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[Impotaku]

Imagine Apple's console - you have to buy a controller separately, an hdmi cable is not included in the box etc. Games cost 100€ each. That would certainly be something.

Oh your console needs a firmware update, ooh look at that after the update you have lost more of your internal hard drive capacity & now it's running slower. Try our new yearly increment apple box with added power.

Yeah i have delt with apple shit on phones no way i'd touch anything in console form with an apple logo on it, they pretend to be premium but the build quality of their cables is deliberately designed to break. I look after my stuff and despite me babying the cables they started to disintergrate that shitty rubberised coating they put on them just fell to pieces. Would be delightful to find your console cables just been of similar shit quality. Oh your hdmi cable broke here's our super expensive apple version for a huge markup with a propriatory connector on the console end.

 

[Haggard]

Where`s the "idc which or how many platforms there are, I just want high quality content"-option?

 

[tommolb]

Only way I'd be keen in new entrants is if they did something new - new IP's etc. No point a new entrant coming in, buying up every 3rd Party and then locking everything into their ecosystem. This just locks out folks who cannot afford to own 4-5 different systems, pay 4-5 different "xbox live" equivalents etc

 

[Fbh]

I don't mind more companies making games and new publishers showing up.
But I don't see the appeal in more consoles. Why would I want another $500 box (or like $1500 if it's from Apple) to play a couple of exclusive games every year?

 

[Lunarorbit]

Ouya and Stadia aren't enough for you?

 

[Punished Miku]

I don’t really care either way but i think the 3 console (+ pc and mobile) system works fine for what it is now. Theres not really a huge gap in the market for more consoles.

I think if and when streaming every takes over a lot more people will jump in

I'm at 4 now and that's my max. Anything further is basically not needed for me.

PS
Xbox
Switch
Quest 2

Last gen Xbox didn't even justify it's existence enough for me to buy a One. This is my max.

Switch and Quest are at least physically unique. PS and Xbox are both pretty redundant in terms of hardware, and owning them both is largely a waste outside first party. Both systems have mostly the same games.

 

[Knightime_X]

I don't think so.
Platforms are already established.
Imagine how silly it would be if someone tried to enter the PC market and their own brand of PC.
Just LOL WUT!?

 

[Captain Toad]

I don’t see why anyone would want the games we have today to require owning more machines than we already need to play them all.

 

[Alebrije]

The nostaljic me ask for a Sega Dreamcast 2 .

But honestly besides a good library and console with great spects a company needs a solid online infrastucture and that means tons of money and time that Sega does not has.

Then we have Amazon, Meta, Google, that have the money but honestly I do not like them because their core business are not videogame related.

So I guess we are fine with current 3 companies.

 

[qwertz12345]

I assumed that is what all these mini consoles are...

Spoiler

There is always the Amico Intellevision too.

What about cheap consoles that utilise off the shelf components (like the Raspberry Pi 4), and throw that in with a custom Linux OS launcher?

You could potentially have a fairly powerful console for $100.

Only way I'd be keen in new entrants is if they did something new - new IP's etc. No point a new entrant coming in, buying up every 3rd Party and then locking everything into their ecosystem. This just locks out folks who cannot afford to own 4-5 different systems, pay 4-5 different "xbox live" equivalents etc

You could also make the $100 console as an indie centric machine.

Also set up a developer / publisher ethos that is similar to Devolver Digital. Make low budget games that are made by small teams.

You cut down on the risk... And don't even need to sell that many units.

Maybe make the games exclusive for a year on the console, and then release on Steam etc.

I mean... $100 for a Pi 4 console isn't much at all. People spend more than that on a Friday night.

You could basically manufacture about 2000 units, and still get away with it.

I know that the parts aren't worth $100. More like $50.

It is possible to launch a console (with a game and customized Linux OS launcher) for $100. And it's not even that high risk.

Some of you people make it sound as if only the big players can get in on the action... When it's fairly obvious that pretty much anyone can release their own console.

 

[Stefan.North]

Most people in general are resistant toward change. A change brings insecurity, adapting to new a reallity, and, in some cases, angst.

 

[KungFucius]

Why the fuck would anyone want to have to buy yet another platform? Consoles are a waste for the consumer, they are a tax paid to access games. If Apple or Amazon entered the space they would capture exclusives and force gamers to either ignore those games or pony up for expensive hardware. Apple would probably charge 400 per fucking controller and only include one that is too basic to play most games.

 

[tommolb]

Most people in general are resistant toward change. A change brings insecurity, adapting to new a reallity, and, in some cases, angst.

This is little to do with "resistant toward change", it's to do with the most likely outcome of say Apple or Amazon coming into the market would be 3rd party companies or developers being bought up and everything locked into another ecosystem. We already have Sony and Microsoft buying up everything, without Apple or Amazon jumping in and locking games and IP's behind another platform and monthly subscription.

 

[NeoIkaruGAF]

Because you don’t just jump in a market where so many users have been invested in separate ecosystems for so many years.
From old games you bought two generations ago to playing online with friends, a lot of what people play today is tied to one of the three major console makers, and has been for a while. Online multiplayer is huge, and you don’t just jump to a different machine when all your friends are on another. With consoles, it’s not just a matter of clicking on a different icon like it is with stores on PC.

If it were just like the old times when it was all about having the right games, it would still be possible to find success. But we’re in the age of services and ecosystems. Much harder to carve your niche in that.

 

[Jaybe]

Historically, only 2 to 3 home consoles have been able to survive in the market. Any new entrant led to one of the incumbents leaving in time. Likely why no one new enters and a consumer that is a fan of one could be concerned. The market seems more healthy today despite fragmentation (mobile, Oculus, more PC penetration, streaming, whatever the fuck Netflix is trying to do).

 

[Dream-Knife]

They will further serve to divide the market.

 

[BeardGawd]

Because of exclusives. Higher chance of missing out on great games the more platforms there are.

 

[Pantz]

Day 1 if SEGA released a new console.

I could be interested in a Samsung or other Korean console if they made a huge investment in exclusive Korean developed games.

A Central/South America based console would be cool too. But I'm talking like a huge country wide initiative investment into regionally developed games for that console.

 

[p_xavier]

Market segmentation. I absolutely hate the prolification of services. Everyone used Netflix, now you need 7 subscriptions for shows. I shouldn't have to buy 3 consoles to play games. So more companies is bad for consumers in my view, even if monopolies could form.

 

[qwertz12345]

Honestly... If they can bring out a computer in the form of the Pi 400 for $100... Then they can bring out a console for $100.

Consoles have waaaay more fans anyway.

All you need to do is bundle it in with a semi decent exclusive game... And make sure that you don't manufacture too many units.

 

[Kimahri]

Why would I want that?

It's more unnecessary hardware to spend money on, and more hassle connecting them all to my setup. I'm already at the point where I have to switch hdmi cables now and then, and I have a receiver with many inputs.

Nah, I'm good

 

[Diddy X]

I already got PC, Apple could deliver some technological advancements but still altogether idgaf

 

[Amin_Parker]

To me I always wanted an apple, amazon, tencent etc console. More competition means more content for us. Apple investing heavily into the triple A space or amazon going beyond just Luna giving us more content for a dedicated console or even a third party publisher. I just don't understand why so many gamers want there to just be the big 3...I imagine when Xbox got into the console market for the first time there was a ton of resistence, so to me It's just if its not good don't but it IE stadia...but I'm not mad at google for trying.

You're right it means more competition as well as lower prices for games. It keeps things very exciting and interesting in this industry. It means way more ideas and way more IP being released.

 

[MidGenRefresh]

Only if they will keep releasing their games on PC! Restricting games to a console is such a waste of potential.

 

[Stefan.North]

This is little to do with "resistant toward change", it's to do with the most likely outcome of say Apple or Amazon coming into the market would be 3rd party companies or developers being bought up and everything locked into another ecosystem. We already have Sony and Microsoft buying up everything, without Apple or Amazon jumping in and locking games and IP's behind another platform and monthly subscription.

Yeah, basically as I said - resistance toward change.

Keep in mind that I never said that this change would benefit the gamers or bring anything good to the market, only the biggest players would profit. So the "resistance" is very understandable.

 

[existensmaximum]

Ever heard of the video game market crashes?

 

[THEAP99]

To me I always wanted an apple, amazon, tencent etc console. More competition means more content for us. Apple investing heavily into the triple A space or amazon going beyond just Luna giving us more content for a dedicated console or even a third party publisher. I just don't understand why so many gamers want there to just be the big 3...I imagine when Xbox got into the console market for the first time there was a ton of resistence, so to me It's just if its not good don't but it IE stadia...but I'm not mad at google for trying.

EXACTLY. It's because gamers have the lowest IQ and are scared of change

 

[Swipeyowifelike]

Seems like companies are the hesitant. If a new player entered with actual heft behind it, people would accept. The problem is the time and money needed. Ain't nobody got time for that.

 

[Hugare]

The same reason why I hate having to pay a monthly fee for Netflix, Amazon Prime, Disney + and Apple TV in order to watch my favorite shows

Don't want another plastic box or subscription service to play my favorite games

And sure as all hell dont want to see Apple buying tons of third party developers

 

[nush]

Remember the early 90's and how many supported platforms there were? More platforms creates more losers not more winners.

 

[Ev1L AuRoN]

Let's think about the players we have today:
PSN
Xbox Live
Nintendo eSHOP
Steam
Epic
Gog
Apple App Store
Google Play Store

I'm not going to mention launchers that sell limited selection of games like Origin, Battle.net, Rockstar SocialClub...

It seems that we already have a lot of players in the market today.

If you are referring to new consoles, well I don't think the market can sustain much more than three if we are talking about high volume sales. It's a lot harder to a company to break in than you guys realize. It takes more than money, Microsoft proves it, the company spent billions on Xbox, and they are still the underdog.

I personally would love to see Apple doing a handheld, their Soc tech is amazing, and I believe they can produce an amazing experience on the go. I think steam is doing great with Steam Deck, I just wish it became more mainstream to the point that I can enter a store and buy one.

 

[Elysion]

I personally would love to see Apple doing a handheld, their Soc tech is amazing, and I believe they can produce an amazing experience on the go.

I agree. A proper Switch competitor is the only way I could see another company ever again successfully break through and gain a foothold in the dedicated gaming market, and Apple is by far the best positioned to do so. An Apple handheld with a M1 or M2 (or whatever version they’d have by then) would blow the Steam Deck and a future Switch 2 out of the water in terms of performance. The M1 even has some integrated neural network hardware, and apparently Apple is preparing their own upscaling tech like Nvidia’s DLSS. An Apple handheld probably would have little trouble running ports of current gen games.

The biggest hurdle however is content. Unless Apple is willing to spend billions of $ to create and/or buy studios and games, their efforts wouldn’t be going anywhere, no matter how powerful their hardware is.

 

[cinnamonandgravy]

yeah, if the console brings something unique.

boring when xbox and ps basically use PC hardware, and both sport extremely similar CPUs, GPUs, etc.

 

[Swipeyowifelike]

yeah, if the console brings something unique.

boring when xbox and ps basically use PC hardware, and both sport extremely similar CPUs, GPUs, etc.

What do you think a newcomer would bring to the table that's "unique'? Sounds like a recipe for disaster.

 

[JimboJones]

Apple will never invest in their own first party games, they will just put apps on their console and sell a knock-off Xbox/Playstation controller then wonder why it's flopping.

 

[ACESHIGH]

As long as it doesn't impact PC gaming I am cool with that. But we have seen how Apple entering the market can impact gaming as a whole and not in a postive manner, even without releasing consoles. They have released some JRPGs still exclusive to their trash ecosystem.

To be honest I don't even want these acquisition wars to last much longer. We all lose on the long run when third party games become exclusive. Look at MGS4 lost in sub hd sub 30 FPS limbo.

 

[spawn]

Stadia just sucked which is why the resistance on it. Personally I like the current 3. These consoles are already expensive. If we had another company enter the space then it can get confusing on what games are exclusive to what platform and then you will end up having to buy a 4th console for 1 game. Also, just not enough space in the living room for all of the cords and game controllers.

 

[PendekarRajawali]

Not resistant, but many have tried and failed, got tired of hearing it.

 

[nominedomine]

The same reason why I hate having to pay a monthly fee for Netflix, Amazon Prime, Disney + and Apple TV in order to watch my favorite shows

Don't want another plastic box or subscription service to play my favorite games

And sure as all hell dont want to see Apple buying tons of third party developers

By that logic we could do with one less consoles manufacturer.

PlayStation, Nintendo or Xbox... when you put it like that, I'm not totally against it....

 

[Justin9mm]

More consoles mean more competition but it also means more diluted content. Can you imagine having 4 or 5 consoles all with Exclusives and you are a gamer that wants to experience and enjoy all these games? The cost of the hobby is going to skyrocket. If that happens, I'm pretty sure it would end up having a negative effect where the average consumer would turn to PC gaming which leads to less profits on consoles which equals less budget/support on console and shitty console experience. Too much of a good thing can be detrimental in the long run.

Microsoft and Sony have also spent literally decades building a foundation. Any new console entering the market would need to offer something truly unique and valuable to get a foothold. They would need a lot of money to burn to do that. This is why there have been many failed attempts.

 

[Zeroing]

So far I had no evidence of that at all. As we could see so far competition means buying studios and make their games exclusives I don’t see a real investment in the industry! All companies want the easy way in nowadays!

But I’m happy to be surprised with the opposite.

 

[Amiga]

Apple has 1.65 BILLION active iOS devices. That's 1.65 BILLION people in their ecosystem. If they release a game console hold on to your plastic boxes...

iOS is already a big gaming platform. the Apple TV is functionally a console already. Question is would Apple release an affordable current gen spec Apple TV that would get a big enough install base that would make ports economically profitable.

The only thing stopping Apple is their financial model. The M2 GPU has only 3.6 TFLOPS, weaker than the $300 Series S.

 

[jaysius]

Distrust for what a company might do to the landscape, if Apple made a home console and put all of the copied games and F2P/P2W games on there instantly then the competitors would have to follow suit to keep up the pace.

 

[teezzy]

I only like Xbox and idgaf

 

[Nautilus]

The response is usually:

"And those 1.65 billion people overpay $1000 for their devices"

Then in the same breath:

"Who on earth would overpay $1000 for an Apple console. That market doesn't exist."

lolz

One is a 1000 dolar portable device that became an essential item for any person nowadays, as you can use it to communicate to each other, use to browse the internet, listen to music, access your banking account, use for innumerous apps with untold numbers of uses, play games, etc.

The other one would be a frivulous and superfulous 1000 dolar item used mostly to game, a non-essencial activity and an expensive hobby. Competing in an industry that they barely have any experience in, and that money can only get you so far without it.

Yeah, both situations are clearly the same.

 

[64bitmodels]

Nobody's that opposed to the idea, it's just that all of the companies that DO have plans to enter are all multi billion/trillion dollar corporations who are already known for being massive scumbags in their own right (apple, google, amazon, walmart, etc)
I'm pretty sure that if Sega reentered, or capcom decided to give it a try, no one would really complain that much because these are established companies who have proven their worth. But google hasn't proven they have the smarts or care to make a truly excellent game (as much as i love the little google doodles from years ago) and Apple hasn't given a good reason as to why they'd want to enter besides fucking up the industry more.
Like, do you NOT realize how fucking distastrous it would be for Apple to enter the console market? You've seen what they've done in other industries. They make a bad product/remove features from their product, then proceed to have everyone copy them in a mad attempt to try and potentially get some of their userbase/wealth, whether it be because of shareholders or just downright greed. Yes, i'm still scarred by the fucking headphone jack. We all are.

 

[BadBurger]

Sure. In the 90's there were a plethora of consoles. While most obviously didn't work out they gave the world some classics that are still remembered fondly today. I'd very much like to see what a company like Amazon could bring to the table. And frankly, with how many games are available on them, any iOS and Android device that can be attached to a larger screen is essentially performing the same work as a proper console.

 

[lughnasadh123]

Some part is probably not wanting invest in yet another system or that company snatching up properties to make them exclusive.

 

[Dontkidyourselfjimmy]

Competition is a good thing when all companies are vying for consumers money we all get better games. If you have unlimited money then it doesn't matter how many companies make hardware but for the average consumer owning all consoles + pc to play every worthwhile exclusive it can become too exspensive.

 

[alabtrosMyster]

I picked "yes", but please no Ms, google, Apple, etc. All they're interested in is the gaas portion of gaming... Completely predatory in nature, I have no interest in this.

I don't think anyone would resist if we had a steam console like the deck (everybody loves the deck).

Obviously that would bring another layer of console warriors