Well, Apple just buy Nintendo will solve the problem. Nintendo gets M1 CPU will resolve the current hardware limitation. Apple will receive all retro games on Apple TV.
Inspired suggestion, I agree 100%.
But if not Nintendo, then something of a similar scale, perhaps in parts. One way or another, though, Apple needs to step it up in games. They've spent years placing so many great pieces on the board (M1, Metal, etc), now they just need to use them.
This screams anti-trust if they have any intention of making Call of Duty exclusive to Xbox and PC. Half of company’s revenue is generated on PlayStation and mobile.I don’t see the point in Microsoft buying it.
Microsoft has a horrible M&A record. It is where company’s go to die
LinkedIn and Minecraft were excellent purchases.
I wish Apple would take gaming seriously and do an acquisition like this. They have all this amazing hardware but no exclusive, AAA content, nor the platform, yet they invest millions and millions in exclusive Apple TV+ content.
This screams anti-trust if they have any intention of making Call of Duty exclusive to Xbox and PC. Half of company’s revenue is generated on PlayStation and mobile.I don’t see the point in Microsoft buying it.
Microsoft has a horrible M&A record. It is where company’s go to die
LinkedIn and Minecraft were excellent purchases.
I wish Apple would take gaming seriously and do an acquisition like this. They have all this amazing hardware but no exclusive, AAA content, nor the platform, yet they invest millions and millions in exclusive Apple TV+ content.
Well, all I can say is Apple didn’t get to be a multi-trillion dollar company by being stupid and ignoring important markets.
Well, Apple just buy Nintendo will solve the problem. Nintendo gets M1 CPU will resolve the current hardware limitation. Apple will receive all retro games on Apple TV.
We went through this 5 years ago when people thought that NIntendo was dead (couldn't keep up with Microsoft and Sony in specs, their "family-friendly" focus meant losing out to the iPad etc.) so people claimed that Apple should buy Nintendo in order to bring the Mario, Zelda etc. games to the iPad and iPhone. Nintendo said: "We are not for sale and never will be" followed by "even if we are sold it will never be to a foreign company."
As for Sony, yeah as if the antitrust regulators would allow that. It would give Apple: A. a smartphone and tablet manufacturer (Android) B. a TV (again Android), DVD and premium audio manufacturer C. the world's #1 gaming console platform D. the Columbia movie studio (Spider-Man, Ghostbusters, Jumanji, Bad Boys, Karate Kid, Men In Black and a bunch of other franchises, and that doesn't even include Sony Japan's extensive film, TV, music etc. properties)
So the Japanese government is going to let the company that killed off the Walkman (and indirectly the Blu-Ray by creating the streaming era) and mobile gaming (seriously degrading Sony, Nintendo, Sega etc. in the process while creating a boom for competing Chinese and South Korean tech companies like Tencent, Xiaomi, LG and Samsung) buy Sony? Yeah, totally not going to happen.
This is the type of acquisition that Apple really needs to make. Apple just doesn't get the gaming market or simply has no interest in it. Small indie games in Apple Arcade are fine, but Apple's platforms need A list games. Apple has great hardware with the M1 Max but a poor gaming selection. Ironically, Mac sales are at record levels now, but gaming on the Mac is worse than any time in history. Sad.
The M1 Max is not "great hardware" for gaming because the GPU only performs between the level of an Nvidia 3060 and 3080, which are available in x86 machines that cost under $1000. Yes Mac sales are at record levels ... but at a market share (depending upon whether you believe Gartner, IDC, Canalys) that 7.5% to 8.6%, making it third in share behind Windows and ChromeOS.
The only path into AAA gaming for Apple is to emulate Microsoft and create their own gaming console. The problem: the AAA console gaming market is in turmoil right now, which is precisely what Microsoft is taking advantage of by snapping up beleagured studios left and right. And - as I mentioned above - currently if you combine the efforts of Microsoft, Nvidia, Google and Amazon and you have 42-45 million cloud gaming subscriptions. It would take Apple 3 years at minimum to launch a console gaming platform; who knows how many cloud gaming subscribers there will be in that time.
Apple doesn't need its own console. Nintendo showed some time ago you don't have to have the best hardware or graphics to be successful. Apple needs to figure out a way to bring some truly great games to the AppleTV and push that capability. They also would need to market the platform as having that capability. At this point Apple Arcade is an interesting concept, but I'd say their execution is lacking. Do the same thing they're trying to do with AppleTV+, go get some content!
This should have been Apple. They need to push having a few top games available on iOS, macOS and AppleTV. They need to push low-cost controller availability, etc. Make the AppleTV the family gaming platform, one that a lot of people already have in their home. Go for the market the Wii filled, and promote all of your subscriptions at the same time.
I don’t know why you say that Apple doesn’t need its own console, then spend the rest of your post describing how they should go about doing exactly that. Other than that first line, I agree with everything else you said.
An interesting coda in the history of Activision, probably the oldest independent gaming company (meaning one who didn't make their own console system). They date back to the Atari 2600 system introduced in the late 70s, making games for that console (and drawing the ire of Atari at that time). Electronic Arts wouldn't be a thing for a few more years.
Kaboom! Pitfall. Lots of interesting stuff they brought to the table back then. I never had a 2600 but was heavily involved in the Atari 8bit computer scene and Activison was a big deal.
Japhey said: Do they not need a console, or should they turn the ATV into one?
Correct answer: they don't need a console. Apple is on the right track with Apple Arcade in terms of wanting the games to be playable on the entire range of devices: desktop/laptop, phone/tablet, and TV. That's the model that makes the most sense, and also a model that nobody else was even attempting previously.
This is the type of acquisition that Apple really needs to make. Apple just doesn't get the gaming market or simply has no interest in it. Small indie games in Apple Arcade are fine, but Apple's platforms need A list games. Apple has great hardware with the M1 Max but a poor gaming selection. Ironically, Mac sales are at record levels now, but gaming on the Mac is worse than any time in history. Sad.
Apple needs a broader strategy than this and while such a move could showcase the M1 Max, it will never be a mass gaming device and they risk alienating other developers.
Gaming & 3D are critical to current & future (AR) Apple platforms but they need to invest in power-efficient 3D graphics beyond TBDR & brute force compute. iPhones, iPads, Macs & ATVs need a new generation of graphics cores & graphics-heavy SoCs which in turn will drive developer interest (ARM should already be on their roadmaps). A first step would be providing easy multi-platform application targeting for Apple’s own platforms followed by transition kits for x86/DirectX bound software (like the SSE/AVX to ASi libraries on GitHub).
Well, Apple just buy Nintendo will solve the problem. Nintendo gets M1 CPU will resolve the current hardware limitation. Apple will receive all retro games on Apple TV.
We went through this 5 years ago when people thought that NIntendo was dead (couldn't keep up with Microsoft and Sony in specs, their "family-friendly" focus meant losing out to the iPad etc.) so people claimed that Apple should buy Nintendo in order to bring the Mario, Zelda etc. games to the iPad and iPhone. Nintendo said: "We are not for sale and never will be" followed by "even if we are sold it will never be to a foreign company."
As for Sony, yeah as if the antitrust regulators would allow that. It would give Apple: A. a smartphone and tablet manufacturer (Android) B. a TV (again Android), DVD and premium audio manufacturer C. the world's #1 gaming console platform D. the Columbia movie studio (Spider-Man, Ghostbusters, Jumanji, Bad Boys, Karate Kid, Men In Black and a bunch of other franchises, and that doesn't even include Sony Japan's extensive film, TV, music etc. properties)
So the Japanese government is going to let the company that killed off the Walkman (and indirectly the Blu-Ray by creating the streaming era) and mobile gaming (seriously degrading Sony, Nintendo, Sega etc. in the process while creating a boom for competing Chinese and South Korean tech companies like Tencent, Xiaomi, LG and Samsung) buy Sony? Yeah, totally not going to happen.
It's one thing to have a wish list (and I'm certainly someone that would love to see all the classic Nintendo games available on Apple Arcade) but to spend any time trying to figure out how Apple could buy Nintendo and then wondering why they haven't is beyond silly. As you said, this is an old topic that has already been addressed.
Daaaaang. First Bethesda. Now Blizzard / Activision? MS is doing what Apple should have done with Arcade.
Mad props.
No fan of MS, but they are aiming high with gaming snd putting their money where there mouth is.
More of a PlayStation fan, but cannot deny that these moves make Xbox much more attractive.
And I don’t believe in the antitrust thing here. This is simple business. Me deserves to have exclusives or timed exclusives that they paid for.
I’m betting that elder scrolls, starfirld, WoW, CoD, etc. will all come to competing platforms - but only well after the pent up demand has gone down and folks have bought into the Xbox ecosystem already.
Shrewd moves. Smart.
Apple TV should come as a console now.
Name the actual hardware “Apple TV + arcade”
or just “Apple Arcade.”
Use the m1 Max and let it loose on the planet.
App Store and online infrastructure is already there. Payment systems already there. Trust already there. Market is pent up. And everyone else is a mess.
Who wouldn’t want a console as trustworthy, secure, and streamlined as your iPhone? And as powerful as a high end pc?
Japhey said: Do they not need a console, or should they turn the ATV into one?
Correct answer: they don't need a console. Apple is on the right track with Apple Arcade in terms of wanting the games to be playable on the entire range of devices: desktop/laptop, phone/tablet, and TV. That's the model that makes the most sense, and also a model that nobody else was even attempting previously.
Fair point. But the problem with that model is that Arcade has to be playable on iPhones dating back to the 6s. That severely limits the ability of developers to create AAA level games for it.
App Store and online infrastructure is already there. Payment systems already there. Trust already there. Market is pent up. And everyone else is a mess.
Who wouldn’t want a console as trustworthy, secure, and streamlined as your iPhone? And as powerful as a high end pc?
Just do it already.
100% agree. We’re a little over a year into the 9th console generation and demand is nowhere close to being met. If Apple had chosen this generation to enter the console game, not only would Apple fans have supported it, but many others who couldn’t get their hands on a PS5 or XBOX Series X/S would have too. The timing was perfect. And who knows? Maybe it still is.
I know one thing for sure, however…the many people here that keep saying that Apple couldn’t, or wouldn’t, or shouldn’t create their own console are the same ones who would be sitting at their Macs with their finger on the “buy” button at 7am on launch day if it ever did happen.
An interesting coda in the history of Activision, probably the oldest independent gaming company (meaning one who didn't make their own console system). They date back to the Atari 2600 system introduced in the late 70s, making games for that console (and drawing the ire of Atari at that time). Electronic Arts wouldn't be a thing for a few more years.
Kaboom! Pitfall. Lots of interesting stuff they brought to the table back then. I never had a 2600 but was heavily involved in the Atari 8bit computer scene and Activison was a big deal.
Damn, I haven’t thought about Kaboom! in years. Many childhood days spent playing those games. Also, Spider Fighter, Chopper Command, and River Raid…Activision was king in those days.
Japhey said: Do they not need a console, or should they turn the ATV into one?
Correct answer: they don't need a console. Apple is on the right track with Apple Arcade in terms of wanting the games to be playable on the entire range of devices: desktop/laptop, phone/tablet, and TV. That's the model that makes the most sense, and also a model that nobody else was even attempting previously.
From what I know, that's the same thing that MS is doing with Xbox Cloud Gaming, having their games in every device.
This screams anti-trust if they have any intention of making Call of Duty exclusive to Xbox and PC. Half of company’s revenue is generated on PlayStation and mobile.I don’t see the point in Microsoft buying it.
Microsoft has a horrible M&A record. It is where company’s go to die
If they are the third largest game company after this then it’s somewhat hard to see where the anti-trust complaint would be. They aren’t a gaming monopoly so it would need to be some other provision of the Sherman Act. Not really a cartel since it is all one company. Perhaps product bundling depending on what they do in the future. Simply nixing COD for PlayStation wouldn’t quality. Game exclusives exist already and there is nothing inherently illegal about that.
If you are the 3rd largest OS vendor (Windows installed base being smaller than Android and iOS), and the 3rd largest game console vendor, and they you buy in via acquisitions to become the 3rd larges game vendor ... all you have to do for it to become an anti-trust issue, is redirect the games you acquired (which are honestly one of the more cross platform vendors), to on future versions and releases, to only run on the platforms and services you already had. They've done this many, many times before, and its not unreasonable to expect Blizzard to go the way of Bungie as an example (for those of you not old enough to remember, Bungie were Mac exclusive with a couple of contracted ports, until bought out by Microsoft who then removed Mac as a client OS from Bungie products). Its a real testament to the skill of Microsoft's government relations teams that they've avoided anti-trust action in the last 5-10 years.
You don't have to be the largest player in a market to for anti-trust issues to surface, you just have to be "big enough" and to leverage power in a one market to improve your sales & revenue in another.
If Apple was taking Apple Arcade as seriously as they are AppleTV+, they'd have bought Activision Blizzard. Blizzard have been brilliant to the Mac platform going back 25+ years. They are one of (possibly the only) game studios that always keeps updates concurrent with their PC counterparts, always releases games on Mac and Windows concurrently, uses and supports the latest Apple tech, and even kept updating Starcraft 1 (from 1998!) so that it works on the latest macOS. I wouldn't be surprised if this is the end of such great Mac support, which would be a huge loss to the Mac platform (unfortunately and yet another thing that makes Mac users second-class citizens).
Gaming is massive, streaming was worth $245bn in 2018, gaming was roughly $150bn. Gaming is 70% of the revenue of the App Store. Apple needs to get some young blood in the upper management that understands this, as none of the ageing VPs gets it at all - and they're missing out big time.
Comments
But if not Nintendo, then something of a similar scale, perhaps in parts. One way or another, though, Apple needs to step it up in games. They've spent years placing so many great pieces on the board (M1, Metal, etc), now they just need to use them.
I wish Apple would take gaming seriously and do an acquisition like this. They have all this amazing hardware but no exclusive, AAA content, nor the platform, yet they invest millions and millions in exclusive Apple TV+ content.
As for Sony, yeah as if the antitrust regulators would allow that. It would give Apple:
A. a smartphone and tablet manufacturer (Android)
B. a TV (again Android), DVD and premium audio manufacturer
C. the world's #1 gaming console platform
D. the Columbia movie studio (Spider-Man, Ghostbusters, Jumanji, Bad Boys, Karate Kid, Men In Black and a bunch of other franchises, and that doesn't even include Sony Japan's extensive film, TV, music etc. properties)
So the Japanese government is going to let the company that killed off the Walkman (and indirectly the Blu-Ray by creating the streaming era) and mobile gaming (seriously degrading Sony, Nintendo, Sega etc. in the process while creating a boom for competing Chinese and South Korean tech companies like Tencent, Xiaomi, LG and Samsung) buy Sony? Yeah, totally not going to happen.
Gaming & 3D are critical to current & future (AR) Apple platforms but they need to invest in power-efficient 3D graphics beyond TBDR & brute force compute. iPhones, iPads, Macs & ATVs need a new generation of graphics cores & graphics-heavy SoCs which in turn will drive developer interest (ARM should already be on their roadmaps).
A first step would be providing easy multi-platform application targeting for Apple’s own platforms followed by transition kits for x86/DirectX bound software (like the SSE/AVX to ASi libraries on GitHub).
or just “Apple Arcade.”
Use the m1 Max and let it loose on the planet.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California_Department_of_Fair_Employment_and_Housing_v._Activision_Blizzard <--
They must look at their $3 trillion capitalisation and ask themselves, “Do we though?”.
Nah.
You don't have to be the largest player in a market to for anti-trust issues to surface, you just have to be "big enough" and to leverage power in a one market to improve your sales & revenue in another.
Gaming is massive, streaming was worth $245bn in 2018, gaming was roughly $150bn. Gaming is 70% of the revenue of the App Store. Apple needs to get some young blood in the upper management that understands this, as none of the ageing VPs gets it at all - and they're missing out big time.