As we approach a generation of console tablet interfaces and Apple’s long-awaited play on the TV market, are Xbox and PlayStation in danger of being pushed out of our lives entirely? The fat lady hasn’t sung yet, says Patrick Garratt.
While we’ve already seen significant disruption in the games market related to traditional formats such as PC and mobile, Apple really could turn the whole thing on its head. Apple TV is rumoured for launch in 2013. If the date’s correct, we could see Apple at market with a console-free offering as a competitor to the next Xbox.
I just can’t take the guy seriously. He’s telling me that Apple TV could disrupt the next console generation to such a degree as to render Sony and Microsoft “irrelevant”. He seems perfectly excited about the prospect, actually.
“That’s bullshit,” I say. “It’ll cost thousands. The next PlayStations and Xboxes won’t. And what, it’s going to have a controller? Apple’s going to make a games controller?”
“It’s got OnLive built in, apparently,” he sulks. I rant on.
“So it’s going to cost about two grand US and you’ll need a mental internet connection to get a reliable service for playing triple-A. Apple isn’t a games company in the traditional sense in that it doesn’t have a content creation infrastructure like Microsoft and Sony, and it will never have. Apple TV will just be an expensive window on the App Store for people with more money than sense.”
Sometimes I really ...
