NeoGAF

alexandros · (05-31-2012, 06:10 AM)

In the future I only see two platforms: Apple TV for the casual audience, Gabe Newell's open hardware platform (Steambox) and PC for the hardcore.

Here's how it's going to play out: Apple releases its iTV which comes bundled with an Apple TV set-top box. It has full access to the App store and iOS games. Casuals love it, they buy tons of cheap-as-chips games, they see no need for more gaming hardware. The set-top box is updated annually, it costs 99$ and each model is twice as powerful as the last. Third parties support Apple en masse. Next-gen consoles fail commercially, putting enormous pressure on all three major companies.

Then, Gabe Newell makes his move. He unveils an open hardware platform, "the one console" that is available to anyone for manufacture. Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo give up on hardware manufacturing and now compete on a service level.

AdventureRacing · (05-31-2012, 06:23 AM)

I actually think it will be good for gaming and hopefully it forces sony/MS/nintendo to make some much needed changes.

Ronok · (05-31-2012, 08:38 AM)

I don't know, do you really think people with iphones/ipads are desperate for apps on their tv's? I could be wrong, but I always thought the appeal of this shit was their portability.

herod · (05-31-2012, 08:40 AM)

I prefer a properly curated store, instead of the hit-and-hope appstore. There are way more than enough games on services like XBLA for me anyway. Gaming at home is different to throwaway phone apps.

SmokyDave · (05-31-2012, 08:46 AM)

Originally Posted by Ronok:

I don't know, do you really think people with iphones/ipads are desperate for apps on their tv's? I could be wrong, but I always thought the appeal of this shit was their portability.

This is something I've been wondering lately too. I love my iOS gaming but a large part of that is not being tethered to a TV. The iPad has a decent size display and for many games, I'd rather be interacting directly with the screen than go back to separate 'pad & display' style.

Only time will tell I suppose. I'd certainly appreciate it if the solid DD infrastructure, massively varied software and prices and the frequent sales influenced the other players.

mrklaw · (05-31-2012, 08:47 AM)

it'll just be another choice. I think there is still enough of a difference between spending some personal time on an intimate device in your hands, vs lounging back and playing something on a big TV. You can't really use touch as well, it becomes an indirect interaction and loses some of the directness.

AzaK · (05-31-2012, 09:05 AM)

If Apple entered the space it would affect the other platform holders for sure, but I'd still be into dedicated gaming for two main reasons.

First, Nintendo titles will not come to it and I must have Zelda and Metroid, it's that simple and I imagine a huge number of PS and Xboxs gamers have their own first party must haves.

Secondly, and a much bigger reason, is that a dedicated gaming company is more likely to actually gamify their platform. Apple's platforms are primarily phones, tablets, and media delivery devices, not gaming machines. Therefore they are limited in their form factor. A company like Nintendo will quite happily make a Wii Remote, or a tablet like controller, and MS went and added a camera for gesture recognition in Kinect and we even have Move and previously Eye Toy on the Playstation. While Apple has done something a little unorthodox with Siri, I don't think they are particularly keen on making game specific devices, perpipherals and controllers.

Yo Gotti · (05-31-2012, 09:08 AM)

They'd probably take 3-4 years to catch up, and even then I doubt Apple would be willing to deliver on a set top experience as powerful as what PS4 and X720 would offer.

ShinUltramanJ · (05-31-2012, 09:28 AM)

Originally Posted by Krev:

If Apple can get the mainstream to pick up their box as a complement or alternative to a Blu-Ray player, the battle is won.

And I think that's easier said than done. Another thing I'd like to note is that while all of my adult friends/coworkers own smart phones, and play games on them, they don't like to pay for any games. Anecdotal yes, but I'm sure they're not the only examples in the country of people who enjoy iOS gaming, but only when the games are free.

ShinUltramanJ · (05-31-2012, 09:34 AM)

Originally Posted by alexandros:

In the future I only see two platforms: Apple TV for the casual audience, Gabe Newell's open hardware platform (Steambox) and PC for the hardcore.

Here's how it's going to play out: Apple releases its iTV which comes bundled with an Apple TV set-top box. It has full access to the App store and iOS games. Casuals love it, they buy tons of cheap-as-chips games, they see no need for more gaming hardware. The set-top box is updated annually, it costs 99$ and each model is twice as powerful as the last. Third parties support Apple en masse. Next-gen consoles fail commercially, putting enormous pressure on all three major companies.

That's exactly what people who are casually into gaming want, new hardware to purchase every year so they can play games.

And lol at Nintendo, the company with the strongest franchises of anyone, and who sold some 80+ million Wiis is now the third party peon while your platforms of choice stand tall.

AdrianWerner · (05-31-2012, 09:50 AM)

Originally Posted by Man:

P? Would you be happy sticking with existing platforms/franchises knowing all the talk/happening/media-madness is taking place elsewhere?[/IMG]

No problem. I'm a pcgamer, so I'm used to media overlooking my platform of choice. Well....american media at least, altough Apple is much weaker brand outside USA anyway.

Personally I don't care about iOS gaming and the idea of abandoning pc for iOS gaming is laughable to me. So I will stick to PC, especially since PCgaming is booming right now and all Apple efforts failed to make even the tiniest dent on it.

With PC gaming revenues poised to soon eclipse the whole console market I imagine that if consoles were to crumble their devs and gamers will sooner switch to PC than to Apple's products.

AdrianWerner · (05-31-2012, 09:52 AM)

Originally Posted by alexandros:

it costs 99$ .

Apple hardware? Good luck with that

SmokyDave · (05-31-2012, 09:55 AM)

Originally Posted by AdrianWerner:

No problem. I'm a pcgamer, so I'm used to media overlooking my platform of choice. Well....american media at least, altough Apple is much weaker brand outside USA anyway.

Personally I don't care about iOS gaming and the idea of abandoning pc for iOS gaming is laughable to me. So I will stick to PC, especially since PCgaming is booming right now and all Apple efforts failed to make even the tiniest dent on it.

With PC gaming revenues poised to soon eclipse the whole console market I imagine that if consoles were to crumble their devs and gamers will sooner switch to PC than to Apple's products.

iOS gaming and PC gaming complement each other extremely well. I wouldn't expect one to cannibalise the other.

'iOS gaming' is starting to look like a really silly phrase. It's just gaming, like any other, that takes place on iOS platforms. It'll be like saying 'MS gaming' or 'Sony Gaming'. It's just gaming.

Fabrik · (05-31-2012, 09:56 AM)

Nintendo will live on FOREVER because of this guy:

The Faceless Master · (05-31-2012, 10:03 AM)

well, the good news is they won't have ridiculous restrictions like the bandwidth limit that prevents games like Battlefield 3 from having more than 24 players. while they still do have an update checking process, it's nothing like the current MS/Sony one, so devs can get updates out A LOT faster. there's also no worry about "fitting into a slot" for a game's release, so finished games don't get needlessly held up... their DRM is also more lenient than Sony/MS in some ways...

the ONE BIG problem i see is they're currently just not set up to handle multiple users on a device. that's not an issue for some, but it's huge to me.

Ceebs · (05-31-2012, 10:06 AM)

Outside of the Apple fanatics that will buy anything with their logo on it, I just do not see who the market for an Apple TV unless it's a set top box. Once you go past the 1000-1200 dollar price point for a TV your potential customer base would see a major drop off. Factor in Apple-Tax I just do not see people paying a premium or settling for a smaller screen just to get an Apple TV.

Man · 10:13 AM

Originally Posted by The Faceless Master:

the ONE BIG problem i see is they're currently just not set up to handle multiple users on a device. that's not an issue for some, but it's huge to me.

This is by design. iPod/Pad/Phones are very personal products with manageable (solo) prices and they earn cash per hardware sold. A TV/Console product would support multiple accounts.

MoogleWizard · (05-31-2012, 10:12 AM)

Apple excels at creating new market segments and niches for themselves (iPod, "casual & social" instead of business smartphone, tablet) not entering markets that are already well established and crowded by other big companies.
Look at their computers, Apple are at the height of their success but still they can't even get ten percent of the PC market.

I don't think that iOS games on TV will make a notable dent on the console market, whose sales are lead by games like COD or Mario, games which are not possible without a controller. I also seriously doubt they'll make a console because that would have to completely depend on third parties for software, and Apple makes jack of all trades-multimedia devices so a device dedicated to just one medium doesn't fit their business model.

AdrianWerner · 10:31 AM

Originally Posted by SmokyDave:

i
'iOS gaming' is starting to look like a really silly phrase. It's just gaming, like any other, that takes place on iOS platforms. It'll be like saying 'MS gaming' or 'Sony Gaming'. It's just gaming.

I like iOS gaming term, just like PCgaming, browser gaming, console gaming etc. I guess I could use "mobile gaming", but I have few problems with it, as iPads aren't really mobile devices in traditional sense and hanhelds are, so it would become complicated.

AdrianWerner · (05-31-2012, 10:30 AM)

edit: double post :(

M-PG71C · (05-31-2012, 10:50 AM)

Originally Posted by Yo Gotti:

They'd probably take 3-4 years to catch up, and even then I doubt Apple would be willing to deliver on a set top experience as powerful as what PS4 and X720 would offer.

That's the thing, power is no longer as valuable as it was once perceived. The Wii/DS really proved that and the iOS only further extended that idea.

If MS and Sony really believe that overly-expensive set-top boxes are going to do well this next round, I really think they are going to have a very rude awakening. And if Nintendo has learned their lesson with the 3DS, they better not overprice the Wii U.

Man · (06-01-2012, 10:35 PM)

Certain devs already have the details?

From BY2K's PS4/Xbox Next thread: http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=476458

Originally Posted by IGN:

The next generation of consoles starts in 2013, if all goes according to developers’ plans. In an anonymous questionnaire, multiple industry professionals told IGN that they plan to release games for the next Microsoft and Sony consoles before January 1, 2014.

Multiple developers also intend to launch software for an unannounced platform next year.

The end is nigh