Apple Needs a Game Division
Contrary to the rumors, I don’t think Apple is likely to create a “gaming system” anytime soon. However, that doesn’t mean that they shouldn’t actively be creating games for their current devices. I have always felt that Apple did its customers a disservice by not offering more games for the iPod (and later iPhone) lines. Consumers have clearly shown that they are willing to pay to download games to their cellphones, so why not tap into that potential?
Before you start getting a little nit-picky with me, let me say that I realize that Apple sells games for the iPod and iPhone. My problem with them is that the selection is quite limited. Of course, this would be fixed with the release of a development kit, but who knows when that will be released? Clearly there is a demand for on-the-go gaming, so it is up to Apple to provide that service since they have prevented 3rd party developers from filling that niche. And this brings me back to my point of Apple needing its own game division.
I think that as Apple moves further into the home entertainment space they will realize this, and eventually either create their own or swallow up some small development company. Follow my logic on this and tell me if you don’t agree.
Point 1: The iPod/iPhone business is only going to increase in value and market penetration.
Point 2: Apple will ruthlessly push Apple TV to get it into as many homes as possible (expect more price cuts!).
Point 3: Gaming is a billion dollar industry that won’t be slowing down anytime soon.
Point 4: All of these devices from Apple would be perfect for playing games.
Conclusion: Apple needs a gaming division.
Of course when I say that Apple needs to create a gaming division, I don’t mean that they should try and create something that would directly compete with Valve or Ubisoft. They shouldn’t be trying to create the next Halo or Final Fantasy (what are they up to now, 25?). Instead, a more productive approach would be to focus on creating novel games that can be easily enjoyed on a handheld, like the iPhone. Then, only after they have churned out plenty of games for their handheld market, they should look to creating games for Apple TV. Once again, nothing too complex, just something fun that can be played with that tiny remote. Of course, one can then expect the remote to increase in size and functionality as time goes on, but that is neither here nor there at the moment.
I think that as time goes on Apple will look at this untapped market and realize that selling lots of games for their devices would be an easy way to increase profits with very little risk. So, look for this to happen one day soon. The opportunity is there, and it is just too good to pass up.
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Apple sells games for the iPhone? Where?!?
You wrote:
“Before you start getting a little nit-picky with me, let me say that I realize that Apple sells games for the iPod and iPhone.”
Count me in on the picking of nits. As leesmith asks; Where are these games Apple sells for the iPhone?
You also wrote:
“Of course, this would be fixed with the release of a development kit, but who knows when that will be released? “
My indepth research indicates an SDK released in February. I think you can relax as this same research also points to numerous developers chomping at the bit to write games for the Touch and iPhone. Perhaps they read your article and realized they should be tapping in to the billion dollar gaming industry eh?
Point 1: The iPod/iPhone business is only going to increase in value and market penetration.
Add the ÓTV in the mix and I definitely agree with you. Remember what Steve said during the Macworld 2006 for the reason going Intel - there are more up his sleeve for the growing Mac faithful and going Intel’s roadmap (and not a bad move from my viewpoint) was and will be the catalyst for this strategy.
Point 2: Apple will ruthlessly push Apple TV to get it into as many homes as possible (expect more price cuts!).
The Take Two revision is a move in the right direction but not the last. Although its MSRP may need to come down to ~$179-199 to sell-through at much faster rate, what will sell this device is what appealing content does it offer? Movies? Everyone’s got movies - Netflix, Blockbusters, Amazon, to name a few. What will sell ÓTV is what it will offer that the others won’t - iTunes, VoIP (a.k.a. Skype) capability, free internet multimedia content. All that without paying monthly bills to your local cable/telco.
Point 3: Gaming is a billion dollar industry that won’t be slowing down anytime soon.
Sure, but gaming industry is Windows-centric. Mac gaming is but a derivative of those. The Mac may someday equal shipment numbers with Windows but that is not the goal of Apple. Even when the Mac is ~10-20% share of global PC shipment, the folks at Apple will be bathing in billion$$ of free cashflow - much, much more than our friend M$FT.
Point 4: All of these devices from Apple would be perfect for playing games.
I definitely agree that current and previous generation (G5 on) hardware are fully capable of being a “perfect” gaming rig. But when kiddies can coble up $200 worth of generic PC hardware to make a gaming platform - I don’t know what to tell ya.
Conclusion: Apple needs a gaming division.
So, I have to disagree with your conclusion that Apple needs a games division. Look what happened to Bungie while in M$FT’s care. Sure, Halo thrived but Halo was conceived while Bungie was independently creative (hint: Marathon on the Mac?).
Gaming on the Mac can be left to the experts - the independent Mac developers. Apple can also seed this budding market by incentives, co-marketing, and overall offer a substantially better platform for gaming on the Mac’s sake.
Another, Apple will always be a hardware-focused entity with brilliant software engineers to polish that strategy. That is magnificently working - the iPhone UI and Multitouch is one of the many examples recently.
So, what Apple need then is to strengthen this focus even more. The creation of the iPod division was the first step. The next division should oversee the whole consumer electronics (CE) efforts, including the iPod division.