“Apple may be about to make a formal entrance into the video game console market,” Evan Hanson writes for 24/7 Wall St. “Metal, the new graphics API Apple unveiled on Monday, strongly suggests that the iPhone-maker is taking core gaming seriously.””
“With Metal, the A7 chip that powers Apple’s iPad Air is capable of outputting graphics on par with modern consoles: Plants vs Zombies: Garden Warfare, a game originally released for the Xbox One, was shown running on Apple’s tablet,” Hanson writes. “Industry observers have long expected Apple to enter the video game console business — if it does, it could create a new opportunity for Apple, while putting immense pressure on the existing console players, including Microsoft.”
“To some extent, Apple is already a major player in the video game industry — last year, Apple’s customers spent $10 billion on iTunes apps, the majority of which went to game creators. Extending this app store model to the living room seems like an obvious move,” Hanson writes. “In November, Apple confirmed that it had acquired PrimeSense, a company known for its work on the first-generation Kinect, the motion and voice sensor sold as an add-on to Microsoft’s Xbox 360. Although it’s impossible to know what Apple plans to do with PrimeSense, including the technology in a future Apple TV video game console wouldn’t be shocking.”
Much more in the full article here.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “David B.” for the heads up.]
