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Microsoft, Apple, Sony, Nintendo and OnLive are the large players in the next-gen gaming war, and we are purposely calling it a "gaming war" as opposed to a "console war" because it's moved well beyond the lounge. And, it's more complicated than ever before.
Consoles are barely consoles anymore; they are more like set-top boxes that aim to be the center-piece of your home theater. Samsung and Apple smartphones pair up with television sets and set-top boxes to act as controllers for games that run on the telephones themselves. A few of these platforms can connect to OnLive, giving game-players access to PC games on smartphones, tablets and computers at home or on the go. And before all of this occurred, Nintendo helped catalyze the approval for casual gaming (that Apple has now harnessed as a cash cow) with the Nintendo Wii and the DS. Casual gaming hasn't ever been as successful as it is now.
Now, it's inadequate for a company to build a console with the best hardware available, and then simply supply that console with quality titles. That was the first formula for success, and it worked across the 80s, 90s, and 00s. But this is a new day, and everybody's making it harder for everybody else to play.
As we mentioned before, Apple has harnessed as a money generator the acclamation for casual gaming, a market class invented and improved upon by Nintendo. Apple games can run on iOS devices, which can wirelessly hook up with the Apple TV, making it sort of Apple's faux console. But Nintendo appears ready to keep on the successful formula of the Wii because it's working well. Microsoft noticed this, and it's ready to unharness the Xbox Lite by the end of 2013. It's meant to be a set-top box with weak specs that will sell media, games and apps to users, and it will be a direct competitor to the Apple Television and the Nintendo Wii.
And then there's Sony. This company owns movie, music game and studios, so it can develop and publish fine quality software, hardware, media, and games in house that it sells on smartphones, tablets, PCs and consoles that it builds in house. From end to end, Sony can ensure a high-quality experience for the end user. No other company produces literally everything in house, and that puts it in a unique position against its competitors.
Of course, it'll potentially be Apple that comes out on top of all these corporations. It's now considered the most important company globally , so it can likely buy OnLive and perhaps even Nintendo if it wanted.
Consoles are barely consoles anymore; they are more like set-top boxes that aim to be the center-piece of your home theater. Samsung and Apple smartphones pair up with television sets and set-top boxes to act as controllers for games that run on the telephones themselves. A few of these platforms can connect to OnLive, giving game-players access to PC games on smartphones, tablets and computers at home or on the go. And before all of this occurred, Nintendo helped catalyze the approval for casual gaming (that Apple has now harnessed as a cash cow) with the Nintendo Wii and the DS. Casual gaming hasn't ever been as successful as it is now.
Now, it's inadequate for a company to build a console with the best hardware available, and then simply supply that console with quality titles. That was the first formula for success, and it worked across the 80s, 90s, and 00s. But this is a new day, and everybody's making it harder for everybody else to play.
As we mentioned before, Apple has harnessed as a money generator the acclamation for casual gaming, a market class invented and improved upon by Nintendo. Apple games can run on iOS devices, which can wirelessly hook up with the Apple TV, making it sort of Apple's faux console. But Nintendo appears ready to keep on the successful formula of the Wii because it's working well. Microsoft noticed this, and it's ready to unharness the Xbox Lite by the end of 2013. It's meant to be a set-top box with weak specs that will sell media, games and apps to users, and it will be a direct competitor to the Apple Television and the Nintendo Wii.
And then there's Sony. This company owns movie, music game and studios, so it can develop and publish fine quality software, hardware, media, and games in house that it sells on smartphones, tablets, PCs and consoles that it builds in house. From end to end, Sony can ensure a high-quality experience for the end user. No other company produces literally everything in house, and that puts it in a unique position against its competitors.
Of course, it'll potentially be Apple that comes out on top of all these corporations. It's now considered the most important company globally , so it can likely buy OnLive and perhaps even Nintendo if it wanted.
About the Author:
Fausto Mendez is the editor of ReleaseDates.co, a free website and email-subscription service that updates its readers only about the gadgets, video games and brands they want.
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