Do you think Apple will ever move into the console market? Would you buy one?

[Sinisterniik]

@Justin_Bailey

While hardcore gamers may be unhappy with the Wii, that doesn’t matter from Nintendo’s perspective. They’re far and away the most successful console maker and the most profitable. You could even flip the question and say the PS3/Xbox 360 have a big problem in that they don’t have Nintendo’s exclusives.

Nintendo isn’t losing ground. They’re crushing the competition month in and month out. The ony ground they’re losing is that they’re crushing the other players by as much each month.

I guess my info is out of date; you were much closer to the truth:
(These have some very interesting figures. Please note the dates of the articles.)

http://www.slipperybrick.com/2007/01/playstation-2-out-sells-all-other-consoles/

Game Consoles – April 2009 NPD Sales Figure Analysis

http://news.cnet.com/8301-13506_3-10426467-17.html

http://www.dailytech.com/Nintendo+DS+to+Become+Bestselling+Console+System+of+All+Time/article18382.htm

List of best-selling game consoles

@Justin_Bailey

It all comes down to price, which is another strike against an Apple console. The 3DO launched at $700. The Jaguar launched at $250, which wasn’t much more expensive than an SNES or Genesis, but was pricier. It was sunk by the fact that in three years the system only received 67 games. The Dreamcast was awesome, I agree, but what they were doing wasn’t any different from Nintendo/Sony and Sony’s marketing muscle (and lack of EA Sports titles) killed it.

True with price about the 3DO, however, it still outsold the Jaguar. And as for Atari, no one wants to play a game requiring the memorization of 100+ commands (Top 10 Tuesday: Worst Game Controllers - IGN). Granted, the system never used more than like fifteen or so, but in an era of two button games it felt overwhelming.

But the 67 games didn’t help it either. Or their poor business strategies.

As for the Dreamcast, I think you raise a very valid point, but it also had to do with the lack of big name titles like the Final Fantasy series as well (or any number of Nintendo’s famous recurring characters). Granted, there were the Sonic games, but even the Playstation had Crash Bandicoot.

[Omniscient]

@Sinisterniik

I’m expecting them to eventually come out with iPads designed/customized specifically for gaming. That being said, it wouldn’t surprise me in the least bit if they dive into the console wars. The only problem is that the market is spread too thin right now.

Apple tends to try to compete by offering a drastically different choice, rather than trying to “out business” the more competitive companies. They have done this in the past by providing unique tools for artists/film makers/musicians/scientists. Currently they are doing this by branching out into the growing wireless market with their iPhone and iPad.

The thing is that they only have one chief rival in their current field -Microsoft (although companies like Google are threatening to enter the market). If they enter into the console wars, they’ll be up against Microsoft, Sony AND Nintendo -three very big and powerful companies.

Atari was swept out of the game in the 90s by too much competition: Amiga CD32, 3DO, TurboGrafx-16, Sega CD/32X, Sega Saturn, Sony Playstation, N64. That’s not to mention the hand-held wars were in full swing and were as much a responsibility for Atari’s ultimate failure as their weak sales on the Jaguar or the lawsuits they suffered through.

The same recently happened to Sega as a result of the rise of Sony and the remarkable success of Microsoft’s Xbox (not to mention a marketing nightmare with their Saturn and Dreamcast).

The entrance into this field is made markedly more difficult due to the fact that Nintendo is following their usual business plan. Looking at the three main consoles, two of them are basically the same exact type of console as we’ve been used to since the days of 8-bit and 16-bit. However, Nintendo is on the cutting edge as far as gaming technology is concerned with wands, motion sensors, touch screens, voice-activated technology, built in cameras and everything else (well, everything that involves interactivity).

Albeit, they also have the same problem that Apple has now: Compatibility. Many of the major titles only come out on PS3 and/or Xbox 360. The Wii has a serious problem coming up with titles that are actually able to utilize their system’s full abilities. That’s not to mention that their family-friendly approach has alienated some hardcore gamers.

One of the most interesting things to me, however, is the trend for the most ambitious consoles to get buried. The 3DO was an innovative system but couldn’t beat out the ol’ D-Pad and two button approach of Nintendo. The Jaguar had like a billion buttons and great graphics but still didn’t sell as well as Nintendo, Sega or Playstation (which were all much more conservative in their design). Sega was put to death by their Dreamcast, one of my all time favorite systems, which was the first 64-bit system (two 32-bit processors by my understanding) and featured avant-garde games such as Seaman.

Now Nintendo is trying the same thing with their Wii, but they are losing ground to Sony and Microsoft’s very traditional consoles. If Apple tries the same strategy, won’t they be met with the same result?

So in summation:
Will Apple try to compete in the hand-held market? Yes.
Will Apple try to compete in the console market? Not until the market changes.

See these comments from Steve Jobs regarding the TV market.

Steve Jobs on TV: 'no one wants to buy a box' | Engadget

That basically echoes what you said and my addresses the challenges I noted up-thread. He’s not talking about consoles specifically, but I think there’s quite a bit of overlap between his view of the TV market and the issues with the set top box model and how a potential Apple console would work. Ditching the existing cable company subsidy model would be an obstacle and perhaps Jobs and Apple would see gaming consoles married to iTunes as a way to flip the referenced go to market problem.

[Lobsang]

From a company that charges over one thousand pounds for a telephone a console I will buy not.