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Apple Finally Getting Its Game On?
Gamespot reports on the possibility that, in some way, Apple is making moves to develop games. From the article: "This week, GameSpot learned that there may be more to the Apple-game rumors than mere Mac-mad daydreams. A tech-sector recruiter contacted the GS NewsDesk with an interesting story of a prospective hire that got away. Recently, when said recruiter made an offer to a software engineer, the engineer turned the offer down--saying he was being 'heavily recruited by Apple.' According to the engineer, an Apple hiring manager named Mike Lampell is heading up a group inside Apple's storied iTunes division. The group is specifically hiring for 'C/C++ coders with a gaming background.'"
"The engineer says the project in question was described to him as "super secret," and Apple would not even tell him the exact nature of it until he had been hired and signed a non-disclosure agreement."
Anybody want to place bets on his chances of being hired now?
Easy here: apple develops a bunch of simple, casual games that run on ipod/with interface, and sells them for a couple bucks a pop at ITMS. Nothing fancy, and nothing that taxes resources (as so many phone games do).
With the money to be made, the market share to be exploited, and the minimal investment required, I'm surprised they haven't already done this.
What if they just want some 3D visualisations for iTunes? Something that requires experience with character animation, skinned models or complex shaders?
I've been called by an Apple recruiter as well, maybe 6 - 8 months ago. The person I spoke to said that they were looking for people with my skills. I've been in the games industry since I was 18, I've shipped around 3 dozen titles for consoles and handhelds, so my resume basically shows that I'm perfect for one thing: getting games out the door. For personal reasons I wasn't even slightly interested in the job, but the call itself was vastly intruiguing. I've been waiting eagerly ever since to hear what the heck Apple is up to.
No doubt Apple is tired of seeing Microsoft dominate the games market. Look out for the all-new iPippin. With an Intel chip inside, it's twice as fast as the PowerPC-based XBox 360!*
* May not actually be twice as fast outside the Reality Distortion Field. But who cares? You know you'll buy it anyway.
I'd actually argue that Mac's are ideal gaming platforms. There's only so many different configurations available, so it's more or less like programming for a game console (you know what you're programming for and optimise it for a specific hardware set), except everything is in x86 on a Linux platform. So really, no new hardware and api's need to be learned...it's pretty much all pre-existing. And with the number of game engines readily available, I bet Windows gamers would be pretty impressed with what you could do on a Core Duo Mac.
Wise men say, "Forgiveness is divine, but never pay full price for late pizza."
Has anyone thought that this may be more an in-house tie-in with Disney/Pixar? It would be quite the coup for them to have control of the kids-game market : If your kid wants to play the next Ice Age game, why not buy the system from that nice company who made their iPod?
Ballmer will be hurling an entire conference room of chairs off the roof when Apple can claim:
One billion games downloaded!
Circumcision is child abuse.
Suited Guy (PC): "Woah... out of the way... bang, gotcha! Hahah! Oh no. Oh no! Dudududududu! Ha! Who's your paternal-figure? Hey? Hey? Who's your paternal figure?"
Hip Young Guy (Mac): "Hey dude, whatcha doing?"
PC: "I'm playing a really awesome game. You play a secret agent, and you have to shoot the henchmen, and... hold on... woah! Ok, you want a turn?"
Mac: "Oh, come on! Surely you could be doing something productive, like, erm, burning DVDs? I can burn DVDs. Yeah! Make your own movies, it's cool"
PC: "Yeah, I did that once. Hold on... woah! Gotcha! Haha! Gotcha, what's behind the wall? Oh... hey, it's multiplayer if you want to join in."
Mac: "Oh, games. Aren't those what games consoles are for?"
PC: "Depends on the game. This is an mod someone did for Doom 5, so you'd never see it on a console. You just don't get that kind of innovation on closed platforms like consoles. Hold on, I got it! I got the papers! Now, how do I get out? Er..."
Mac: "You know, you ought to be sorting through the pictures on your digital camera which I can do really easily with iPh..."
PC: "Yeah, that'd be a real fun time. Real. Fun. Time. Yeah. Sure you don't want a game? Hold on... blam! Gotcha! Where the hell did he come from anyway? Ok, through this wall..."
Mac: "Oh no, games are such a waste of time. I'd rather do something productive like, erm, manage my iTunes collection. That's something I'm good at..."
PC: "Me too, you do know I run iTunes right? Aw come on, let your hair down a little. I thought I was supposed to be the stiff."
Mac: "No."
PC: "Wait... I think there's a hidden passage here... read it in a forum somewhere... oh yeah, next to the pot plant, got it, extra health, excellent. Anyway, why not? Why don't you want a go?"
Mac: "I don't want to talk about it."
PC: "What?"
Mac: "I said I just don't want to talk about it, ok? Ok?"
PC puts the joystick down for a moment: "You can't play games. That's what it is, right?"
Mac: "Right. Ok. So I can't play games. What's the big deal? Nobody plays games anyway."
PC: "Sure. Nobody does. Right. Yeah, just me. Just boring, suited, me. Not like I play more games than all the games consoles put together. Right."
PC falls on floor, rolling with laughter.
Mac: "Ok. OKAY! Now let me turn this photo slideshow and jingle I put together in Garageband into a DVD. Not a waste of time like playing games is."
Mac walks off in huff. PC picks up joystick and continues playing.
Fade to black:
"Apple Macintosh"
"The Computer That Can't Play Games"
"But That's Ok Because Nobody Plays Games Anyway"
You're kidding right? An intergrated Intel graphic chip and a 4200 RPM hard drive? A friend of mine complained about how slow the Mini is running DJ apps. The only thing a Mac mini might take on is a Nintendo hand held in terms of games.
Even high end Macs are poor gaming machines because the graphic cards Apple sticks in them are at least a generation or two behind PC cards. I dropped $1600 18 months ago and all I have is a Geforce 5200. At the time it wasn't even that great. Mac users typically have 2-3 upgrade card options available at any time and any of them will cost about the same as a console.
Don't forget that PC games are heavily into the ActiveX camp, which AFAIK still doesn't run on OSX.
There is a precedent for what Apple may be doing here. Anyone remember the Atari 800? I bought one just so I could play Star Raiders. I bought it at a store outside Boston (IIRC at a Bit Bucket in Newton, MA) which had this set up on a 5-foot projection TV for video and a 100 Watt stereo driving the audio. The salesperson told me: THAT ONE GAME was responsible for something like half of their sales of the Atari 800. At the time (1980 or so), the Atari 800 cost me about $800... and I happily paid it so that I could play a ~$50 game. AND, once I got the computer, I bought many more applications and peripherals. Star Raiders was the "killer app" of its day.
Apple might be looking to do the same. Sell some subsidized games on iTunes for little money so as to encourage additional iPod sales. Once he consumer has the iPod, and has overcome paying its (non-negotiable) price, the barrier to buying more things for it is overcome. Increased iTunes sales. Even MORE profit for Apple. A larger market. Synergistic growth.
Someone else here mentioned about Disney. Kid sees friend playing Disney game on iPod. Kid Wants Game. Kid pesters parents incessantly. Parents buy an iPod for junior to play these nice kid-friendly Disney games. Kids become experienced users of an increasingly dominant platform. [Apocryphally, IBM gave (?) Selectric typewriters to schools to use in Touch Typing Classes. Said students go off into the business world and are faced with klunky manual typewriters. Secretaries all-so-often are the ones who Get. Things. Done. Not too hard to start persuading the PHBs to buy a Selectric typewriter. Lather, rinse, repeat.] Apple has done similarly with schools by offering a significant educational discount for their computers. Microsoft has a student discount for their Office suite. Hook 'em while they're young.
Here, Apple could hook 'em before they even GET to school! Like I said, Brilliant. Absolutely Brilliant!
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One man's -1 Flamebait is another man's +5 Funny.