My uninformed view is that Apple is already doing this, albeit at glacial speed. The Apple TV is a first step in this direction but it lacks much in the way of functionality. I fantasize about an Apple TV or Mac Mini connected to my HDTV that I can control using the motion detection capability in my iPhone....

No, no, no. This is sounds like a terrible idea. Apple did launch a game console before and I don't think they're likely to do this again anytime soon. Yes consoles tend to lose you money, Yes you have to share tech and be open, and no, apple doesn't like either model. Look at how the iPhone has evolved, and we are just now seeing games for that. It'd be much more likely apple would continue to develop games (3rd party) for it's hand units (iPod or iPhones) and develop ways to attract gamers to its desktops and notebooks than spend all those resources on a console. Look what happened to SEGA, and now the same thing is happening with SONY, and the XBOX lost MFST a Billion dollars last year.

Just doesn't seem a logical move to me. At least not yet. We'll have to wait and see.

As the article mentions, apple does seem to have the infrastructure in place to deliver on demand service, but why not utilize this infrastructure via hardware that's also already in place, and isn't being sold at a loss? The apple computers.

This is a bad, bad idea. Apple jumped into the phone market only because there was the potential to make something better than everything else out there. The video game market already has 3 huge players who are constantly delivering new experiences and ideas.

Apple tried this with the Pippin in the 90s and it completely tanked. Nobody supported it, so it arrived stillborn. Unless Apple can get the support of game publishers *before* creating the machine, it's not going to happen.

This is a bad, bad idea. Apple jumped into the phone market only because there was the potential to make something better than everything else out there. The video game market already has 3 huge players who are constantly delivering new experiences and ideas.

Apple tried this with the Pippin in the 90s and it completely tanked. Nobody supported it, so it arrived stillborn. Unless Apple can get the support of game publishers *before* creating the machine, it's not going to happen.

Apple should just go ahead and get in bed with Nintendo.

Start moving the AppleTV and the Wii together so that they're compatible products. NOT replacements, you'd still own both.

For example, change the AppleTV so that it works with the Wiimote and ship 1 Wiimote with each AppleTV. Each device will come with the sensor bar you put on the TV, but if you have both devices you only need to use one (it just emits light, it doesn't take information in).

Then, put iTunes on the Wii so you can stream your music and videos to it just like an AppleTV. Game developers can use it to let you listen to your music WITHIN a video game. Likewise, put some of the Wii online channels onto the AppleTV so you can browse your Miis over there.

They can each hold back just enough features to make sure you need to buy both devices (AppleTV has no games and Wii can't stream video, for example) but once they've done that there's no end to the amount of interplay and syncing these two devices could do.

If done right, everyone who buys just one device will suddenly find many reasons that they want to buy the other. It could work out well for both companies.

Of course Apple should look into getting into the 'game' game -- by buying Nintendo.

I don't buy that argument. If Apple had something totally unique or revolutionary to offer, then it would be a possibility. Haptic response TV screens, anyone? We can all be hovering over our glowing tubes in the dark, like moths.

With a comment like "It should be more like the Xbox 360 than the Wii ...", it shows that the author obviously doesn't understand the how's and the why's of Apple's product development. Jesus... I am often amazed at how some of those hacks over at C|Net get paid to write and review.

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Guest wrote:
Apple is already doing this, albeit at glacial speed

I think Apple is much more discriminating than Microsoft... they don't just copy everyone else and try to get into every game, but instead look at the overall market in terms of opportunities: are there untapped or neglected possibilities, and what benefits (hardware sales, mindshare, etc) are there to be had? Can they build a distinct product and not just copy another? In the end, is it worth it? If there's any doubt, they stay away.

I don't see much that they could do differently in the console arena... that battle is expensive and already raging between three well-entrenched entities. Instead, I think Apple might view the iPhone as a gaming platform, competing with only Nintendo and Sony. There are good reasons to think they might do this... much less risk (the hardware is already there), a distinct product (the DS and PSP don't make calls and aren't carried regularly by users above the age of 14) and an easy mechanism for delivery (iTunes), making the cost of games less expensive. Perhaps most of all, they can continue to control the whole widget and call the shots. And as the iPhone marketshare rises, developers will view the installed base as a great opportunity (still a ways away from this).

This is much more likely than a console, and seems like something Apple might undertake.