[cortaz]

I’m going to argue that Apple should come out with a video game console. Kind of like how everyone knows Apple is coming out with a media center. For those of you that don’t know, Apple had a console called the Pippin about ten years ago. Total failure. But things are a little different now.

Now, instead of arguing that they should come out with a completely new piece of hardware, I think they really just need to come up with a platform for playing video games on current Macintosh computers. No install. Just insert disk and play, as you would a PlayStation or Xbox. You can have this done through FrontRow. Add in another icon to navigate to for game disks.

I see the hardware on the Macintosh as being an impressive blend of what’s available to the gaming community in the PC market and the next generation of consoles. My MacBook Pro has SMS for motion detection like the new Sony controller, an iSight like the EyeToy for the PS2, the Apple Remote Control, keyboard and mouse like a PC, and bluetooth and USB expansion that could be potentially used for attaching gamepads. If Apple came out with their own official gamepad, they’d pretty much have everything they’d need. All the new Intel Macs would make perfect gaming consoles.

So here’s really what I’m envisioning: Apple comes out with a video game “platform” for all the Intel Macs that are accessed through FrontRow. We’ll call it iGames. Anyone with an Intel Mac can just insert a disk and play a video game like any other console. Apple releases there new media center, which uses iGames. Apple releases an official bluetooth gamepad.

Then Apple uses their current market position to do the following: Apple sells games through the iTunes music store. Apple allows Macs to share games and game data through Bonjour. Apple makes unique connectivity with their iPod in similar ways that the GameBoy connects to the GameCube and the DS will connect to the Wii and the PSP will connect to the PS3. Apple allows iGames to work with the rest of the iLife suite. For example, recording an iSight video game and importing it into iMovie.

As for the market and competition, well... I figure the Mac mini is similarly priced with the PS3 and it’s not even out yet. Plus Macintosh and iTunes already have a huge install base.

If Apple does come out with a media center, making it additionally a gaming console would be awesome.

Lastly, I wanted to say this is my personal blog and not a rumor site. I’m not speculating the future of Apple and I have no evidence of what they’re planning. I just think this would be a cool and more than reasonable idea.

This post got kind of longer than I thought, so it ended up turning into a Blog post.
-- No longer "spam." Happy now? --

Comments? I hope people agree.

[Peter]

spam <3

[ApeInTheShell]

Promotion. The average american spends 7-8 hours watching the television when they are not at work. Men between the ages of 18-30 years are spending even more time playing video games. The size of the television and the type of game console is a factor but you will find that guys settle for less if they can get more games. e.g. Nintendo DS
Apple Computer does not promote their hardware on the television(iPod excluded). Developers are not creating more games for the Macintosh because it only occupies a small percentage of the computer market. So Apple needs to promote, promote, and promote if their video game platform is to become successful. Everyone knows what an iPod is but they have little knowledge of what a Mac or what it is capable of doing for them. Until they do this I think they will run into the same problem the pippin had.

[zmcgill]

FYI by the time the Pippin came out it was branded by Bandai, not Apple.

[quangdiggity]

apart from the "limitations" - of how it would be a failure- its a great idea.
However, iGames sounds bad to me + it y would music run thru iGames.....
iPlayer is cooler for me, since it covers all media types.

wish it could happen…

[greenamp]

MacBox

[hadocon]

Retarded idea. Never going to happen.

[stefanicotine]

I think it's a great idea. Ideally, Playstation support would rock, but that'll never happen. We all know how much Sony and Apple just love each other

[baw]

Agreed, lame.

[Chuckit]

Why did this get resurrected?

[Leonard]

Maybe because of the announcement of iTV. I could see iTV at some point turn into to a Movie player/Game player. Nah. You're still using the computer with iTV so that's not a separate gaming system...

But iTunes could turn into a gaming distribution system for the Mac... that could help gaming on the Mac - have all the old favourites and new games. Isn't Aspyr doing a similar thing, a gaming store.

[jamil5454]

An Apple console would be cool, but would flop.

They can't really compete with all the developers the other three contenders have.

[HeartGabriel]

Anybody catch this on Slashdot?

"Apple move into home consoles 'a distinct possibility' - analyst"

Apple move into home consoles 'a distinct possibility' - analyst // GamesIndustry.biz

The first post that started the thread is actually from me. I wrote about this on my rarely updated blog.

Apple iGames (Pippin 2)

[Chuckit]

What "analysts" have to say is almost as important as what Miss Cleo thinks.

[HeartGabriel]

Originally Posted by Chuckit 

What "analysts" have to say is almost as important as what Miss Cleo thinks.

fallacy

[Chuckit]

Originally Posted by HeartGabriel 

fallacy

That would only be a fallacy if I were trying to make or rebut a logical argument. As it is, we only have a guy with no authority on the matter offering his opinion. That was my only point: This guy's ideas don't really have any more validity than those offered by my 11-year-old cousin.

[Peter]

please watch the size of inline images..
</tooki>

[Leonard]

Analysts do basically one thing, they gather up a whole pile of bits and pieces of news, patent licenses, gossip, etc. and can be either very accurate or very out to lunch. For example it's easy to watch the trend in iPod sales and taking into account Apple's next quarter advice, forecast iPod sales for the next year. It is also possible for them to be totally out to lunch by taking a 13" new screen rumor from an Apple vendor and adding to that everybody's tablet rumors, and saying a 13" tablet Mac is coming out - in reality a 13" MacBook came out.

[Rev-O]

Apple cannot even support gaming on Macs. An Apple console would be a complete failure.

[exca1ibur]

Originally Posted by Rev-O 

Apple cannot even support gaming on Macs. An Apple console would be a complete failure.

[MattJeff]

Apple need to join forces with Nintendo

[lpkmckenna]

Originally Posted by Rev-O 

Apple cannot even support gaming on Macs.

What should Apple be doing that it isn't doing now?

[lpkmckenna]

Originally Posted by MattJeff 

Apple need to join forces with Nintendo

I wonder if Nintendo games could run well in Rosetta? A "Wii virtual machine" inside a Mac mini would be a rocking system.

[bluekatt]

no no no no no and no
the console market is already over crowed
nintendo sony and ms it cant and wont support three systems something sega found out the hard way in 2001 with the dreamcast great machine but it just didnt go any where
sony is lord and master over the console market like it or not the ps1 shifted 100 million plus units the ps2 120 million pluss and come hell or high water complaining about the high price aside the ps3 wil do the same

i doubt nintendo wil be around for the next round
their latest console might be flying out of the shops but thats because of the hype its nothing more then a upgraded cube with some gimmicks
the cube is already dying i doubt the revolution ( i refuse to call that thing wii ) wil fare any better down the line
al that s keeping nintendo afloat are the hand helds
even that market is becoming crowded with a gba psp and ds all fying for attention

even if nintendo doest die even if apple and nintendo team up if you think this market can support three or four systems you need a check up from the neck up

[MattJeff]

it can support 3 systems fine, the wii is for people who want to just have some simple fun with games, the PS3 is for Hardcore gamers and the 360 is for mainstream/action gamers.

[Rev-O]

Originally Posted by lpkmckenna 

What should Apple be doing that it isn't doing now?

Just a few off the top of my head:
Better communication with Game Developers. Two quick examples 1) A handful of months ago a game dev was waiting for MT OpenGL so they could include it in a game. Then they skipped it because they thought that MT OpenGL was going to come out (other than the MacPro implementation) only with 10.5. Then Apple releases MT OpenGL in 10.4.8, but doesn't advertise it. I kinda takes Blizzard to make this info public. 2) At least a couple established Mac game companies were caught off guard by iPod games. They had been pushing and pitching the concept of iPod games to Apple for awhile, then they got left out in the cold. Not even an SDK release to them in conjuntion with the game releases.
Better OpenGL implementation. MT OpenGL finally (in 10.4.8), but only for Intels. Nice, but a little late to the party (not way late, just a little). Good that we didn't have to wait for 10.5 though.
Better/standardized controller support.
Better support/advertising of games for Macs on Apple's own website. The only mention of games at all on Apple's front page is a small windowed link in the bottom right corner of the page. There is no dedicated tab for gaming.
Better GPUs.
Better (or any) implementation of 5.1 Surround without a PCI card.

When you throw middleware issues into the mix it seems to me that, even with the Intel transition, gaming on the Mac faces an uphill battle. Havok is an issue that is beyond Apple's control that will stop many good games from seeing the light of day on Macs (not all of 'em, just most. AoE III stripped Havok out and replaced it with Aegia, and Blizzard actually ponied up the licensing fee for a future project). I think Apple could be doing a bit more to dispel the widely held belief that gaming on the Mac is a wasteland.

[lpkmckenna]

Originally Posted by bluekatt 

i doubt nintendo wil be around for the next round
their latest console might be flying out of the shops but thats because of the hype its nothing more then a upgraded cube with some gimmicks

I haven't owned a game console since the Atari 2600, but the Wii intrigues me. It looks like it would be a hit at a party or family gathering. Profit-wise, Nintendo appears to be kicking Sony's butt with both the DS and the Wii.

[lpkmckenna]

Originally Posted by Rev-O 

A handful of months ago a game dev was waiting for MT OpenGL so they could include it in a game. Then they skipped it because they thought that MT OpenGL was going to come out (other than the MacPro implementation) only with 10.5.

Got specifics on that? Who was the dev?

Originally Posted by Rev-O 

At least a couple established Mac game companies were caught off guard by iPod games. They had been pushing and pitching the concept of iPod games to Apple for awhile, then they got left out in the cold. Not even an SDK release to them in conjuntion with the game releases.

Apple isn't interested in a wide-open game market for the iPod. They want to avoid a glut of crapware.

Originally Posted by Rev-O 

Better OpenGL implementation.

Apple has been steadily improving OpenGL. They could improve faster, but they have a lot of things that need improvement. (I still remember when I could get the Hellbender licence-plate to read my name in UT2004 after Apple added the needed extension.)

Originally Posted by Rev-O 

Better/standardized controller support.

If you mean "game pads," I hope Apple doesn't waste their time.

I still remember Pangea bitching about Game Sprockets after the move to OS X.

Originally Posted by Rev-O 

Better support/advertising of games for Macs on Apple's own website.

Ok.

Originally Posted by Rev-O 

Better (or any) implementation of 5.1 Surround without a PCI card.

Ok, though I personally couldn't care less.

Originally Posted by Rev-O 

I think Apple could be doing a bit more to dispel the widely held belief that gaming on the Mac is a wasteland.

That would be false advertising.

[Rev-O]

Originally Posted by lpkmckenna 

Got specifics on that? Who was the dev?

An 'Unnamed UK software company'. With a tiny bit of investigation and from posts made by a person associated with a UK software company, it's pretty easy to figure out it was Feral Interactive. The Game in question? Dunno, but maybe Fable. This stuff is readily available, not some insider information I am claiming.

Originally Posted by lpkmckenna 

Apple isn't interested in a wide-open game market for the iPod. They want to avoid a glut of crapware.

Aspyr, long time software porter for Macs and one of the best Mac game companies expressed an interest in iPod games and pitched ideas to Apple only to get left out of the loop. If Apple doesn't include Aspyr, then how the hell will they manage to work with developers to make a successful console? Very short sighted.

Originally Posted by lpkmckenna 

Apple has been steadily improving OpenGL. They could improve faster, but they have a lot of things that need improvement. (I still remember when I could get the Hellbender licence-plate to read my name in UT2004 after Apple added the needed extension.)

Sure they have a lot of things that need improvement, but this discussion is on gaming. Their implementaion of OGL has been a bit slow. Saying that they are focused elsewhere just proves my point.

Originally Posted by lpkmckenna 

If you mean "game pads," I hope Apple doesn't waste their time.

I still remember Pangea bitching about Game Sprockets after the move to OS X.

Just because you do not care about game pads does not mean everyone is not interested in game pads. This is an issue for for a group of Mac gamers and potential switchers as well. This issue has been brought up by a person associated with Garage Games as a serious development issue with Apple.

Originally Posted by lpkmckenna 

Ok.

Yah, the lack of gaming support on Apple's website is depressing.

Originally Posted by lpkmckenna 

Ok, though I personally couldn't care less.

Once again, not a big deal to you, but to a segment of Mac gamers this little bit of information comes as a surprise. Apple doesn't mention that their support of 5.1 sucks. It is very supported on the PC side, and many folks assume that Apple supports it as well. Bzzzt. I don't really care about 5.1 support either, but it was a 100% factor in my choosing a 2.1 speaker system instead of a 5.1 set up.

Originally Posted by lpkmckenna 

That would be false advertising.

Onc again, proves my point. If 'Apple Gaming' is considered to be an oxymoron by those who game, how the hell are they going to launch a console?

Just thinking on the fly here, the only real chance is Apple to work with an existing console maker to include the existing console environment on the iTV (or next generationiTV), that way Apple wouldn't have to do any support work, they would just have to advertise "Play your Brand X games and use your Brand X control jobby on the iTV." Of course this would only really work if the console maker in question sold their consoles at a loss, which would make licensing their environment more attractive, and if the console maker was not working on a media market place that was designed to compete with iTunes (which rules out Micro$oft, I'd imagine), and the console had a similar chip set as the iTV so there wouldn't need to be an emulation layer. But of course, if Apple is thinking long term, say 5 years down the road, maybe this is quite feasible. It is not out of the question that one of the players will withdraw from the console market in the next 5 years, leaving them open for an Apple purchase or alliance. Time will tell

[lpkmckenna]

Originally Posted by Rev-O 

An 'Unnamed UK software company'. With a tiny bit of investigation and from posts made by a person associated with a UK software company, it's pretty easy to figure out it was Feral Interactive.

Uh, if you say so.

Myself, I suspect the iTV will have a couple of built-in games like Breakout and Tetris, which you would play with the Apple Remote. I would expect that the iPod music quiz will be on the iTV as well.

Possibly, the downloadable iPod games will play on the iTV too.

[Rev-O]

Originally Posted by lpkmckenna 

Uh, if you say so.


Myself, I suspect the iTV will have a couple of built-in games like Breakout and Tetris, which you would play with the Apple Remote. I would expect that the iPod music quiz will be on the iTV as well.

Possibly, the downloadable iPod games will play on the iTV too.

To me, that sounds sucktastic. Why include games at all if it going to be lame iPod games? Breakout on a TV was riveting 30 years ago.

[wake266]

almost everyone has a pc, apple has to get more macs out there(although they report increased laptop sales), before they start to think about games. ask any mac gamer and they will tell you about, with a sigh, the 3 games that are worth playing or how they installed windows just to play games. It wouldn't work because alot of people just dont get macs.