Apple why don't you play games?

Stan Beer
Monday, 28 January 2008 18:38

Opinion and Analysis

For years Apple users - more specifically Mac users - have been telling the rest of the poor shlubs who buy other types of computers that they simply don't get it. Well after watching Steve Jobs at Macworld 2008 desperately trying to match the wonders of the year before with a wafer thin underpowered overpriced notebook, here's something I really don't get. Why doesn't Apple get into games?

Yes, I know there's already three pretty powerful incumbents in the games console and PC games space. However, I would think that both the Mac and some iPod platforms would lend themselves beautifully to a potentially rather lucrative additional revenue stream if Apple entered the games arena.

There is no doubt that Mac OS is a great graphics platform. There are plenty of professional graphic artists and designers who will attest to that. The Mac in its various forms is also a great entertainment platform for music, movies and digitally streamed TV shows.

So where are all the Mac games? PC games enthusiasts the world over are spending small fortunes on souped up graphics charged PCs just so they can spend US$50 on the latest games like Call of Duty IV, Crysis and The Orange Box. Games drive the sales of high powered PCs as much as PCs drive of the sale of games.

The way Macs are selling these days, a whole new market could open up for both Apple and games developers in this area.

A dedicated games console would of course be problematical for Apple. In order to match it with Sony or Microsoft, Apple would have to build a box that loses money with the aim of recouping costs through games sales. It's a long and hard road and Microsoft still hasn't been able to turn a profit after more than six years. It would be hard to imagine Apple wanting to risk getting into that space. And Apple is not the type of company that would play in the low-end of the market with Nintendo.

However, aside from the Mac, portable devices like the iPhone and iPod Touch, with their power, storage, and online capabilities could be so much more than what they already are. With the right games software, they could have the potential to match it with the Nintendo DS and Sony PSP. Since its release in late 2004, Nintendo DS has sold 65 million units and its top selling game Nintendogs has sold 16 million copies. Meanwhile, PSP has sold more than 25 million units over the same period - that's 90 million units combined in just over three years.

Imagine the boost to iPhone and iPod Touch figures if they could be successfully marketed to the gamer crowd. Imagine the extra revenue Apple could rake in with its share of the games proceeds. Who knows, Apple could even start developing its own games.

It has always intrigued me that Apple has largely steered clear of the games space. It is one area that Apple could on the surface at least be very much at home in. There's certainly no doubting the potential for a lucrative new revenue stream and if exploited successfully that would make both customers and shareholders happy.