙂
Bothering with 4K televisions still makes me laugh. Bothering to attempt scaling an iPad image up to a 4K television is equally silly. Apparently, the gee whizzy hype about 4K is winning over technical comprehension of exactly what they are.
Focusing instead on practical 1080p TVs: The Apple TV could certainly be made into a game console for playing iPad games. I certainly hope Apple has this on its radar. What a wonderful coup that would be.
I don’t know who’s going to be seeing the difference. I work with images all day and appreciate quality, but I can’t see how 4k is worth the trade-offs.
The only way I can see “iOS devices” supporting a 4K viewing environment is if a new Apple TV box were to be released with a state of the art GPU, to which “iOS devices” could send their games (or in any case the continuously powered Apple TV is running the game and driving the display). “iOS devices” are meant to be miserly on power consumption. An Apple TV box can afford to lose that restriction.
The history of the Apple TV box was that it didn’t need much to present the UI and do the (hardware-based) decoding of audio & video. But if Apple wants to shake up the living room and/or the console gaming market, the Apple TV has to become a more powerful box.
That would be great! But the $99 tag won’t allow any profit margin.
Many gamers will see value in playing current iOS games in console format. Fewer folks have time for the long drawn out console games with complicated controllers and 20 buttons. Create an experience that adults can jump in and out of for shorter periods of time and you’ve for a winner. This is part of nintendos success with Wei – less complicated to understand and participate.
I’m just trying to figure out how Apple will make the 1-button controller work : )
“You’re not pressing the right button” – the late Steve Jobs answering an email from an angry Apple TV game player
🙂
Let’s hope Apple gets it right this time: http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_Bandai_Pippin
Yes, because Apple is still that rudderless company it was about 20 years ago.
Thanks!! Geez, now if Apple fails to enter and revolutionise the console market, dominating every other company, they will be deemed a failing company and the calls for Cook’s departure will be demanded for his dismal non-delivery of what pundits believe they should do….
I can’t begin to imagine what an iOS device that can run a 4k video would be. Though they do seem to talking a lot about 4k.
Maybe the Apple console will consist of a 4k screen-AppleTV combo, ore a bespoke Apple 4k television (still don’t believe that one exists, margins are too small) an iOS device and one of those sexy Darth Vader MacPros.
IOS has already punched the gaming industry in the gut. I think Apple was as surprised by that as anyone. If they actually turn some attention toward real gaming for a change it could be devastating for the console industry, and another mobile revolution for Apple. Which would sadly drag Android along with it.
And we listen to “Anything you can do I can do better,” ad nauseum .
But the industrial design of the XBox None. It’s so so ….. Microsoftian. It’s gonna look like a refrigerator after the Apple TV set launches.
They just need to build up the pressure from below rather than compete head-on which ain’t gonna happen. Cant say I know how that would work precisely with present,additional tech effectively moving into the console market without building a console but its one of those things that when it happens it will likely seem obvious offering a different perspective while not having to appeal to the hard core. That market like the handheld already would become increasingly less profitable.
I have an iControlpad now.
The only news here is that it’s going mainstream.