apple

With mobile success already under its belt, we consider Apple’s next move and why it could change the way you play at home forever.

• by Damien McFerran
• June 17, 2011 08:00 AM PT

Even the most blinkered of Apple skeptics will admit that the rise of the iPhone — and its close siblings, the iPod Touch and iPad — has been nothing short of meteoric. since the inception of the original 2G iPhone back in 2007, Apple has shifted an incredible 190 million units of its combined iOS range, making it one of the most successful platforms of the modern era, and the company recently overtook Google to become the most valuable brand in the world.

One area where Apple has enjoyed particular (and some would argue unexpected) success is in the distribution of games. the iPhone App Store now boasts over 350,000 items available to download, a large percentage of which are focused solely on finger-friendly entertainment. Titles such as Angry Birds, Fruit Ninja, and Flight Control have sold in the millions, making gamers out of people who ordinarily wouldn’t even dream of picking up a traditional controller, let alone purchase a portable console.

Apple’s conquest of the interactive entertainment arena shows no sign of relenting, either. Recently, the company acquired the services of former Nintendo UK Head of Communications Rob Saunders and Activision’s Nick Grange. while neither individual is involved explicitly with games development — their expertise lies in the field of public relations — such bold moves are nonetheless a clear indication that Apple is keen to take control of its own destiny when it comes to gaming, and could hint at a wider attack which will leave stalwarts such as Nintendo, Sony and Microsoft reeling.

While it’s tempting to assume that Apple’s fresh gaming-focused strategy is merely to buttress its existing portable iOS business, we believe the Cupertino-based company has something a little more dramatic planned. Apple is a company that is constantly looking to expand into new and fertile territory, and there’s another equally profitable arena that is just waiting to be dominated: your living room.

Apple is a company that is constantly looking to expand into new and fertile territory, and there’s another equally profitable arena that is just waiting to be dominated: your living room.

Apple has made no attempt to conceal its desire to take control of our televisions; Apple TV – a set-top box which grants access to movies, TV shows and music – may have experienced some teething problems, but it continues to be an ongoing venture for the firm. what better way of solidifying its future than by adding the ability to play games into that package? or perhaps Apple is cooking up something even more drastic, such as a fully-fledged gaming system?

With the recently-launched iPad 2, Apple certainly has the hardware to make such a daring move. the iPad 2′s technological prowess is nothing short of incredible when you consider its svelte frame; already impressive iOS titles like Infinity Blade are given an additional layer of detail that approaches the sort of lavish imagery we’re accustomed to seeing on our Xbox 360s and PS3. With the current generation of iOS gaming arguably giving the Nintendo Wii a run for its money in graphical terms, an all-new Apple “console” based on the Apple A5 ARM Cortex-A9 MPCore CPU — which powers the iPad 2 and is expected to make its way into the next iPhone model — could easily be up to PS3/360 standard…or possibly even beyond.

<a href="http://www.gamepro.com/article/features/220492/apples-videogame-future/tag:news.google.com,2005:cluster=http://www.gamepro.com/article/features/220492/apples-videogame-future/Fri, 17 Jun 2011 15:08:01 GMT 00:00″>Apple’s Videogame Future