Ubisoft: Apple's the New Player in Video Games

[cruiseoveride]

More games for Apple = More games in OpenGL = More games hackable to run on Linux. ie +1

 

[Guest]

Apple should obviously release a gaming console from a business standpoint. Plenty of people will simply buy it because Apple makes it, meaning Apple can sidestep one of the biggest issues people tend to have with consoles; The games. Apple won't need any games to succeed.

That said, assuming the same people who are in-charge of the rest of Apple would be in-charge of their might-be-console division, it won't be something I'd be interested in.

 

[Kami3k]

Apple a player in gaming? ROFL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Kami3k]

[citation][nom]dante01010[/nom]Mac OS X was never intended for gaming and it's still faster in some open gl games than windows[/citation]

Who cares? How about directX games, oh wait Mac's can't run them. pwned.

 

[ricardok]

[citation][nom]kami3k[/nom]Who cares? How about directX games, oh wait Mac's can't run them. pwned.[/citation]
Do Mac's have 3D graphic cards or "3D capable" only? Oh, yes, 3D Capable.

Anyway, I still think that Apple could pull something in the likes of Zeebo/Wii but not something like XBox360/PS3.. That requires a knowledge of the market that they don't have.. But again, I could be wrong. (I hope not)

 

[stridervm]

Technically Apple did create a console before.... With help from Bandai...... Didn't work out well though.

http/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_Pippin

 

[deltatux]

Thing is is that people underestimate Apple. I can see big things for Apple. Looking at the ubiquity of the iPod and the surgence of the iPhone and iPod Touch it make sense to double it as a video game player. This is something that Sony and Microsoft will have a hard time to grasp. Apple has already established a strong iPod brand and to add gaming to it is just a great business opportunity.

Sure, MacOS X isn't popular as a gaming platform, and the market share pie charts shows that. However, if you account the fact that there are a lot of MacOS X software programmers out there and the fact that all the subsystems are based on open standards like OpenGL, OpenAL and soon OpenCL, it makes it an easy platform for developers to push onto these systems since the iPhone OS is a cutdown version of MacOS X which is just UNIX with Apple addons and the outreach of UNIX in the industry is a lot more than most of you realize. These market share pie charts also shows that most portable media devices in the world are iPods. Apple has the same position as Microsoft has on the portable device market. So those who mock Apple's position should make a mockery of Microsoft for Windows. I believe having Apple in the gaming market would have an interesting alteration of how the market will be for gamers.

If any gamers have worked with Linux and Macs, they would see the true power of OpenGL ... portability. If developers uses OpenGL, the same game can be easily ported to other platforms. Most games that are ported to the Mac or to Linux ... it can be easily ported to either platforms or to Windows if it came from Linux (and there are games that happen to do that).

So before anyone discount companies entering a market because they have little to no background in a certain industry, don't go mocking because your beloved Microsoft has done it. Heck, I own the XBOX 360 and was stunned when they released the XBOX. Once I got one, I liked it better than the Playstation. Apple has the portable market and the iPhones actually have the capability to be a portable gaming console, more so than the PSP.

 

[matt87_50]

I wonder if apple would release the SDK for pc, or make you buy macs? (like they do with the iphone)
and anyone who disses apple or anyone for that matter because they can't run DirectX can STFU! cause you are just like an apple fan boy! DirectX is awesome cause only microsoft uses it for things they create them selves, where as openGL is designed to work as an interface to any 3d device, pc Video cards, to the little video cards in phones it has to be alot more flexible (can directX use fixedpoint?). so saying directX is awesome and openGL is crap is like saying Mac OSX is awesome and stable and windows is crap and unstable - because windows has to work with all hardware - not just the hardware selected by the company that makes the OS (btw, as a dev, i hate openGL, but I understand why it is bad)

 

[deltatux]

Apple has the same position as Microsoft has on the personal computer*

*made a typo on my post above.

 

[joshwood123]

[citation][nom]deltatux[/nom]Apple has the same position as Microsoft has on the personal computer**made a typo on my post above.[/citation]

huh? how can u say that? PCs that run windows (MADE BY MICROSOFT) are close to 90-high 80% of the computer market! APPLE is crap in a nice white, aluminum case.
if apple makes a console, it will be slow, have no games, look nice, and "never crash" and cost 2X more than something 10X better

 

[jerreece]

[citation][nom]The Schnoz[/nom]I'm sorry, but you're not a player until you have a first party game department and a must have title. iPhone has neither of these. Where's iPhone's Halo, GTA, or Mario? I didn't think so. Although the iPhone has many units sold most of these are to use the device as a phone or status symbol, not a gaming system. Although the iPhone is pretty powerful I have yet to see any game on it that rivals those on my PSP. Also the PSP 2 is rumored to be out soon (which will undoubtably be more powerful than the iPhone), the Zune HD (ditto), as well as the DS(i) which is the least powerful handheld, yet the top selling of all time, whatever that is worth. I'm not saying the iPhone is anything to write off, but I don't think it's proven itself for gaming yet.[/citation]

Don't forget that the iPhone is currently only available to AT&T Gamers...

 

[HVDynamo]

[citation][nom]joshwood123[/nom]huh? how can u say that? PCs that run windows (MADE BY MICROSOFT) are close to 90-high 80% of the computer market! APPLE is crap in a nice white, aluminum case. if apple makes a console, it will be slow, have no games, look nice, and "never crash" and cost 2X more than something 10X better[/citation]

So what if windows has that large of a market share in PC's that doesn't mean apple is crap, and certainly not slow, in fact, for a great many things I prefer using a mac because it works well. I like the OS X interface better than windows, granted it doesn't play games and do everything I like, but thats why I have a windows based gaming machine. Can we all please get past this my **** is bigger than yours crap, they both server their purpose. I use both platforms for their strengths and will likely use both platforms the rest of my life. Apple may not have what you like, but they aren't stupid, they are a profitable company, and if you think they are going to enter the market with something as terrible as many of you claim it will be is just simply ridiculous.

 

[anamaniac]

[citation][nom]Sicundercover[/nom]since many "Apple Gamers" (wow that sounds even funnier out load) tend to lean more towards the Wii, it looks as if Apple is forced to compete directly with Nintendo.[/citation]

Good point.
Maybe the extra competition would drive Nintendo prices down. The Wii is the cheapest console to produce while still being more expensive than the XBOX 360.

I am a Microsoft fanboy to the core, but I'm still happy to see this.
The consumer benefits greatly from competition.


Maybe Toms should attempt to get an official statement from Apple.

 

[doomtomb]

Apple sucks

 

[neiroatopelcc]

Apple and video games? lol!
Imagine replacing your dull black playstation 3 with a glossy white box with a huge glowing, also white, apple logo on it. Powering it up, and finding yourself looking at a bling bling toy that provides graphics equal to the gray nintendo of old. That's what an apple console would be like.
Or what about an apple video game? that'd be like ... I don't know - something with just sub crysis graphics, but running in slideshow mode and with all gameplay taken out to not distract from the looks. Custom tailored for the typical apple customer.

 

[ThePatriot]

It is obvious that most ppl here have a very short and most of all a selective memory. The cynicism here when Apple introduced the ipod, iphone, and Nintendo introduced their Wii, was more than abundant.
Yet, all these products have been huge commercial successes.

Unbelievable.

 

[ThePatriot]

It is obvious that most ppl here have a very short and most of all a selective memory. The cynicism here when Apple introduced the ipod, iphone, and Nintendo introduced their Wii, was more than abundant.
Yet, all these products have been huge commercial successes.

Sony still loses $$ on every PS3 sale, Zune zucked big time(like most M$ products).

Unbelievable.

 

[Powersworder]

It will be hilarious watching Apple release another turkey like the pippin.

 

[randomizer]

Apple have a marketing machine that walks all over the competition. This will sell even if it sucks.

 

[Guest]

Wow, an apple gaming console. Fancy white/aluminium design. Price: only 1299 USD. The best is that each year at least 2 games are being developed for this beast

But seriously... apple could try to grap a piece of the casual gamer market currently owned by Nintendo and the WII. They certainly have the brainpower in their departments to come up with an even cooler way of input than the WII