Apple to enter gaming Market

[Nemesis 1]

Ya . I seen this coming INTEL/Apple its going to happen . If one thinks about it. Intel is Keeps talking about RTRT. NV and ATI aren't ready for it. SO the gaming industry will follow NV/ATI.

The smart way for intel to bring this to market would be threw Apple a close partner.
FutureMark just announced it was entering the gaming market recently. Its said they have a new IP. With larrabee not that far off its to much of a reach to see these 3 companies work this out together. It makes sense also as Apple in the PC market has only about 9% of share so it would be a good fit for a totally new direction in PC gaming. If intel delivers and there is a game out thats good with new IP for RtRT. Apple could grow market PC share really fast. Leaving everyone else behind.

Sure it RTRT won't be mainstream for awhile but Apple/Intel could be very interesting.

Can't wait for Spring IDF to here more from Intel on Nehalem/Larrabee and RTRT.

If Futurmark is smart being new to gaming. I would go with Intel and RTRT. Apple wants into gaming . So this looks pretty interesting.

http://www.appletell.com/apple...mp-into-gaming-market/

 

[nonameo]

Uh, except that PC gaming isn't very lucrative anymore.

 

[Nemesis 1]

True that . But RTRT could be the shot in the arm to propell it ahead. As new consols are a 5 year from model to model. PS3 can do RTRT but compared to what intel has demoed . Looks like to me . Intel is ahead of all in this area. Its not unusual for intel to be first to bring new hardware to the PC market.

The reason you gave is exactly why Intel/Apple and maybe Futuremark gaming would be a perfect fit. Intel Buying Havak + the fact that RTRT is great for collision detection things are looking interesting. Sure its speculation . But when I said this 8 months ago about Intel/Apple teaming up in game machines and this new news about apple things look to becoming together in away that makes perfect sense. Intel doesn't need to force RtRT into main stream PCs. They can work with Apple on this. Apple has always been big in graphics and it don't get any better than RTRT. So its only natural for apple to enter a market were there are zero players. It looks like Intel is going to have a playing partner or 2.

I for one want this to happen very much. Who wouldn't

 

[Piuc2020]

That does sound good indeed, when Apple sets to do something it does something good (if not spectacular) and they are known to have great software AND hardware designers...

The only thing is, knowing Apple, their games will probably be more on the console-side kind of games rather than PC games, so it won't really help PC Gaming propel as much as you'd think.

 

[Magusigne]

Kind of on a side note. Did anyone play Escape velocity? Originally developed for the mac?

 

[Nemesis 1]

If it was anyone else but intel pushing RTRT I would have to agree. Intel has no Game consols. Intel is going to bring 8core 16 thread cpu's to market in 09. 4core 8 thread in 08. Than larrabee 16 cores 64 threads in early 09. It is intels interestest to make PCs the gaming format of choice. With RTRT they can do this. So intel in the not so distant future will have a total 72 than latter 80 threads working on RTRT . OH ya it can be done.

5 weeks till spring IDF than we will know alot more of what Intel is planning.

 

[Skunkwourk]

Originally posted by: Powernick50
Kind of on a side note. Did anyone play Escape velocity? Originally developed for the mac?

I did back when I had a Powermac 6100. I was actually pretty good friends back then with the guy who made the EV Star Wars patch as well.

 

[Piuc2020]

I used to play Escape Velocity and EV: Override, they were pretty fun games, they gave you a real sense of progression when you migrated from your crummy shuttle to your first real vessel (a tri-wing model called corvette or something like that was my first upgrade I remember).

Ah good times, I have yet to see how EV: Nova is but I think the days were EV was an impressive game are long gone.

 

[SickBeast]

Apple could easily turn the iPhone/iPod touch into PSP killers. I imagine that's what they're planning to do. You could just buy the games through iTunes just like the current ones they sell. It's actually a brilliant idea IMO. The iPod always reminded me of a Game Boy for some reason. Perhaps the shape, the colour, and the size and placement of the screen. The 3G iPod particularly ressembled one.

 

[Skunkwourk]

Originally posted by: nonameo

Uh, except that PC gaming isn't very lucrative anymore.

People keep saying that, but I bought more PC games last year than I had any other.

 

[Piuc2020]

Originally posted by: SickBeast
Apple could easily turn the iPhone/iPod touch into PSP killers. I imagine that's what they're planning to do. You could just buy the games through iTunes just like the current ones they sell. It's actually a brilliant idea IMO. The iPod always reminded me of a Game Boy for some reason. Perhaps the shape, the colour, and the size and placement of the screen. The 3G iPod particularly ressembled one.

The problem is, multi-touch screen is NOWHERE near a good replacement for real hardware controls, I've tried the NES and PSX emulators on the iPhone, the lack of tactile feedback just makes it so uncomfortable and weird to play.

They could make some touch screen centric games but that wouldn't be enough to kill the PSP, let alone the already touch-capable Nintendo DS.

 

[IlllI]

what the hell is 'rtrt'

 

[SickBeast]

Originally posted by: Piuc2020

Originally posted by: SickBeast
Apple could easily turn the iPhone/iPod touch into PSP killers. I imagine that's what they're planning to do. You could just buy the games through iTunes just like the current ones they sell. It's actually a brilliant idea IMO. The iPod always reminded me of a Game Boy for some reason. Perhaps the shape, the colour, and the size and placement of the screen. The 3G iPod particularly ressembled one.

The problem is, multi-touch screen is NOWHERE near a good replacement for real hardware controls, I've tried the NES and PSX emulators on the iPhone, the lack of tactile feedback just makes it so uncomfortable and weird to play.

They could make some touch screen centric games but that wouldn't be enough to kill the PSP, let alone the already touch-capable Nintendo DS.

They would obviously have to make a new gaming-centric iPhone with a GPU and controls like an analog stick and buttons.

The simple fact the people already buy iPods in massive numbers would give a system like this an instant foothold in terms of an installed base. They will probably market it as the next-gen iPod with gaming features. I can't see a GPU adding much to the BOM for an iPhone, along with a few basic buttons.

 

[Nemesis 1]

Originally posted by: clandren
what the hell is 'rtrt'

Real Time Ray Tracing. Its coming alot sooner than many are saying.

Whay I am saying is that. Intel cann't force this on the PC gaming community. So how does Intel do this.

The smart way. Thats how. Apple doesn't really have a gaming API. Intel needs a PC vender to Help them. Intel needs an API for RTRT . Enter Apple . Apple has OSX and they make PCs. Now what neither Intel or Apple has is a Game to introduce RTRT to the PC gaming community.. Again I speculate that Future mark will fill this void. Future mark is developing its own gaming IP.

Now if Intel can Make RTRT run fast enough @ higher res. and Apple works on an API for RTRT. And Future Mark can deliver a game . That delivers what the gaming community Likes.

This would = A hugh success for these 3 companies . It would also put PC gaming at a higher level than XBOX 360 or PS3.

5 more weeks Intel will either shoot down my speculation here. Or Add substastance to the conjecture . I have brought forward in this thread.

As gamers on PCs we need Intel to pull this off. Apple needs a gaming API but its to late for Apple in the way its meant to be played arena. But to be the First with an API for RTRT now thats something special. ALL thats required is a great game to pull this off.

The Ipod stuff is all well and good. and the consol market is great . But PC gaming needs RTRT yesterday. Lets see how this plays out.

 

[Shortass]

Escape Velocity is an amazing series... I extensively played all three (EV:Nova is excellent) and even went so far as to develop some small time patches, weapons and helped on some random conversions when I was really into it. Great community, those were certainly the days...

It would be sweet for Apple to get back into the gaming market, PC gaming is still way more fun to play over consoles for most games and more options are always good to have.

 

[Oyeve]

Apple does this every few years. They keep trying to get into the gaming market. Even in the late 80s they kept trying. Maybe they will succeed with Intel in their systems now.

 

[Freejack2]

I'm amazed that developers still continue to keep the pc gaming market alive. I can understand with mmorpgs like World of Warcraft but most other games should be developed almost solely for consoles. Less piracy, less hardware compatibility issues, and quicker to develop. Heck, I'm surprised Blizzard and other mmorpg makers haven't released their game for the consoles. By bundling a keyboard for the console, Blizzard alone could probably nearly double their subscriptions.
I suspect if it wasn't for the video card manufacturers developers would only be developing games for consoles.

Also think of the money we'd save on computers. You'd only need a a cheap $400 computer to do everything you need if it wasn't for games and you'd only need to upgrade that every 5 years or so. We'd be spending about 900 every 5 years instead of nearly that much every year.

 

[Nemesis 1]

That post above was good. Pretty close to the trueth also. Now what would give intel cause to go against this type of thinking. Could it be they are like NV and ATI and want to sell more chips than a once every 5 year deal . Look at NV and ATI for ans. New GPUs every 18 months. Its all about $$$$$$. Final ans.

 

[JSt0rm]

i think its a smart move. Also the mac is less prone to piracy then the pc although that could change. I don't think its impossible, its just people don't spend the time on it.

 

[phexac]

So many people keep saying PC gaming is dead, and yet every year PC game publishers make millions of dollars and more and more and better games come out. I would be interested in seeing the numbers or any concrete proof at all for these claims. As is, they sound like something people like to say to seem like they know something.

 

[schneiderguy]

Originally posted by: nonameo

Uh, except that PC gaming isn't very lucrative anymore.

$1 billion worth of PC games were sold last year, not including online sales. Not lucrative?

 

[BladeVenom]

Originally posted by: nonameo

Uh, except that PC gaming isn't very lucrative anymore.

Name one game that has ever made as much money as WoW? Blizzard made over $1.5 billion dollars last year.

Gabe Newell says things are going great with Steam having over 15 million subscribers.

The Sims 2 sold over 14 million copies, and even more expansion packs.

 

[Piuc2020]

Indeed, PC Gaming is the MOST lucrative since you don't need to pay licensing fees, you are less restricted and your userbase is a lot bigger.

 

[nitromullet]

Originally posted by: JSt0rm01
i think its a smart move. Also the mac is less prone to piracy then the pc although that could change. I don't think its impossible, its just people don't spend the time on it.

What ever gave you that idea? There's tons of piracy going on with macs... No need for anyone to spend any time on it because piracy is so damn easy on a mac... OS X itself doesn't have any activation whatsoever. It will install with no modification whatsoever on any Apple built mac that has the hardware to support the OS, and there are cracked copies of OS X that will install in almost any current Intel (and some AMD) based PC's.