Should Apple get into the console gaming market?

[Baloo]

I couldn't agree with you more! People bought into all of the hype surrounding the Wii just because it has motion sensing, big fucking deal! Top quality games are very scarce and like you mentioned they release these fucking gay accessories that these morons go out and buy and Nintendo and other companies don't even support them...so people spend good $$ on an accessory they get like 2 weeks use out of.

The Wii is the new NES. Crappy accessories that are barely supported by Nintendo, and a shitload of crappy 3rd party titles.

Zapper, Power Pad, ROB. Hmmm...Wii Zapper, Balance Board, Wii Wheel...well what do you know? They're doing the exact same marketing strategy! Who would have thought?

But, like the NES, everyone still fucking loves the Wii, including myself. It's absolutely amazing how Nintendo does this. I congratulate you Nintendo, you have successfully regained the throne at the top of the video game world.

By doing the exact same thing you did 20 years ago.

*Golf Clap*

[Steve W]

No way. Apple is clueless when it comes to gaming, and I don't think it's ever been much of a priority to them. They should do what they can to facilitate third-party development for games on their mobile devices, like on the iphone where games are starting to show as a pretty significant market - but does that mean they also ought to completely shift their main priorities and take a shot at some sort of home console with first-party titles? Absolutely not.

Actually, it would be good for them. Developing on the iPod/iPhone is like a gateway. "Hey, look how easy it is to develop for our little handheld even for a bedroom coder, now take a shot at a machine with a lot more power. And don't worry about piracy like other consoles have to, since we're going to do games as download only through our secure network, not like physical media that can be easily duplicated." There's a lot of developers who would jump on that. And it wouldn't be a game console exactly. Like the fact that the iPhone isn't a gaming device. It would be an HD recorder/streamer that would also be able to play games. Look how fast software houses jumped on the iPhone development bandwagon. One billion downloads in under a year. If they could get people to do the same with a set-top box like the Apple TV, they'd have a killer machine on their hands.

[Baloo]

Actually, it would be good for them. Developing on the iPod/iPhone is like a gateway. "Hey, look how easy it is to develop for our little handheld even for a bedroom coder, now take a shot at a machine with a lot more power. And don't worry about piracy like other consoles have to, since we're going to do games as download only through our secure network, not like physical media that can be easily duplicated." There's a lot of developers who would jump on that. And it wouldn't be a game console exactly. Like the fact that the iPhone isn't a gaming device. It would be an HD recorder/streamer that would also be able to play games. Look how fast software houses jumped on the iPhone development bandwagon. One billion downloads in under a year. If they could get people to do the same with a set-top box like the Apple TV, they'd have a killer machine on their hands.

I don't like the idea of having my video games in a non-physical form. It just turns me off in the fact that something could go horribly wrong or it would be a lot easier to pirate and hack systems and stuff.

[sniperCCJVQ]

I don't think they will, as the Touch by itself is their "gaming" portable system and alot of game are available. Games they don't even need to do internally and done by other, so they cash their % everytime someone is buying it through the Apple Store. Usually is simple game to past time in buses and such...so simple things enough to kill some time.

Apple pretty much clueless for gaming anyway. Years ago, the Pippin was a failure the day it was born and 99% of the games for computer are release on the PC mostly because of the graphic card market.

So for me, it will stay at it is, nothing more.

[monkeychemist]

You guys are so instant that Apple doesn't know anything about gaming. Well, let's look a SEGA or Atari that knew plenty about gaming and made mistakes with their consoles. Sony didn't know much about gaming at first, yet they put out a nice PS1 system and won the market over for 2 generations (of consoles).

I think if Apple want to come up with a new console and make it rugged with plenty of exclusives they have a good chance. The one problem is that although Apple has always made quality products (way above the windows world crap) but they have always been expensive. If I could make a silly analogy it would be like having to buy a Wii at the price of the PS3. I just don't see that working well.

In that same idea, I think that Apple would be more of a contender against Nintendo as they are both innovative/fad types of companies. Then we would have Nintendo vs Apple side by side with Sony vs Microsoft. That would be interesting and the 4 console competition may force companies to make better and better exclusive games.

[duffmanth]

Yeah but at least the NES had a good variety of games that appealed to a wide audience, as did the SNES. The Wii is all about quantity over quality. Nintendo will give licensing rights to anyone now that has a half ass idea for a new game. The Wii is just the N64 and the Cube all over again, except with motion sensing and a bunch of useless accessories and the same shit games.

Getting back to some comments about Apple in this thread, I would gladly and have paid the extra $$ over the years for Apple computers. There's a reason they're more expensive. Myself and sooooo many people I know have switched from Windows machines to Macs over the years simply because they got tired of constant viruses, pop-up ads, having to always update or buy the latest anti-virus software, machines freezing up and on and on. I would gladly spend an extra few hundred $$ on a 15" Macbook Pro than a 17" Windows laptop any day!

[chrisbid]

Blind company loyalty and hate FOR THE BLOCK!!

[Steve W]

Getting back to some comments about Apple in this thread, I would gladly and have paid the extra $$ over the years for Apple computers. There's a reason they're more expensive. Myself and sooooo many people I know have switched from Windows machines to Macs over the years simply because they got tired of constant viruses, pop-up ads, having to always update or buy the latest anti-virus software, machines freezing up and on and on. I would gladly spend an extra few hundred $$ on a 15" Macbook Pro than a 17" Windows laptop any day!

How about hard drive failures? I hear PC people talk about drives dying on them all the time, but I've never experienced it. I don't recall any other Mac person I know of having an HD go out. I've had screw-ups that have made me have to erase my drive and start over again, but it wasn't due to the components in the machine itself. Apple tends to buy higher quality components. They want people to be loyal, so they don't cheap out when it comes to hardware. And because of that, people have built up unrealistic expectations about Apple computers. After the G4 Cube came out a few owners noticed slight cracking in the edges of the lucite plastic and filed a class action lawsuit. There's no chance in hell that would happen with a Dell machine. Dell owners wouldn't care, all they give a damn about is how cheap they could get it. Apple owners are so used to the highest quality gear that if they put cheap hard drives into the new iMacs they'd get a shitstorm of lawsuits by babies whining about losing their important data.

[duffmanth]

Speaking of Dell, my buddy and his bro bought a Dell desktop PC about 5 years ago and paid around $2500 for it, from day one the thing was constantly fucking up on them. Always locking up, pop-up ads galore even with the blocker on, having to upgrade their virus protection almost on a weekly basis and so on. They finally got so pissed off with it, they just drove to the dump and threw it out and both got Macbooks.

[theChad]

Since anecdotes always make for the best arguments, I'll add that the PC I built 5 years ago has served me well over that time, up to and including making this post. I can't say I hate Macs entirely, as I have a 1986 Macintosh Plus 1MB which has given me only minor hassle through the years, but the Macs on campus sure are a bitch to operate smoothly.

[grolt]

Since anecdotes always make for the best arguments,

Yeah, totally. If Mac users would spend half the time they do whining about Windows or boasting about new Apps and more time just understanding the principals of how a computer is made, they'd find they could build a far better computer themselves at a fraction of the cost. They'd probably also learn that "pop-ups" are platform agnostic, or that as long as you're not a fucking moron opening .exe files from random emails you don't need AntiVirus software. Be ignorant, but at least have the courtesy to be quiet.

The iPhone is certainly carving a nice niche in the casual gaming market, I wouldn't be surprised if a successor were even more game friendly in the future. I don' think Apple needs to make an all out gaming system - if you look now consoles are becoming more and more integrated devices anyway, with the capability to go online, play movies, etc., and I imagine Apple will continue to evolve their products in that mold. Look at how well the Game Boy or the Wii have sold on inferior technology. Apple's doing just fine where it's at right now.

[RPG_Fanatic]

Why people feel compelled to defend Apple I'll never understand.

I use Windows Vista and a Zune. People can bitch about Microsoft all day and night and I couldn't care less.

Why people feel compelled to defend Microsoft I'll never understand.

I use Apple's Leopard and a Ipod. People can bitch about Apple all day and night and I couldn't care less.

[CosmicMonkey]

Yeah, totally. If Mac users would spend half the time they do whining about Windows or boasting about new Apps and more time just understanding the principals of how a computer is made, they'd find they could build a far better computer themselves at a fraction of the cost.

Ahahahhaha hahahah haa... oh, my lungs have just collapsed.

No, Windows users spend their time whining about Windows every time it crashes or does something stupid. On a daily basis. OS X runs flawlessly and I've never had a single problem with any Apple product. I have more important things to do than whine about a broken OS.

I've seen ugly little mini PCs with about the same spec as a Mac Mini at twice the price. And yeah, you can try to build a PC with comparable workstation-class components (Xeon CPUs, not i7 desktops) as a Mac Pro for less. You'll fail miserably and it still won't be anywhere near as well constructed as a Pro. Ever.

Windows users. lol

[Graham Mitchell]

Wow, this is getting ugly. When did this become a Mac vs. PC thread?

[Jorpho]

durr linix should release a consul

/thread

[TheDomesticInstitution]

durr linix should release a consul

/thread

durserves its on thread

[Berserker]

durr linix should release a consul

/thread

Will it use Open Schematic Hardware?

[monkeychemist]

Wow, this is getting ugly. When did this become a Mac vs. PC thread?

I think that happened when anti-mac people started going off topic whining about how their PCs are better.

[icbrkr]

How about hard drive failures? I hear PC people talk about drives dying on them all the time, but I've never experienced it. I don't recall any other Mac person I know of having an HD go out.

*raises hand*. As much as of a Mac-lover than I am, a hard drive is a hard drive regardless if it's in a PC or a Mac (or a Linux box, or a x360, etc). It's not a matter of if it'll die, it's a matter of when. I've lost lots of drives on all sorts of systems. I've lost 'expensive' drives, 'cheap' drives, drives that were faster than others, etc. I'm sure there will be people that argue one brand over another (even myself), but for the most part, they're all roughly the same.

Nothing better than firing up your HD based system to hear the dreaded 'click' one morning....

[kedawa]

I've owned several Apple computers. They had fuck all for games and were nothing special as far as computers go.
I really don't see what they could possibly bring to the console market, aside from smug marketing and the world's most irritating fanboys.