Assuming that Apple follows their usual habits the end result will be a device with little to no 3rd party support that will cost more than a launch PS3 but be no better than the competition. This is the same company that made the Air... a 15 inch laptop with no dvd drive like a 60gb HDD but sells for like $1700. It's also the same company that cranks out a new version of the hardware like every year. And it's not the usual console thing of a new sku thats just a bundle or something. It's new hardware where the software made for it won't work on the older platform.
You're gonna be caught up in the Apple thing of paying insane money for a product that Apple is gonna be replaced by a way better version in a year.
Plus, Apple is going to be directly competing with Nintendo who is basically a console version of Apple except they sell their products at a decent price have more 3rd party support, have top notch first party games, tons of recognizable and beloved franchises etc.
Senor_Kami
This is exactly why Apple will not enter the console market. Yes, I imagine they will increase the gaming aspects of their devices, but no they will absolutely not enter the console market...at least in terms of a traditional console.
This is because the console market is completely the opposite of Apple's business model. The console market is defined by a relatively static product (from a hardware perspective) that runs at a significant loss early and recovers its investment over the longer term. Apple is the exact opposite.
The parts of your post thatI highlighted are the main evidence.
Apple does not seek to sell to the mass/whole marketplace. They seek to sell to early adopters and the early majority. They do not seek to sell to the late majority or laggards. Their business model is to sell to the leading edge...over and over again. Their target audience is the person that has owned every version of the IPod at one time or another and bought an IPhone for $800 :)
Seriously, Apple's core strategy is to be an innovator. To offer the newest features first. And to sell their products at a premium price. They completely depend upon early adopters. And they are selling the same people over and over again. Because of this, they deliberately cannabalize themselves every 6 months to a year by releasing new hardware. The life of any model is measured by a few years at absolute most and normally under 24 months from introductionto obsolesence.
This is exactlywhy there are two camps of opinion about Apple products. Those that want the newest and coolest and find value in Apple's extra features and neat innovations, and are willing to pay a premium for a solid product. These people are generally the early adopters and early majority.
And then there are the people who think Apple is grossly overpriced, offering not much more, if anything, then the competition. That is because with 6-9 months of Apple introducing a product there are 5 imitators that introduce similar cheaper products...the copiers. This ****of people buy a little bit later andthey buy more on the price side of price/value. Of course the alternatives they are looking at seem better....they are comparing a competitors cheaper/later product against an Apple version that is already nearing obsolesence and will be eliminated within 6 months...but still Apple priced :)
Roll all that up, and the long game of the traditional console market is the exact oppositeof Apple's core business strategy. Expect them to push games on an ever changing, ever expanded feature set, on constantly changing and updated hand held consumer products....not on a static home console.
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