Apple - the future of video gaming?

[greenberet79]

Nemesis has this exactly right. Apple is not in the loss-leader game. All of its hardware units are profitable, .

Makes you think - if Nintendo/Sony/Microsoft didn't have loss-leading consoles then how much would would a WiiU/PS3/360 actually cost off the shelf??

[theantmeister]

Nemesis has this exactly right. Apple is not in the loss-leader game. All of its hardware units are profitable, .

Makes you think - if Nintendo/Sony/Microsoft didn't have loss-leading consoles then how much would would a WiiU/PS3/360 actually cost off the shelf??

I didn't think Nintendo made a loss on its hardware?

[crusto]

I see from page 110 in this month's RG that the current issue of gamesTM has as its cover story an article titled,

"The truth about Valve's secret Steam console
plus
The race with Apple for games industry dominance".

Anyone here read the article concerned and if so what was the gist?

Im on the lookout for said issue as the cover page piqued my interest. I cant find it locally, which is strange tbh as its normally always around. But I'll be buggered if im going to town to pick it up

[Matt_B]

Nemesis has this exactly right. Apple is not in the loss-leader game. All of its hardware units are profitable, .

Makes you think - if Nintendo/Sony/Microsoft didn't have loss-leading consoles then how much would would a WiiU/PS3/360 actually cost off the shelf??

I didn't think Nintendo made a loss on its hardware?

Nintendo are taking a loss on the 3DS. Most of the time they've been turning a marginal profit on their console sales though.

[DreamcastRIP]

I see from page 110 in this month's RG that the current issue of gamesTM has as its cover story an article titled,

"The truth about Valve's secret Steam console
plus
The race with Apple for games industry dominance".

Anyone here read the article concerned and if so what was the gist?

Im on the lookout for said issue as the cover page piqued my interest. I cant find it locally, which is strange tbh as its normally always around. But I'll be buggered if im going to town to pick it up

Cheers for the on topic reply, crusto.

If no response to my query is forthcoming I may pop down WHSmiths for a read. I won't be buying gamesTM though because, well, just because!

[Matt_B]

Whatever the article may be about, I'd think that you could bet your shirt on it not containing any information of substance that isn't readily available on the internet.

The Steam console rumours are certainly months old and fairly widely discussed.

[DreamcastRIP]

Whatever the article may be about, I'd think that you could bet your shirt on it not containing any information of substance that isn't readily available on the internet.

The Steam console rumours are certainly months old and fairly widely discussed.

You're most probably correct on that one.

I was more interested to hear of the mag's take on how it perceives Apple to be aiming for "games industry dominance"... which of course is broadly in tune with what this thread is supposed to be about. Hence why I highlighted that part of the title in bold.

[DreamcastRIP]

I've since read the aforementioned article. Two pages of saying pretty much nothing. Just a sensationalist cover story to attract attention. Pity.

[crusto]

I've since read the aforementioned article. Two pages of saying pretty much nothing. Just a sensationalist cover story to attract attention. Pity.

Cheers DC, you just saved me a bluey

[DreamcastRIP]

'Valve's Gabe Newell says Apple is biggest threat in future of living room gaming' -

The biggest challenge, I don't think is from the consoles. I think the biggest challenge is that Apple moves on the living room before the PC industry sort of gets its act together. I think that there's a scenario where we see sort of a dumbed down living room platform emerging — I think Apple rolls the console guys really easily. The question is can we make enough progress in the PC space to establish ourselves there, and also figure out better ways of addressing mobile before Apple takes over the living room?

Source: http://appleinsider.com/articles/13/01/ ... oom-gaming

With Wii U seemingly breaking sales records for all the wrong reasons, PS4 looking decidely uninspiring at its reveal that wasn't, all the negativity surrounding Microsoft's supposed intentions for next Xbox and Steambox perhaps not being the saviour some would like it to be perhaps it could be argued that the door is now wide open for Apple to step up to the plate and dominate videogaming in the living room too. Interesting times...

[Misery]

'Valve's Gabe Newell says Apple is biggest threat in future of living room gaming' -

The biggest challenge, I don't think is from the consoles. I think the biggest challenge is that Apple moves on the living room before the PC industry sort of gets its act together. I think that there's a scenario where we see sort of a dumbed down living room platform emerging — I think Apple rolls the console guys really easily. The question is can we make enough progress in the PC space to establish ourselves there, and also figure out better ways of addressing mobile before Apple takes over the living room?

Source: http://appleinsider.com/articles/13/01/ ... oom-gaming

With Wii U seemingly breaking sales records for all the wrong reasons, PS4 looking decidely uninspiring at its reveal that wasn't, all the negativity surrounding Microsoft's supposed intentions for next Xbox and Steambox perhaps not being the saviour some would like it to be perhaps it could be argued that the door is now wide open for Apple to step up to the plate and dominate videogaming in the living room too. Interesting times...

I'd certainly like to see THAT one happen. I always rail against Nintendo, but in the last year or so the other two have become more and more.... well, total crap to me as well. I have them now only to play import shmups.... nothing more. Utterly worthless otherwise. But I've gotten LOTS of gaming goodness out of the iOS.

However.... if Apple were to do something more "console-like", I have to wonder if the experience and the quality would be anywhere near what iOS is. The closer they are to being a true console with any device of theirs, the further towards that type of game selection they might get. One reason why iOS gaming works out so well (for those that can understand that there IS more on it than Angry Birds and casual games) is the sheer VARIETY of games on it, as well as the creativity of many of them. They're not drowning in brown FPS games there. A console from them though, attracting any larger publishers/developers might start trending towards that instead. Which, to me, is not a good thing.

[CraigGrannell]

I suspect people are misunderstanding the future and also Apple in thinking the company would ever bother creating a console. It's just not going to happen. Even pushing the Apple TV more towards gaming via the TV seems something that Apple is not remotely interested in. Right now, the Apple TV could be a perfectly good conduit to get iOS games on to the TV; in reality, it's a lottery, too often a laggy mess, regardless of the kit you use. AirPlay is, clearly, primarily for music and occasionally video. That's all Apple really cares about in that field.

The thing is, the danger isn't in Apple muscling in and reworking the Apple TV or creating new hardware—the danger is in existing hardware (and not only from Apple, but also Android-based systems) becoming increasingly compelling. I look around and see that the television—this centrepiece of a room—is becoming less and less relevant. People increasingly use the so-called 'second screen', to the point that it's becoming the first. That second screen has access to more than the television could ever hope for, and it increasingly has the dev investment, clout and power to provide truly compelling gaming experiences.

Already, I'd say Apple and others have torpedoed the handheld space. Kids are increasingly armed with iPhones, iPods, Samsung devices, and so on, rather than a DS or Vita. Gaming systems of the traditional type are set to become increasingly marginalised unless they can compete in spaces beyond traditional gaming. (Personally, I won't be surprised to see the Vita's successor be an Android device with the PlayStation brand in some form. I also imagine Nintendo has one more throw of the dice before it's another Sega.) In the living room, the battle's already lost too, for the most part—it's just that the various players don't realise it yet. That doesn't mean the PS4 and Microsoft's next console will fail—but they'll have a rough time in breaking out of any kind of niche, while tablets and smartphones will increasingly eat into people's time, and gradually have more gamers realise they don't really need a dedicated console.

[zapiy]

I dont see tablets or smart phones doing as you mentioned anytime soon. The new PS4 and i am certain the new Xbox will give people more than enough social media elements. The gaming on those devices simply can not compete with a dedicated console.. Gaming for the most part is about online gaming these days, until tablets and smartphones can do that and do it well i dont see it happening for at least 10 years.

[CraigGrannell]

But it's already happening. Revenues on iOS/Android have outstripped other handhelds; second screens are taking over from the first. Most people I know with kids say they're wedded to touchscreen devices, not traditional consoles. There will of course remain a market for the PlayStations and Xboxes of this world, but it's not something that's going to explode into the everyday—it'll remain a relative niche.

[Misery]

I dont see tablets or smart phones doing as you mentioned anytime soon. The new PS4 and i am certain the new Xbox will give people more than enough social media elements. The gaming on those devices simply can not compete with a dedicated console.. Gaming for the most part is about online gaming these days, until tablets and smartphones can do that and do it well i dont see it happening for at least 10 years.

I'd actually spend some time with one before saying that sort of thing.

And I mean playing games that arent just Angry Birds and similar things.

One reason why I've been so constantly praising these things left and right is because for me, these devices already HAVE utterly eclipsed the consoles in terms of the quality of the games that I get from them. The consoles, to me, are already dead. It's very likely that I wont buy any of the next 3, because they have nothing I want. But the iOS devices..... I've found many amazing games on these. And note, I mean games with depth and challenge (with rare exceptions). I cant stand easy games, and I'm not too much of a fan of things that are too simple, and on top of that, my idea of a challenge is very warped compared to that of most gamers. Mushihime-sama on Ultra is a "challenge" to me, for example. The games I pick up on iOS though, give me everything I want, and almost every major genre (aside from FPS!) is very well represented there.

As for online gaming? Oh, dont get me wrong. It's important to some players. But it sure as heck aint important to all of them. ....also you CAN play online in alot of these, but again, I'm thinking of many games that ARENT Angry Birds and similar "casual" titles. I personally though am not interested whatsoever in online gaming with these, beyond scoreboards, which I DO want (and fortunately, most score-based games have them, as they should). When I want online gaming, I use the PC *only*. Consoles have never been able to provide me with a good enough online experience, not compared to the PC. It's not even a close comparison.


The ONE and only problem I have with iOS gaming is the incorrect impressions people get about it, and the central reason why they get these impressions is games like the casual set. Dont get me wrong: Angry Birds is a pretty good game, actually. So are many "casual" titles. But that sort of game is just outright SHOVED in your face SO many times that if you're not REALLY familiar with these devices, you may think that those sorts are all that's on there. Part of this is that the App Store is utterly horrid, of course. I can guarantee you that a gamer new to these absolutely will not know that 95% of the games on the things even EXIST. Research is necessary to find most of them. I've got 200+ games on mine, and of those, maybe 6 or 7 are "casual" titles.... the rest are the same sorts of games that I often used to buy on consoles (and that I definitely still do buy on PC as well). But I found hardly any of those via the main shop's terrible interface. I learned about them from specific sites and forums, and some of them are VERY obscure (again, mostly thanks to the App Store). The lack of knowledge of most of these is the very reason why it took me so long to buy into the iOS devices in the first place.... and then of course, I dig deep into it, and immediately wonder why I hadnt bought the thing much earlier, because I'm finding so much good stuff on it.