Mac Mini as Game Console
Apple should allow the mini to double as a game console. Add a game console option to Front Row and build a standardized usb gamepad and/or a wireless bluetooth game pad that can be used with it. Something of Apples own creation.
It would fit right in with the other systems out there as far as price right now.
All it would require is a the controller and the OS addition... and games but that's a given.
It would work kind of like a console emulator in a way, except it wouldn't be emulating anything. It would just be setting the limits that game developers need to stay within for their games to work on the system. Just like a game console has limits based on it's hardware. Call it a virtual console if you will. Developers could stil makes games for the MacOS itself if they wanted to take advantage of the newer better hardware in the pro systems. But this virtual console in front row would make many games easy and standardized.
Consoles have always been the more elegant way to game. There is no having to setup the game or check your system compatibility. So long as you buy the game that is for your console you just know it will work with the hardware you have. So it's just a matter of putting the game in and having fun. Apple is the type of company that likes that kind of simplicity and elegance. And seeing as the mac platform doesn't have a very big gaming emphasis this could really make the platform stand out and bring more games to the mac. And do it in a way that is more like a console instead like a PC.
As far as I can tell Apple really doesn't have much to lose. They already have the system on the market. Alot of people already have one. All they need to do is build the software and the gamepads and get the developers on the list. Then start marketing the system to console gamers.
There are a lot of people right now who are losing faith in the PS3. The Wii is probably less powerful then the Mac Mini and the Xbox... well. I'm not going to talk crap about any of the consoles. I really haven't examined them completely.
But even though the mini doesn't have a HD-DVD or Blu-ray drive most games don't really need those right now anyway. And that fact that is would double as a full blown computer/media center as well would make it well worth the price tag is has to gamers.
Apple right now is trying to push the mini as a PC replacement and a lot of PC people aren't buying into that. Because to a lot of people a computer is a big tower. But to the game console world it's a perfect fit and the computer part is just a huge bonus.
I think the mini could be even more successful then it is right now. Apple just hasn't discovered how to market it right. They need to get it off the desk and into the family room.
It would fit right in with the other systems out there as far as price right now.
All it would require is a the controller and the OS addition... and games but that's a given.
It would work kind of like a console emulator in a way, except it wouldn't be emulating anything. It would just be setting the limits that game developers need to stay within for their games to work on the system. Just like a game console has limits based on it's hardware. Call it a virtual console if you will. Developers could stil makes games for the MacOS itself if they wanted to take advantage of the newer better hardware in the pro systems. But this virtual console in front row would make many games easy and standardized.
Consoles have always been the more elegant way to game. There is no having to setup the game or check your system compatibility. So long as you buy the game that is for your console you just know it will work with the hardware you have. So it's just a matter of putting the game in and having fun. Apple is the type of company that likes that kind of simplicity and elegance. And seeing as the mac platform doesn't have a very big gaming emphasis this could really make the platform stand out and bring more games to the mac. And do it in a way that is more like a console instead like a PC.
As far as I can tell Apple really doesn't have much to lose. They already have the system on the market. Alot of people already have one. All they need to do is build the software and the gamepads and get the developers on the list. Then start marketing the system to console gamers.
There are a lot of people right now who are losing faith in the PS3. The Wii is probably less powerful then the Mac Mini and the Xbox... well. I'm not going to talk crap about any of the consoles. I really haven't examined them completely.
But even though the mini doesn't have a HD-DVD or Blu-ray drive most games don't really need those right now anyway. And that fact that is would double as a full blown computer/media center as well would make it well worth the price tag is has to gamers.
Apple right now is trying to push the mini as a PC replacement and a lot of PC people aren't buying into that. Because to a lot of people a computer is a big tower. But to the game console world it's a perfect fit and the computer part is just a huge bonus.
I think the mini could be even more successful then it is right now. Apple just hasn't discovered how to market it right. They need to get it off the desk and into the family room.
Comments
So green strip games would be any games that could be played on 2006-present hardware. And red strip games could be played on 2008-present hardware and so on. Creating plateaus for the virtual console that developers could work off of as hardware progresses over time and developers want their games to progress with it.
I'd also add that as hardware and graphics become more advanced in the newer systems over the years, Apple could add color coded gaming tiers. For instance all base level games that meet the current minis specs could be called green strip games or something, identified by their green strip across the top of the box. Then in a couple of years as the new macs support better graphics and so on they would create a new tier called say red strip games.
So green strip games would be any games that could be played on 2006-present hardware. And red strip games could be played on 2008-present hardware and so on. Creating plateaus for the virtual console that developers could work off of as hardware progresses over time and developers want their games to progress with it.
It's a great idea, but I don't see it coming any time soon. We're a little way off having computers like Hi-Fis, but I have seen recently that many games aren't taking complete advantage of the power available in the latest systems. So maybe we don't have that long to go...
David