Could Apple Be Planning A Gaming Device?
A recent trademark application filed by Apple has expanded Apple’s reign to, and I quote:
“Toys, games and playthings, namely, hand-held units for playing electronic games; hand-held units for playing video games; stand alone video game machines; electronic games other than those adapted for use with television receivers only; LCD game machines; electronic educational game machines; toys, namely battery-powered computer games.”
Essentially, Apple is allowing themselves to produce a console, handheld, or video games themselves, but the market asks, “Do we even want games from Apple?” I say that, even though a monopoly has been good for consumers buying mp3 players, this would be disastrous for gamers. Apple likes to put monopolies on products, and competition is what fires the gaming market. We also have to take into account who will buy it. It is always going to be hard to launch a gaming platform, and even with Apple’s strong foothold in the minds of consumers, Apple’s products seem to be overpriced, over-hyped, and although they innovate, they seem to fail in key areas.
Look at the iPhone. If it only had 3G, third-party applications, video capture, and was a little cheaper in the data plan area, then it would dominate the market. I’m only worried that this will happen to their alleged game console. What if it doesn’t support games not made by Apple? I can see a thousand things going wrong with this, and I don’t want the market flooded with a crappy device.
It hasn’t been good for the MP3 player market. Apple mp3 players are over priced, under featured, and require resource-hogging software. I hardly call that “good”
I agree. APPLE SUCKS! Ha, I said it.
I doubt it will be succesful. I mean Macs don’t exactly have a history for gaming. So it be really interesting to see how Apple does this. Said above is also true.
iPods… i’m not sure what you mean when you say that they were bad for the mp3 player market. i mean, who had heard of an mp3 player before iPod. And while yes, iTunes can be a bit resource intensive, even for those with 4 year old bottom line computers can at least run it. I must agree with NetSage in that it will be interesting to see. (people stop being such Apple haters and don’t go saying that I’m an Apple fanboy, I’m not. I have 2 Dells)
Nice. If Apple wants in on the gaming market, they are welcome to take a crack at it in my opinion. The only way to build a monopoly is to produce the best at a cheap price. I don’t see that happening with a newcomer. (although I was wrong about Sony when they announced the Playstation. Seriously… “Play-Station? What a stupid name!”) These were my exact words to my brother while reading a gamepro in the Safeway Magazine isle.
Apple entering the market can only add to the competition. If they market a console that only plays their games, which is paramountly unlikely, it is doomed to failure. If they create something great, then score one more point for the western gaming market and prepare for some great games.
I can see this only as good news for consumers, though I think it likely a bad choice for apple if they follow through.
Apple can’t pull it off. The new MacBook Air is a perfect example why. Yes, it’s sleek. Yes, it’s pretty. But a $500 Sony laptop blows it to pieces with connectivity options. Considering this is an information-driven time period, connectivity is key. Apple simply can’t produce something that will par with what’s out there, let alone at a halfway decent price. Just imagine… an Apple computer with the power of the PS3. Price tag? Probably $5k. Why? Because it’s Apple. What a bogus reason for such a high price.
btw… iHate Apple.
Comments like the ones above go to show you just how naive most PC and PC gamers are when it comes to Apple products. The fact is Apple creates a product that “WORKS”!!! I would never purchase another PC, unless, of course I wanted to be an engineer or some moron gamer.
@Wilson
You are an obvious Apple Fanboy…
Windows and Microsoft do some good things, namely gaming which is the main reason that I have a PC…and 2 Macs. I will admit that Apple does things well, I might have some fanboysim left in me but the main thing is that they either do it well, or mess it up so bad that the industry fails. Look at iTunes, it is completely overpriced and most people, most of them not the ones who would be reading this, think that they are bound to it if they have an iPod.
Amazing! You wrote this in 2008 and said: “Look at the iPhone. If it only had 3G, third-party applications, video capture, and was a little cheaper in the data plan area, then it would dominate the market.”
It is now the middle of 2009 and the iPhone has everything there. (Except maybe the data plan area, because I don’t know anything about that.
Post a Comment »
Comment Guidelines