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Apple to release video game system?
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It may be a few years, but this might be inevitable.
Well, it might, if you believe Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemont’s prediction during a conference reporting the company’s financial haul during their fiscal year. According to Kotaku, he predicted that Apple is going to be making a foray into the gaming world beyond the scope of the game applications that are currently out and being developed for the iPhone. The iPhone already boasts an array of highly successful games that have transformed the handheld into something of a poor man’s Nintendo DS. That of course, is not disparaging the iPhone in anyway because first and foremost, it’s a cell phone and the fact that it can even be mentioned in the same breath as Nintendo’s product is nothing short of amazing. In terms of quality, the DS games blow the iPhone out of the water. But how about fan base wise? Guillemont’s prediction is starting to make a lot more sense. The sheer volume of iPhone users, coupled with the popularity of their gaming applications would make any company look into potentially creating some sort of strictly-for-gaming product. However, the leap into this genre would not exactly mirror Microsoft’s jump into the gaming world back in 2001. The gaming industry, according to Guillemont, is entering a new day and age, one that is moving away from the boxy type consoles we all grew up with and into an era of set-top boxes (the inclusion of TV into the gaming experience is a big part of this), which, may begin with the release of the OnLive this year. Apple will probably have a close eye on it to see how well it does, if it ever gets released. Now if they do indeed make the decision to come out with some sort of gaming hardware, it’s pretty hard not to think that a ton of developers would be jumping on board because of the company’s popularity. There are however, some major roadblocks that might make Apple take the high road and not live up to Guillemont’s prediction. First of all, the video game industry is fiercely competitive and already populated with three very unique consoles. If the set-top box is the way of the future, it probably will be awhile before it can dethrone the Xbox 360 (with Netflix and Marketplace) the Playstation 3 (with the undeniably awesome Blu-ray player) or the Wii (Nintendo, ‘nuff said). You also have to imagine that Microsoft, Nintendo and Sony are probably already at work brainstorming or tinkering with successors to both. What kind of format they will come in is anyone’s guess, but again, if you agree with Guillemont (and me), the future looks brighter for games being streamed to your house rather than in CD format. Another problem is that Apple doesn’t have that big of a reason to put themselves this far out there. The iPhone is immensely popular, the iTouch has become another successful entrant into the world of portable music and their application business is thriving. So does it really make sense to funnel a ton of money into uncharted waters when the possibilities for the iPhone and the iTouch have really yet to be maximized? But if you believe the guy whose company just pulled in over one billion dollars in revenue last year, it is inevitable. What do you think?
For more info: Contact Adam: admillios@gmail.com
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