I mean, now that Bungie has been freed from Microsoft.... wouldn't that be a coup?

-Jon

Unfortunately MS still has first pick on Bungie's new games, so while its possible that future Bungie games will be Mac or "iGame" compatible, they'll still likely be multi-platform titles centered on the PC and 360.

One game I feel confident predicting will run on any future OSX-based gaming device is Starcraft II, just because Blizzard is the one mainstream and sizable developer right now that continues to push their new titles for OSX.

While the evidence appears to be clear (what with the patent and everything), Apple have been known to try to throw the press from time to time. Patents can be filed by anyone with a spare $10k, and don't necessarily have to mean anything. The ad on the Apple website is of course quite vague also, so to me this could mean a couple of things:

1. They want someone to help develop little games for iPods and iPhones.
2. They want someone to develop games for the Mac working in collaboration with games houses.

Both of these seem more likely than actually creating their own games as far as I can see. Steve Jobs seemed to belittle the console market back at the MacWorld 2007, and little has happened with regard to bringing more games to the Mac since that stage time way back when (and the time before that nothing happened either). Besides, this seems to be a single position, not a group as would be needed for game development to rival any major label.

When Apple developed iTunes they didn't seek to become their own music label. When they developed the iPhone they seemed to actively try not to have to create their own network as far as I can see. I may be totally off the mark, but an i360 isn't where I see Apple going, and the Apple games house would seem a pretty long way from what a large portion of their customers are begging for.

That said, a large portion of the reason for having Windows around (or not switching at all) seems to come from gaming. Perhaps they are trying to break the camels back.

Not to throw cold water on this but every couple of years the net lights up with a rumor that Apple is going to get back into gaming. So far nothing so I'm not holding my breath.

That said, the industry seems to be moving away from the PC as do all to an era of specialized computer devices each of which does one thing well. iPhones, iPods, iTV and such. Windows PCs are losing out to consoles as a gaming platform of choice. Therefore, if Apple were to make a move into gaming, I suspect it would be with a dedicated gaming console system.