Is Apple TV a gaming console killer?

“Now that the new Apple TV promises gaming capabilities, some wonder if the set-top box could become a real contender in the video game market,” Don Reisinger reports for Fortune.

“While Apple CEO Tim Cook said that the Apple TV represents the ‘future of television,’ his company’s show-and-tell session dedicated a large chunk of its time to the device’s gaming capabilities,” Reisinger reports. “The Apple TV will run games such as Galaxy On Fire, Rayman Adventures, and ‘even games that [had] only been available on consoles, like the new Disney Star Wars game, called Disney Infinity,’ said Eddy Cue, Apple senior vice-president, Internet software and services, during the company’s presentation. In addition, Cue also added that game publisher Activision would also bring its latest Guitar Hero to the Apple TV.”

“Apple’s new focus on gaming may cause some to question whether it’s gunning for console makers and if those companies should be worried,” Reisinger reports. ‘Apple TV isn’t that different or special. [Apple TV is] not making a dent in games,’ says Michael Pachter, senior analyst at Wedbush Securities… James McQuivey, Ph.D., vice president and principal analyst at Forrester Research, agrees with Pachter’s sentiment, saying that the Apple TV is ‘too little, too late.’ ‘Sony and Microsoft have both sold more than 30 million of their new consoles and counting,’ says McQuivey. ‘For Apple to hurt them, it would have to sell at least 20 million units in a year, which it won’t do. Even if Apple TV is in 20 million homes by the end of 2016, by that time, both Sony and Microsoft will be in over 50 million homes each.'”

Read more in the full article here.

MacDailyNews Take: McQuivey’s “analysis” assumes people will continue buying consoles at the same rate as before the new Apple TV. That is faulty analysis.

SEE ALSO:
New Apple TV supports console-style MFi game controllers – September 9, 2015
Apple unveils the all-new Apple TV with Siri Remote, tvOS, and Apple TV App Store – September 9, 2015