Apple, the maker of iPhone, could dominate the mobile gaming industry ahead of the likes of Sony, which has made a name for itself in the gaming industry with products like Playstation and Xperia Play smartphone, says former Sony head Phil Harrison.
“At this trajectory, if you extrapolate the market-share gains that they are making, forward for ten years – if they carry on unrestrained in their growth, then there’s a pretty good chance that Apple will be the games industry,” Phil said in an interview given to Edge.
The former head of Sony seems to be more impressed with the sheer diversity of devices provided by Apple. He says, “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. And the number one activity on an iPad, according to some reports, is games, and I think that will only continue.”
He thinks the role of consoles in gaming will grow less intense. Gaming, he believes, will shift to browsers. He doesn’t think the Xbox or PlayStation brand will continue to live on. He says, “It could be that the game and Browser of the future is powered by PlayStation, or powered by Xbox Live or Nintendo. I think that that’s where you’ll see the battleground: not necessarily putting boxes full of chips and hard drives into your living room but giving you a storefront, navigation, discovery, a business model and user-interface. There is undoubtedly a generation of kids alive on the planet today who will never purchase a physical media package for any of their digital entertainment.”
His vision for the future becomes more important in the light of rumours that Apple may be considering acquiring Nintendo. The move, if it happens, will give Apple a stronger foothold in the video games market. Currently, the top mobile gaming options for users include LG Optimus 2X, Samsung Galaxy S, Sony Xperia Play and Micromax Gameolution G4.
It’s not just the ability to play the game on different devices from Apple, it’s also about the way Apple is seamlessly connecting every electronic item users interact with, including television.
For example, AirPlay Mirroring connects the television with the iPad screen so whatever appears on the iPad screen appears on the TV screen also. If the trend continues, Apple will indeed be on every possible device leaving very little room for others to get in.