I happen to have an iPhone and a PSP. A LOT of the ‘Minis’ on sale for the PSP are THE SAME games availible on the iPhone, but with a 150% mark-up on price.

Personaly, I’d be more willing to take a chance on a game that’s 59p rather than £3.99 and thankfuly I have the ways and means to find the beter deal. Truth be told, I have an App on my phone that lists all the games that are going free at any given moment, and as a result have avoided paying for a lot of real stinkers. Infact, I’ve not paid for an App or game for MONTHS.

As for your comment about bad games not selling well, all you have to do is look at the ‘What’s popular’ section of the iPhone and you’ll find all sorts of rubbish!

ANOTHER FART APP ANYONE!!?!

As for the number of exclusive games available……again, have you seen Microsofts 2010 360 lineup? 99% of it is multi – platform games. Right now the Wii has a better exclusive lineup for next year than the 360…….

Thanks for your comments.

1. With regards to the price comparison, I’m just showing how consumers would find these low price points ‘desirable’ I’m obviously not comparing a full price game to these ‘bite sized’ games.

2. I agree quality has a bearing on success as well as price, but look at some of the casual friendly games on Wii that have been hits. The iPhone/iPod Touch are aimed at this demographic, and this is gaining marketshare in the handheld market for Apple, which is worrying for Nintendo and Sony. How long before bigger games appear on this platform or on any new Apple console?

3. I only said Mini’s and DSi ware are a response to the App Store.

4. My opinion is that the PSPGo was a reaction to Apple’s growing foothold in the handheld market, and a way to test the water for the inevitable download future.

5. The PSP is a gaming device first, as the iPhone is a phone first, but Apple is making inroads into gaming and that must frighten Sony and Nintendo. They need to rise to the challenge in all departments or they could be found left behind by Apple.

6. I never said they didn’t support them, and am very glad of the support Sony shows them. I love some of the downloadable games from these developers and Little Big Planet is a great game.

7. I’m just stating that the Apple TV could be redeveloped as a console. Apple have already diversified from computers into the music and mobile market, which would have been unheard of a few years ago.

8. I’m talking about aesthetics and build quality of any Apple console compared to Microsofts current model.

9. All this gen’s consoles bar Nintendo’s have been loss making for the manufacturers. Will Apple take the same risks? That’s all I’m saying.

I have already said they don’t have the support to make their own games, but have a healthy bank balance and could afford to buy EA and other developers no problem.

“And anything Apple release would certainly look and perform better than Microsoft’s current console, that’s for sure!”

…(sigh)

Congratulations, you’re officially a fanboy. Look better? Maybe; that seems to be all Apple cares about anyway. Perform better? Maybe; after they charge you 5 times as much. Doesn’t change the fact that there wouldn’t be any games to play on it.

An Apple console would be a pretty-looking $1,200 hunk of s**t. Apple hopefully learned their lesson with the Pippin. (If anyone reads this and doesn’t know what a Pippin is, that’s because it was just THAT big of a failure… Google it)

1. Comparing the price of “Beneath a Steel Sky” with PSP and DS games is rather silly. Compare it to the cost of downloadable small games for the PSP and DSi and be specific about the game you are comparing it to. Nobody expects to pay less than 30 Pounds for a copy of the Metal Gear Solid Portable Ops UMD or the Final Fantasy CC: Echoes of Time cartridge. Phoenix Wright is heading for the iPhone, and so is Ace Combat Xi. Compare those with their respective PSP and DS counterparts instead.

2. By your above statement, you are assuming games would just be sold on price alone, do remember that the gaming community is very particular about the gameplay, graphics, storyline and other factors. A bad game with a cheap price will not sell better than a more expensive but enjoyable game.

3. Sony and Nintendo have been offering downloadable games for quite some time now. The Playstation Network Store and the Wii Shopping Network (as well as the XBL Store), were not made in response to Apple’s App Store.

4. The PSP Go is not a reaction to the iPhone or the iPod touch. It is a combination of the original Sony MyLO and the PSP.

5. The PSP is indeed a multimedia capable device, but it is first and foremost a handheld gaming system. The PSP browser is indeed hard to use but you have to keep in mind that no one purchases the PSP for browsing purposes. Same thing for the DS.

6. Sony supports independent developers. In fact, Media Molecule, the creator of Little Big Planet was heavily supported by Sony in order for their game to be made. Independent works like Flow and the games of the Pixel Junk are also made available on the PSN.

7. It takes more than an innovate controller to make a good console. The Wii may be a gimmicky device, but do remember that Nintendo has decades of experience in the field of video games. Apple does have the resources to manufacture a console, but that alone does not guarantee success. See the 3DO.

8. “For sure”, but I see no supporting arguments as to why Apple would succeed better than Microsoft. I would accept that Apple would perform on par with Microsoft, but better? The X-Box Live community is a very solid market of combined console and computer gamers. PC gamers were attracted by ports of their favorite games and XBox/Xbox360 games made by their favorite developers. Apple has always been on the short end of the stick with games. Take Bioware’s Dragon Age for instance. It has been out for the PS3 and XBox 360, then on the PC. Is out out on the Mac yet? Mac users should be happy this game will even get ported. Many good PC games never get ported to the Mac, let alone Console titles. Even if Apple has a console, they lack support and tie-ups with game developers.

9. Microsoft is not losing money for every console it sells. The RROD problem has cost Microsoft a little, but they make money for each console sold.

Regardless, Apple would be welcomed by the gaming community as they have any new console manufacturer. And as proven with the previous generations of gaming consoles, it is never the high-end hardware or established platform that matters, but solid, 3rd party developer support. After all, it is never really the console, but it is the games that truly matter.

On that note, Sony Computer Entertainment, Nintendo and Microsoft Games have had plenty of experience and excellent teams for developing in house games, something Apple has short supply of.

Both with music and portable gaming they have in effect made the software free or massively undervalued as they would rather have a ton of content than a few big titles. They make their money off the hardware and by taking a commission on what is a massive XBL.

An app store environment might seem exciting but in the long term might devalue product and result in smaller/lower budget productions.