Microsoft set to destroy Apple in every games market

Yawn. Yet another inane declaration that MS will step into some product field Apple's doing well in and send Apple reeling simply because they're Microsoft and they're big and stuff. Just like...

...Plays for Sure
...and Zune
...and Windows Mobile

Meanwhile, Apple just keeps doing what they do...selling more Macs than ever, continuing to dominate the digital music player market (even without DRM which was never their requirement to begin with), continuing to sell iPhones by the shipload and on and on it goes.

Wake me up when you guys figure out the 90s aren't going to repeat themselves.

I completely disagree.

First off, a minor point, a touch or gesture gaming experience simply wont port to a more traditional medium well. We already see enough trouble between console and PC gaming input schemes or games built with a common UI. For one, a touch UI has no rollover states, which breaks many common navigation systems, we see this issue when trying to browse the web on many mobile devices.

Second off, when talking of market share, take into account the number of prospective mobile game consumers that already own a iPhone or iTouch. The iPhone OS may not have as much market share as blackberry users, but the market segment of people who are likely to buy mobile games are generally Apple device owners already.

Third off, the gaming experience on a mobile device is so radically different than that for other mediums, the same type of game (let alone the implementation that I hinted at in my first point) simply doesn't lend itself to consumption of multiple platforms. Take for instance the instant hit of Plants vs Zombies, awesome on the iPhone, boring on the desktop. Assassins Creed 2, awesome on the Xbox terrible on a mobile device. Games with an rich, deep story get frustratingly cut off when trying to be consumed on the bus to work or in any casual gaming situation.

Fourth off, the above comments about mobile vs ... stationary gaming aside, the control schemes between console and computer gaming are radically different. Think for a second about why a game such as World of Warcraft never came to the console, a handheld controller is simply too limiting. There simply is not enough interaction precision via ~12 fixed controls vs a keyboard and mouse. It works great for some games, but not others.

This will lead to nothing but more generic and mediocre games. The best games for any platform have been tightly integrated with the specific hardware setup and human factor considerations. I fear developers building generic junk games that work on multiple platforms rather than amazingly and obsessively designed gaming experiences..

What Daniel said.

The iPhone does run OS X (so does the Apple TV, like anyone cares), and the XBox does indeed run Windows. It runs more of a Windows than Windows CE devices.

Having the same core OS makes sense across devices; I'm not sure that having the same applications does, and I know that having the same interface doesn't.

"Interoperability and cross-platform applications are really cool. You hear that, Apple? Whatever happened to the 'unified architecture' of the desktop Macs? "

Cross-platform applications suck ass. It is almost *impossible* to produce good cross-platform applications, and I would argue that it *is* impossible to do so without changing the codebase. How many Java apps do you use on a day-to-day basis? Adobe AIR?

Do you remember the TurboGrafx16? How about the TurboExpress? The TurboExpress allowed you to play at TurboGrafx games on a portable device. Guess what? Many of the games were unplayable when shrunken from TV size down to portable size. This is why Microsoft Media Center and Windows Media Player do not use the same interface. This is why Windows 7 Phone Series does not use the same interface as Windows 7. Etc., etc.

The platforms *are* separate and different. It's like pretending the browser is the same as the desktop: using a webapp that tries to look and feel like a desktop app (e.g. Outlook Web Access) completely sucks compared to using one that was designed to be browsery (e.g. GMail).

Lots of facts from Apple in last eighteen months. Lots of promises from Microsoft for the next eighteen months. Good luck.

"Did you know that the Xbox 360 is just a PC in a box?"

Actually I did. Or rather, didn't. Well, by that, I mean that an XBOX 360 is based on IBM's POWER architecture just like the PS3, Wii, and GameCube are. In fact, Microsoft used highly modified PowerMac G5 units as alpha-development kits. Sure, they don't run Apple software today, and Apple no longer has a partnership with IBM to buy and develop the PowerPC processor for use in desktop computers, but the XBOX 360 owes its present existence to it's lineage of Apple hardware development.

So by "personal computer", you're right! But if you meant an "off the shelf gathering of parts centered around an Intel CPU," then I think you meant the original XBOX. You know, the one that cost them too much to manufacture years later because the design was not reducible as Sony and Nintendo were already accustomed to planning ahead for.

Besides, Apple does not have a home console. So, that's a null point.

As far as lockdown goes, all console manufactures have it. It's called "licensing". If you develop a game, and the company who owns and markets the console doesn't want it to be sold, there's an existing contract that says Microsoft, Nintendo, and Sony get so say "No". Apple's is simply more well known because the iPhone has more developers who are also more liberally outspoken.

You're complaining about sandboxing, a technique that's intended to maintain OS stability when apps crash for one reason or another? Strange.

"...now that Microsoft is offering so much more"

More how? The iPhone install base is far greater than the XBOX 360 and over a shorter period of time.

Want to talk about openness of platform and development? Then you need to argue that the Android or Linux in general is the greater product because of it's licensing philosophy.

"but can you really see developers siding with the iPhone when Windows Phone 7 is just around the corner?"

Developers almost always side with whichever platform has the larger installed base and would give them the most exposure/sales.

So right now:

iPhone/iPod touch installed base: 10M+
Windows Phone 7 Series installed base: 0

The answer seems rather obvious to me :)

I think everybody knows two simple equations are at work: how much does it cost to develop for platform x; how much does it generate to develop for platform x. If everything MS pre-announced and if their phone OS and other game-playing platforms are a success, you may very well be right.
MS is champion in pre-announcing products and declaring success. So on that note, let's see how their new phone OS will be received and how well their magic tools will work in practice - will it generate games that are real world playable and capture their audience. Will the hardware do so as well? Everything you say can be true, but the fat lady hasn't even entered the building. (Yes, I know, PC market share etc, but as for game sales on mobile platforms, right now? I'd rather be Apple than MS or even Sony. Who'd have thought? Interesting times)

This would be great for little puzzles that tie in to bigger games. Imagine playing little bits of Mass Effect everywhere you go. Heaven...

Wow. Microsoft invents cross-platform code! What an innovation! That 2 inch x 2 inch phone game will look great on my 30" LCD monitor... or my flatscreen TV! I sure wish I could write a C program that compiled and ran on both my Mac and my iPhone... Let's see how well these games look... meanwhile experienced programmers will opt for traditional tools to deliver the best experiences to their customers...

I'm sure they'll destroy them just like they did Nintendo and Sony.

Perhaps, from a marketing perspective, MS need to build more on the success of the xBox. It is after all the only Microsoft product many people consider truly successful for its hardware, performance and reliability

As a Mac user and owner of many Apple products the xBox is the only microsoft product I would consider owning (currently I have two original xBox)

So how about

xBox
xPhone
xTune (zune/marketplace)
xTv
xSlate
xOS (A new version of the xBox operating system that runs/runs on all of the above)

A shipping version of the above every two months and annual replacements thereafter.

And scrap Windows as a name for non PC products of any kind

Stop trying to innovate and get back to what they are good at - copying

Wow, imagine that. You can get viruses and trojans that will run on your windows PC, your Xbox and now your phone with no recompilation required !!

Interesting how many people's first comment are on this post.

I meant to reply to this earlier but gaming, (on OSX no less) got in the way :)

Most of the games I'm playing on OSX, (EA games mainly) Are actually windows games that have been ported. To that end they actually run in a version of wine, and Sims 3 even loads directx dll's to make the mods work properly. OSX 10.5.7 Intel Quad core.

So how the fact that windows is about to steam roll all before it is supposed to be bad thing I'll never know. Far as I can see The more windows game that get produced the more that will make the transition.

I can understand if you don't own a Mac, (or a Hackintosh in my case) you may be ignorant of this, but it does render your argument somewhat moot. Just FYI.

As for mobile, the only factor blocking wider takeup of games is flash, which Apple won't run. But I imagine once HTML5 gets off the ground then that won't be much of an issue. I reckon that windows 7 will be an also ran to be honest, what with google giving chrome/android (and turn by turn GPS data) away for free. Windows still has to charge. If I were a handset maker I know what I'd do, I also suspect that people who can't afford an iphone will pick the cheaper option, and I doubt that will be Mobile 7.

"You obviously missed the point of the article. MS has set it up so that all you have to do is program for one system then remap the buttons for the other system and "viola" it is done."

Yeah, right, can you say 'Guaranteed Play Anywhere'? Or whatever that plan was that M$ had to let everyone play all their music 'everywhere'. And then, what a shocking surprise, they abandoned that dream, brought along that storming huge success, the Zune, and have since changed directions at least once more.

http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/03/07/microsoft-set-to-destroy-apple-every-games-market/#

Did everyone miss one of the points of this article. Cloud computing. Microsoft has a new view about cloud computing. Has anyone ever herd of Onlive? What they have accomplished is what Microsoft is thinking about doing. With Onlive you can play crysis on an iphone. Not to mention it is on the highest setting. So if Microsoft were to get into this market that would bring their already popular xbox live which dominates the market to an even broader market. People can play against eachother on different platforms. Even tho pc gamers can have a huge advantage against someone using a cell phone. Microsoft domination will continue. Im not a Fanboy, I am just saying, that, I for one say I will buy more Microsoft products. That is until, if, apple joins the gaming market and do the same thing. Could this mean the end of Nintendo and Sorny?

You forget that not only does the iphone do games, but also just cool things like Ocirana (If I spelled that right). About that comparison. I would guess roughly 9 million use windows and the xbox? If that's correct, then that means the iphone is MORE POPULAR THAN MOST MICROSOFT PRODUCTS COMBINED. That doesn't just go away.