Today's game console industry is basically controlled by Sony, Nintendo and Microsoft, and now it seems that Apple wants to mix it up.
Recently, there were whistleblowers in the Clin forum who said that the supply chain reported that Apple was considering returning to the game industry, and it was reported that Apple was conducting feasibility studies with the help of external consulting and management personnel.
It is reported that Apple is discussing how to turn apple consoles or Apple TV into game consoles.
In addition, Apple may be developing a chip to power the game console, and it is very likely that Apple will integrate the game device directly into the Apple TV, rather than a separate new device.
The whistleblowers also said Apple was also seeking exclusive work advice from leading game companies such as Capcom and Ubisoft.
With apple's own M1 series chips shining in recent years, the considerable performance of M1 Max and M1 Ultra makes it possible for Apple to create a game-specific chip based on it. Coupled with its mature AppStore, it is also easy to build a game store based on it.
In fact, Apple has never been involved in the field of gaming, as early as 1994 Apple had jointly launched a home "game" machine Apple Pippin in Japan and the United States that used the Mac OS 7.5x compatible operating system "pippinOS".
It uses a 66MHz PowerPC 603e processor, a 14.4 kbit/s modem, and runs a stripped-down version of Mac OS, originally intended to be a low-cost computer for CD-based multimedia (especially gaming), and comes with networking features. It features a 4x speed optical drive and a video output that can be connected to a TV. The origin of its name is the Jade Apple (Newtown Pippin).
However, this product was not successful, and it is understood that during its sales period, only 42,000 units were sold worldwide. Such low sales resulted in apple and Bandai jointly developing more than 6.5 billion yen, and even Bandai's subsidiary in charge of this matter was dissolved, which became Apple's black history that year.
According to the outside world, Pippin failed to open the market for two reasons, first of all, the lack of suitable software at that time, and the brand promotion was not enough; second, the market was already occupied by gaming devices such as Nintendo N64, Sega and PS.