Apple the next gaming giant?

 Xbox Project Founder: 

Game-Enabled Apple TV Would Crush The Competition 

(by Akshay Masand)

Writing on his own personal blog, Nat Brown, the founder and self-proclaimed namer of Microsoft’s original Xbox project, mentioned Apple could quickly come to dominate the gaming sector if the company decided to add gaming capabilities to its Apple TV set top box or the continually rumored Apple HDTV. Brown continued by saying that Microsoft and other traditional console makers such as Sony failed to understand and capitalize on the potential for living room connected devices. According to him, Xbox’s primary critical problem:

 "...is the lack of a functional and growing platform ecosystem for small developers to sell digitally network distributed (non-disc) content through to the installed base of Xbox customers, period. Why can't I write a game for Xbox tomorrow using $100 worth of tools and my existing Windows laptop and test it on my home xBox or at my friends' houses? Why can't I then distribute it digitally in a decent online store... like I can for Android or iPhone, or for iPad?"

 He continued by pointing out that Microsoft’s developer program for its console requires “$10,000/year and a ton of paperwork, with Microsoft holding veto power over your game.” Apple in turn according to him is perfectly positioned to shake up the gaming sector if it decides to bring games to its Apple TV device. The company’s existing developer framework would make it easy to attract small developers. 

According to Brown:

 "Apple, if it chooses to do so, will simply kill Playstation, Wii-U, and xBox by introducing an open 30%-cut app/game ecosystem for Apple-TV... I will be the first to write apps for Apple-TV when I can, and I know I'll make money. I would for xBox if I could and I knew I would make money."

 If all of this sounds a tad bit familiar, that’s because it is as Brown isn’t the first established name in the gaming industry to state that Apple is poised to make a big impact in gaming if it chose to do so, Valve cofounder and software engineer, Gabe Newell, also shared similar thoughts in late January. We’ll have to wait and see if Apple takes the cue and walks down that path. 

 Source: Nat Brown (blog)

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