Phil Harrison: Apple to dominate gaming market

[Mael Duin]

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/20...ominate-gaming

Apple "will be the games industry" in ten years, ex-Sony boss Phil Harrison believes.

The iPhone and iPad manufacturer, if left unchecked, will rule the gaming space in a decade, Harrison told Edge.

"At this trajectory, if you extrapolate the market-share gains that they are making, forward for ten years... there's a pretty good chance that Apple will be the games industry."

Harrison's reasoning? The speed with which Apple hardware is being swiped off of shop shelves, and the growth of iOS as a viable gaming platform.

"In the proliferation of devices - you've got iPhones, iPads, iPods, which are all part of the same ecosystem; the speed at which Apple sold 15 million iPads is phenomenal," he said. "And the number one activity on an iPad, according to some reports, is games, and I think that will only continue."

Harrison also praised the ease of purchasing content on Apple devices, making acquiring games easy for the consumer. "You see something on the App Store, you click a button, the product delivers to your device. That end-to-end shopping experience, if you want to call it that, has been so elegantly built by Apple and they will continue to refine it."

Harrison was a pivotal figure within Sony, helping to launch the original PlayStation in 1996. He ascended to president of Sony Computer Entertainment's Worldwide Studios, before quitting the company in February 2008.

[TGO]

I see google having more of a chance

[rene2kx]

A little correction on that last part- harrison did not quit sony on his own, instead he got fired. He made a negative comment in public about how SCE handled stuff , after which the fire hammer came from japan.

[BoyBettaKnow]

Apple "will be the games industry" in ten years, ex-Sony boss Phil Harrison believes.
The iPhone and iPad manufacturer, if left unchecked, will rule the gaming space in a decade, Harrison told Edge.
"At this trajectory, if you extrapolate the market-share gains that they are making, forward for ten years... there's a pretty good chance that Apple will be the games industry."
Harrison's reasoning? The speed with which Apple hardware is being swiped off of shop shelves, and the growth of iOS as a viable gaming platform.
"In the proliferation of devices - you've got iPhones, iPads, iPods, which are all part of the same ecosystem; the speed at which Apple sold 15 million iPads is phenomenal," he said. "And the number one activity on an iPad, according to some reports, is games, and I think that will only continue."
Harrison also praised the ease of purchasing content on Apple devices, making acquiring games easy for the consumer. "You see something on the App Store, you click a button, the product delivers to your device. That end-to-end shopping experience, if you want to call it that, has been so elegantly built by Apple and they will continue to refine it."
Harrison was a pivotal figure within Sony, helping to launch the original PlayStation in 1996. He ascended to president of Sony Computer Entertainment's Worldwide Studios, before quitting the company in February 2008.

Source

I'm not sure if i can see it happening but then again i'm pretty sure apple never foresaw the success that they would have with gaming on the iPhone when it first came out so they may be taking gaming seriously for their devices now.

[Ghost-Rhayne]

Handheld/ipad gaming will never replace home console gaming. Playing a game on a phone or ipad just doesn't match playing it on a big HDTV with surround sound or whatever setup one might have. Even if apple release a console they still wont take over gaming industry.

[BoyBettaKnow]

Yeah handhelds will never be able to replace or replicate the experience you can get on a dedicated gaming machine. Knowing Apple as well if they did release a console (as good looking as functional as it' be) they'd charge you your yearly wage and your first born child for it.

I would obviously welcome them with open arms if they did release a console though.

[nofear01]

Says Phil Harrison, the man who jumped from Sony's ship to a dinghy with a hole in it.

[Completely Average]

Apple has tried gaming before, and failed miserably. I don't think they'll be too quick to jump into such a crowded market again.


Apple makes their money by being new and inventive. They haven't had much success when following someone elses lead. iPhone succeeded because there was nothing else like it. iPad succeeded because there really wasn't anything else like it either. iPod succeeded because nobody else had the online music market setup like Apple.

But how successful are they at desktop workstations or desktop gaming PCs. When has Apple ever been good at gaming on any system for that matter.


Anyone remember the Apple Pippin? It was Apples first attempt at a game console.




Apple should stay away from gaming, they've never been any good at it.

[Completely Average]

What's up with this page, and why did it post my reply twice?

[BoyBettaKnow]

Haha, i did hear about that system before but i know nothing about it, at all.
I take it it failed miserably then ?

I know they loved their closed nature but you never know, they may approach it in a better way this time. If they wanted to dip their toes in it anyway

[Sparc]

Apple should stay away from gaming, they've never been any good at it.

6 Years ago people were saying the same about Microsoft.

[Completely Average]

6 Years ago people were saying the same about Microsoft.

Only people who didn't know anything about Microsoft.

Long before there was an Xbox there was the MSX, and it was actually quite successful for it's time. Successful enough that even Sony built one.





Yes, that's right................ Long before the Xbox, long before the original Playstation, Microsoft had a console architecture that they licensed out and Sony built them. (One of several companies to build them)


And guess what system the Metal Gear franchise first appeared on..........



The MSX system first appeared in 1983, before Nintendo released the NES. And of course MS has been involved in PC gaming since the 1980s as well. Microsoft Flight Simulator 1.0 was released in 1983, and is one of the longest running game franchises in the world.

Technically, Microsoft has had their own gaming systems in peoples homes longer than Sony or Nintendo.

[BoyBettaKnow]

I never knew that, Kudos, CA. Was that the same MG that was on the NES?

[sainraja]

6 Years ago people were saying the same about Microsoft.

I don't really recall that -- and it doesn't make sense why people would be saying that because Microsoft has a history with gaming on the PC. Not to mention they included Windows CE w/ the Dreamcast.
--
Although I do see Apple being a strong competitor in gaming if they get serious about it. Bringing up the Apple Pippin as example does not prove that they won't succeed now.

[DarkVincent07]

The thing is, Apple is so successful because the games are cheap and easy to make - as opposed to multi million dollar console titles.
And customers only pay like $1.20AU not $80-$90 AU. So they are completely different TYPES of games for a diffent audience. There is nothing wrong with that, but it will never eliminate the need for AAA big budget, retail titles

[Tyrien]

Handheld/ipad gaming will never replace home console gaming. Playing a game on a phone or ipad just doesn't match playing it on a big HDTV with surround sound or whatever setup one might have. Even if apple release a console they still wont take over gaming industry.

10 years from now it's extremely plausible that that same device will be able to wirelessly connect to both the TV and surround sound.

[BoyBettaKnow]

If the industry follows Nintendo that could very well happen

[Sparc]

Only people who didn't know anything about Microsoft.

Long before there was an Xbox there was the MSX, and it was actually quite successful for it's time. Successful enough that even Sony built one.





Yes, that's right................ Long before the Xbox, long before the original Playstation, Microsoft had a console architecture that they licensed out and Sony built them. (One of several companies to build them)


And guess what system the Metal Gear franchise first appeared on..........



The MSX system first appeared in 1983, before Nintendo released the NES. And of course MS has been involved in PC gaming since the 1980s as well. Microsoft Flight Simulator 1.0 was released in 1983, and is one of the longest running game franchises in the world.

Technically, Microsoft has had their own gaming systems in peoples homes longer than Sony or Nintendo.

Haha I never seen that console before. +rep

Just before the 360 was released there was an awful lot of people saying that MS were going to die a death in the console sector - especially in light of the fact the playstation 2 was just so strong. Obviously it's a different world today than it was then.

Never say never I say (underestimating the competition is the first step to losing market share)

[mickice]

Shame Microsoft couldn't get SONY to build their 360. How times have changed. Time will continue to change but without dedicated features and controls on any Apple product it will never be taken seriously by the hardcore gamers.

[Sufi]

I'm also sure he thought Sony was going to dominate this time around.

Apple is dominating in mini-games...I don't see them going after full-retail gaming so far.

[Ixion]

I've merged these threads and moved it to the Multi-Plat section.

[srinike2011]

harrison is the person who lead the game world. anyway apple will try to keep there level up though!!

[chriharr]

This is true, Apple will dominate the games world soon, they have the most relevant hardware on the market today and a superior digital distribution system as well as having the most stable operating system on the planet and not to mention the prices of games and software is extremely affordable the ball is in their court and they will succeed, don't get me wrong I love playing my playstation 3 but console gaming will loose a good chunk of its market share to portable devices like the iPad and other tablets on the market, but if it becomes too saturated with products, consumers will get confused and it's possible trends may change, the iPad won't die anytime soon, it's a great device. I would love to see some major developers push some major games on it

[Thorzilla]

This is true, Apple will dominate the games world soon, they have the most relevant hardware on the market today and a superior digital distribution system as well as having the most stable operating system on the planet and not to mention the prices of games and software is extremely affordable the ball is in their court and they will succeed, don't get me wrong I love playing my playstation 3 but console gaming will loose a good chunk of its market share to portable devices like the iPad and other tablets on the market, but if it becomes too saturated with products, consumers will get confused and it's possible trends may change, the iPad won't die anytime soon, it's a great device. I would love to see some major developers push some major games on it

The only reason why Apple might succeed is because people now see them as some sort of hardware gods, when the reality is that all their products are overpriced pieces of crap. It also helps that, like you say, they do indeed have a good electronic distribution system through iTunes. However, I have a Macbook Pro 15", but I don't think it is worth AT ALL what I paid for. Neither would I pay for an iPhone either.

[R3D D3V!L]

Epic fail in the article. The PS1 came out in 1995, well December '94 in Japan.