The Future of the gaming industry?

Interconnectivity hasn’t had much success in the videogame industry. Nintendo tried with the Gamecube to Gameboy Advance, linking both systems via a ‘link cable’. The Gameboy Advanced acted as a second screen in some games, in the Pokemon series you could transfer Pokemon that you’d caught in the Gameboy version to the Gamecube 3D title, Pokemon Stadium. You could even unlock parts of games not accessible without linking the systems where you would play through different segments of a new game by jumping between 2D and 3D. It was, at its core, a failure. The concept was strong, however despite its shortcomings and until now we haven’t seen anyone try it again, but technology has come along way since then.

Both the Nintendo DSi and the PSP are WiFi enabled, eliminating the need for cables to connect the devices to their corresponding home console devices. The integration of handheld systems to home consoles seems inevitable. Sharing content, storing content, supplementing the handheld as an extra controller and altering game mechanics are just some of the many roles that the Playstation 3 and Wii’s little handheld brothers could come in handy for. This might seem like an exciting prospect for Playstation 3 and Wii owners, but have they already been beaten to the punch by a more sophisticated rival who’s already familiar with using product integration?

Apple is slowly moving into the movie playback market with their reasonably successful ‘Apple TV’ hardware. Jobs referrers to Apple TV as a ‘DVD Player for the Internet’, the device lets you stream or download HD video content wirelessly from your Mac or PC directly to your TV. Currently Apple still sees Apple TV as more of a ‘hobby’ than a strong wing of the Apple alliance (meaning iPod, iPhone and Mac) but this is set to change. Sales have increased and issues with previous models preventing the product from taking off will inevitable be addressed in redesigns.

This is relevant because of how Apple seems to operate. Let’s take a look at the iPod for a second. Since October 2004 the iPod dominated sales in the US. Apple capitalised on their success by continuing to carefully modify and update the product, creating smaller, simpler, less expensive versions to make sure that the iPod brand was assessable to everyone eventually. The iPod brand reached its pinnacle with the ‘iPod Touch’ that included a large touch screen, photos, video, games and music and could connect to wirless internet connections (not 3G Phone networks). The design and features, within the restrictions of it remaining a MP3 device, were flawless.

Then came the iPhone, the natural progression from the iPod (likely a response to mobile phones incorporating similar features to the iPod), and Apple’s entrance into the mobile phone market. The iPhone (3G) was a huge hit with those that could muster the hundreds of dollars needed to pick one of these bad boys up. It’s a ‘must have item’ for both youths and adults, but it isn’t the phone that makes this device so unique, it’s its ability to connect to the internet wirelessly and download from Apple’s ‘Apps Store’ on the go via 3G networks. Everything from games to movies to TV to music is available to download in seconds at the press of a button.

Through the evolution of Apple’s iPod, they’ve successfully infiltrated the the MP3 market, the mobile phone market and as we’re discovering now the handheld video game market. If there’s anything to learn from this, it’s that Apple is a company of progression. Capitalising on the install base already created by existing products and subtly introducing new features and forms of entertainment in each succeeding device. Apple TV is here and I’d put my money on a remodel integrating browsing technology and streamed gaming.

It’s already a reality, the technology is there with a new service called ‘OnLive’ which enables full Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 quality titles to be streamed straight to your PC or Mac. What’s stopping Apple from using similar technology to stream games straight through your TV via Apple TV?

At the centre of Apple’s master plan is the iTune Store, already packed with games for the iPhone and the ability to rent or buy HD quality movies directly from iTunes straight to the hard drive on Apple TV within seconds – wirelessly. The possibility of Apple doing something similar with games is well and truly on the horizon.

It’s been predicted that by the end of 2009 Apple will have sold 6.6 million Apple TV boxes. Now that’s a long way behind Sony’s 22 million (approx) Playstation 3 consoles, its closest competitor (should Apple TV support gaming fuctionality). But Apple’s iPod didn’t kick off and become the world wide sensation we all remember until its 4^th generation. We’re currently in Apple TV’s 2^nd reiteration which gives it more than enough time to find its way into homes before the next generation of consoles are released.

If Apple TV becomes anywhere near as successful as it’s other electronic devices and offers something not dissimilar from what OnLive currently offers, the interconnectivity between house hold devices will be unheard of and the possibilities: endless.

Imagine if you will, listening to music being streamed from your Macbook or iMac through Apple TV to your surround sound set up. The latest Call of Duty has just been released and instead of going to your local EB or JBHiFi you simply stream it directly to your TV after you purchase it via iTunes, oh and one more thing, you’re using a redesign of the iPhone to control the game, one that includes a tradition control pad. The screen is displaying the map and you’re talking to your team makes using the load speaker on your iPhone.

If you can possibly fathom the prospect that this is the near future, and I’d bet my gamer thumbs that it is, we may well on the verge of a gaming Armageddon. How in the face of stylised interconnecting devices, cheap, quality games and (I’d bet) one hell of a marketing campaign can we expect our traditional game developers to stand up to a company who just doesn’t seem to miss a step?

More next tomorrow...