There are many games being released on the PC that are "free to play" (there are many examples like the latest Tribes, various MMOs, etc).

Sure, but 99% if not all of those games are either online or ad-supported or both. Bioware already charges for expansion in-game content in addition to the $60 up front. Do you think that if they sold their game for, say $10, and then charged for in-game content that they could make the same money they make now?

Expansion content is one thing, but I don't want to buy games where I have to pay more to unlock half the features, and I don't want to play ad-supported games if the ad interrupts my experience. I can't be the only one who feels this way, and as long as there are enough people like me, console gaming will continue to exist, unless the iOS ecosystem dramatically adjusts.

I don't think IOS will kill off console gaming, but it will seriously hurt the profits of PS3 and XBOX 360. If it hasn't already. IMO, IOS does not have to try and match the graphics and processing power of consoles to bite into their profits. They just have to offer an enjoyable experience. Look how good the Wii did, during the early years, against PS3 and XBOX 360. The performance of the Wii didn't come close to the other two, but it still outsold them. The Wii offered the fun factor that the majority of casual gamers enjoyed. This is what IOS does, it offers a fun gaming experience, which is mobile. This fun factor and mobility will and does appeal to a lot of people.

Since I have had my iPhone, I haven't touched my PS3 for gaming. I used to be a hard core gamer, but now I just like to play casually, and wherever I fee like it. I am not confined to my games room to play games. Now that I have an iPad, I am really enjoying that device for gaming.

This is what IOS does, it offers a fun gaming experience, which is mobile.

The PS3 and 360 are not mobile devices. A PS3 game is on a Blu-ray disc, which can hold 50gb.

Umm, and how is that related to my post? I never said the PS3 and XBOX are mobile. :confused:

Interestingly, this just published (http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/12/03/12/epic_games_thinks_apple_could_take_on_game_consoles_with_ipa d_apple_tv_controller.html).

Capps (Epic Games)also took part in an interview with Reuters that was published on Monday, in which he spoke of the possibility of a Bluetooth controller being developed for the iPad. With a hypothetical controller combined with AirPlay and an Apple TV, he believes Apple could challenge Microsoft's Xbox and Sony's PlayStation platforms for the home console gaming market.

"It's quite easy to imagine a world where an iPad is more powerful than a home console, where it wirelessly talks to your TV and wirelessly talks to your controller and becomes your new console," Capps said.

"When the iPad gets to the processing power that's equal to an Xbox 360 and it connects to a television, that's no big deal to us — we'll put the game through the iPad and have it display through the television," said Frank Gibeau, president of Electronic Arts' Labels.

Also, I wanted to point out that my OP wasn't challenging whether the iPad2 or iPad3 has the same technical horsepower as current-generation consoles, but more about whether the technology on its current trajectory, the sales penetration and the shift to ultra-mobile computing (tablet/smartphone) could threaten traditional consoles.

well that's fine, but the console makers will also be souping up their rigs


iOS will be the marketleader for Angry Birds

anyone that wants a real game will still buy a console

IMO, there are a lot of good games besides Angry Birds out there for IOS. I can also see much better games coming out when the iPad 3 is launched. As it has been mentioned in this thread, who really cares how much the consoles soup up their boxes. It comes down to what the majority of the buying public wants. The fact of the matter is the majority of people who play games are not hard core gamers that need the most powerful PC or consoles to play on.

Regardless of how many good games are available for smartphones and tablets, these are still mobile devices and i'm sure the mobile industry is suffering.

People buy consoles to play games on a big screen. The Ipad has a very small screen.

The iPad can easily have a mirror display on an HDTV. However Cook's comments are still pretty misleading.

Right now it's the difference between playing a 99 cent game on a $700 tablet vs. a $60 game on a $150 console. It doesn't make much sense. Angry Birds vs. Skyrim? You can make guesses about the future all you want, but we're nowhere near that now. It will only become relevant when similar games come out for both platforms. PS3/360 vs. PC gaming is in this realm today.

Don't forget that nothing compares to Kinect/Move/Wii on a tablet either.

Curious how you think the mobile industry is suffering? Very far from it. I don't know the statistics, but I am sure the mobile industry makes far more money than the console gaming industry. Sorry for going off-topic.

You are right, people do buy games to play on big screens, but there are less people buying these games, and more buying game apps for IOS. A good game for XBOX, or PS3 is around $50. A really good game for iPad is less than $10. So with this and the mobility factor, the iPad will give the consoles a run for their money.

I mentioned before the success of the Wii, against XBOX and PS3. The majority of people didn't care the Wii didn't match the power of the other two. They didn't care they couldn't get HD gaming on their big screen. They had fun, and that is what will enable IOS to be popular for gaming.

Curious how you think the mobile industry is suffering? Very far from it. I don't know the statistics, but I am sure the mobile industry makes far more money than the console gaming industry.

Well, that is a misleading comparison. That would be like saying that the PC industry makes far more than the console industry, so consoles are dead.

What you need to do is compare the gaming portion of the PC industry to the gaming portion of the console industry (a large percentage, but you still need to excluding people who buy a PS3 just to play blu-ray discs for instance).

The argument against mobile gaming is that if game devs sell games for $1 or $5 rather than $30-$60 then you need a lot more customers to make up this massive difference in revenue per customer. Especially when you have Apple taking a 30% cut of the little money they do get.

I myself never said consoles are dead. Probably far from it, and I also do not think IOS will kill off consoles in the near future, as I have said before. I understand that the game developers probably do not make as much money as developing games for consoles. However; a lot of the games the developers bring to the iPad are already developed for another gaming device. So they don't have to develop a new game, so they spend a lot less money than creating a new game for the consoles. Look at those developers that started with only creating games for IOS. Some of them are making a ton of money on those $0.99 to $5.00 games.

Some of them are making a ton of money on those $0.99 to $5.00 games.

oh for sure


when your startup costs for developing a sub $5 game are (and this is generous probably) a couple grand, you don't have to move a lot of product to start making money



I think that iOS will eventually become a feasible gaming system for real games, it will not ever KILL console gaming



right now, i've got Dungeon Defenders on both my win7 laptop, and my asus transformer tablet

it looks and plays almost identically on both, but it's still a fair bit better on the laptop in terms of some of the things you can do in game

The new iPad is coming next week, and it looks suitably impressive. More powerful than the iPad 2, a screen with a higher resolution than HDTVs, 4G LTE - it's incredible. Just like the iPad 2 and the iPad before it, developers are champing at the bit to work on games for this new tablet. From a hardware standpoint, it rivals the Sony PlayStation Vita and readily beats the Nintendo 3DS and Wii in sheer processing power. (http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2401360,00.asp)

I think convergence will "kill" console gaming before the iPad really has a chance. We're already seeing consoles becoming DVD/Blu-ray players, networked media players, IPTV boxes, connected devices for streaming services, and even social networking tools. The line between the Xbox and PS3, and devices like the Apple TV, Roku, or Boxee Box is already narrow, and I expect that convergence to continue.

I predict that this generation of consoles will probably be the last that we differentiate into their own category.

I think there will always be a market for Consoles. There is a dedicated gamer fanbase out there who want real quality games on quality hardware.

A previous poster mention that the current gen of consoles are nearly 7 years old. I think its the longest span that I recall before a next gen was released. It doesn't surprise me that a portable device can now have similar power to a console that came out in 2005.

The next consoles are around the corner though and they would leave portable devices in the dust again.

I think both would fair ok. I think consoles will stick around for people that are really into gaming. I would think using a portable device for gaming would be attractive to the casual gaming crowd (like the wii was). Both devices have their own markets. I also think the gaming market will continue to grow. The kids of the '80s were the first ones to get gaming and home consoles (except for pong at the end of the 70s). This kids are now in their 30's. Most people older then that aren't into video games. However the younger generations still get into gaming. By the time today's 30 year olds are in their 80s, gaming will have a huge demographic. You'll have every generation playing video games instead of just the younger ones.

I also agree $60 is too much for a new game. I generally wait a few months. My sweet spot seems to be when they drop below $40.

Lots of good points made in this thread. It leaves me now pondering a new angle....

A previous poster mention that the current gen of consoles are nearly 7 years old. I think its the longest span that I recall before a next gen was released. It doesn't surprise me that a portable device can now have similar power to a console that came out in 2005.

There's a reason it's been seven years since a console refresh...Sony and Microsoft are both still in red ink in the current gen. A massive amount of red ink. Microsoft hasn't recovered their investment from the day they entered this business.

The one commercial standout is Nintendo. They made a fortune, but they did it by reaching a new demographic of lower-cost, casual gamers....so it seems to me that Nintendo should be terrified of iOS imminently knocking them out.

Sony and Microsoft should still be really, really scared though. Their investors won't have an appetite for another generation of business losses. The focus on cost-control for the next gen will be far more intense, and spec improvements will be evolutionary not revolutionary.

Sales for the XBox 360 & PS3 are also still very strong, which is another reason they haven't needed to worry about a product refresh. I do agree with the comment about Nintendo probably having the most to lose from iOS gaining traction in the casual gaming sector though.

Sales for the XBox 360 & PS3 are also still very strong,.

MS sold 2.3 million 360's in q1 2012 so they're very happy with sales. They now have 40 million xbox live members.

Microsoft hasn't recovered their investment from the day they entered this business.

Can you cite your source for this? For a number of years now when I've been looking at Microsoft's financial statements their Entertainment and Devices Division (which is mostly their XBOX division) has been doing quite well. I think the XBOX 360 started being a profitable business in 2008, and has been profitable since then.

You are probably correct regarding Sony as the PS3; Sony's financial statements have been a river of red ink for many years now.