Those of us who were expecting Apple to announce an iVideoGameConsole at this year’s E3, or within the year, should brace themselves as the electronics giant has denied all such reports.
There can be no denying the fact that Apple has become a major player in the interactive entertainment industry. Although, its products lack the depth and extensive control schemes of its more mainstream console counterparts, it does provide a similar, if not deeper, sense of immersion.
Titles such as Doodle Jump, Fruit Ninja, Angry Birds and Cut the Rope have been downloaded hundreds of thousands of times and although aimed more towards the casual gamer market, there are titles catering to the more hardcore demographic.
Infinity Blade, Dead Space and Max Payne’s success on the iPad show that gamers are willing to accept hardcore entries on what is predominantly a casual gamers market. Other studios have also taken notice of this trend and are planning to release iOS versions of their million dollar franchises.
In fact, the iPhone and iPad both provide real competition for Sony and Nintendo’s portable gaming consoles, the PlayStation Vita and the Nintendo 3DS respectively; a fact that the CEO of Apple Tim Cook does not deny.
He said, "I view that we are in gaming now in a fairly big way. One of the reasons people buy an iPod touch is gaming. Some buy it for music. I realize that is not the big screen you are talking about. Gaming has kind of evolved a bit. More people play on portable devices. Where we might go in the future, we'll see. Customers love games.”
Cook went on to state that the company was not pursuing the traditional approach to gaming and did not have any plans to make a console for video games but rather focused on growing and building on what it has already started in the portable gaming market.
"I'm not interested in being in the console business in what is thought of as traditional gaming," he added. "But Apple is a big player today, and things in the future will only make that bigger."
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