Apple Entering Video Games Console Market? Not Likely.

Let’s be honest, there’s barely enough room in the video games console market for the three companies already present there, Nintendo, Sony and Microsoft, so why would Apple want to stick their noses in?

In an article recently published on Apple Insider, Prudential analyst Jesse Tortora says that there is indication via a series of checks that Apple Computer has hired video game designers and may be entering the video games [console] market. What that really means is that Apple hired a couple of guys/gals with previous games development experience to either work on future operating systems for the Macintosh platform or to develop some snazzy but rather pointless games for the iPod. And his version of “may” is actually just a premonition that Apple could have the ability to delve into the games market now that they’ve acquired a few gamer geeks.

You see if Apple did ever enter the games console market, they’d either have to do something so innovative that it puts Nintendo to shame (and I’m sorry but Nintendo are the innovators of video games and console) or lose untold amounts of money invested in the graphics whilst playing catch up to Microsoft and Sony.

At present I believe there’s only room for two console giants in the market, one of those being Nintendo with their revolutionary ways, the other place being fought out by Microsoft and Sony. SEGA were once a part of that clan where Microsoft now lay but prefer to stick to simple and boring games that were popular twenty years ago and no longer create consoles.

Apple has always been known as a hardware company, creating some of the most beautiful computer units known to humanity, if not the most beautiful. They make some pretty amazing software as well, with an award winning operating system (it has won awards, right?), but it’s the hardware that has made Apple so incredibly rich. On the other hand, it’s also known that the games console market is the complete opposite of that, with sales of every piece of hardware losing money (in order to compete you understand) whilst the giants rely on profit made from games – Halo being a huge seller for Microsoft and Final Fantasy for Sony. So how would a company such as Apple Computer fit into this?

The answer? They wouldn’t.

Why would Apple want to change what they are first and foremost about, hardware, and rely on software alone to make their money? The only way I can see them developing consoles and making money on each one sold in order to compete is to produce that console at a cheap price, which would most likely mean dirt-cheap parts. Asking Apple to produce ‘cheap’ is like asking Microsoft to develop something of quality (other than the Xbox 360); it isn’t going to happen folks.

So these game developers?

Exactly that, they’re games developers. Apple already has a ‘console’ that is both profitable and world renowned, it’s called the Macintosh and it comes in many forms. Although I personally see these developers coding some iPod games or perhaps some part of a future operating system, there’s also the possibility Apple will just create a game or two, possible for other consoles, just to see if it’s worth their while going down that route. Even then that would be going against what Apple stand for, but it’s more likely than them creating a computer console that will lose them millions of dollars.

So what’s your view? Do you think Apple would and could create a profitable computer console? Are these games developers doing exactly what I’ve just said, coding future operating systems or maybe developing a couple of iPod games? Or are they going to develop their own games to play on other computer consoles, such as the PS3 and Xbox 360?