Microsoft Doesn't See any Threat from Valve, Apple is Another Matter Entirely

[Shawn Zipay]

When it comes to home consoles, Microsoft doesn't seem to perceive Valve as being any threat to them. However, the company does feel as though Apple is the company to be most wary of. Strangely enough, this fear of Apple was a sentiment echoed by Valve's Gabe Newell.

Microsoft's President of Interactive Entertainment Business, Don Mattrick, voiced his opinion on the new threats to their dominance on the home console market.

"The scale of products and things that are being brought to market are probably a little bit richer when I look at Sony, Nintendo, Apple and Google."

The man who gave the Xbox its name, Nat Brown, voices his concerns over Apple entering into the home console market.

"Apple, if it chooses to do so, will simply kill PlayStation, Wii U and Xbox by introducing an open 30 percent-cut app/game ecosystem for Apple TV."

What do you think? If Apple introduced a home console, would that be something that would interest you?

(via Joystiq)

[Buveed]

I don't see Steam Box as a threat to anything. It's Valve's only option to grow as desktops diminish. As far as Apple having a home console, I'd be interested to see how they handle quality control. Will the store be flooded with garbage? Can Apple grab enough of the hardcore audience to bring high quality gaming and top rated devs? If Apple does come out with a console, say bye to the $60 game, but those high quality games with next gen graphics will go away with it. My guess, if Apple does release a console, it will be along the lines of what the Wii was to this gen. A less powerful console that's aimed at the more casual crowd. But I wonder if they would release a new system every year like they do with their other products.

[SvenskaGeoff]

True in many aspects however the PC gaming realm never really is going to diminish. There will always be a market for progressive graphics and games and the favorite of developers is the PC. Most cross platform titles still exist in some way on the PC. Yes the format of which is constantly changing from a laptop to a half hybrid whatever but it is still this open world of the PC. I feel the fun loving gamers that found Wii sports enjoyable or Smash Brothers on N64 in their dorm a center piece will find immense value in the OUYA or Valve's Steam Box. However myself and those like me will still plug in our Logitech M518 mouse for rounds of Quake, CS, and the eyecandy Unreal series. If PC was irrelevant Crysis wouldn't have survived to see a 3rd. Just my thoughts. Microsoft has the power to deliver that halfway point between serious and casual. They should dismiss Apple as a fad.

[jimykx]

Why would apple win? their products are always extremely overpriced for what they actually give

[K-16]

Three words jimykx: stability and simplicity. Gamers who don't want to fiddle with any settings will turn to Apple hardware (maybe Nintendo, but they're getting somewhat more complicated to use with the Wii U). Not only are they asthetically pleasing for the living room (or at least the Steve Jobs level of PR will convince you to see it as fashionable), but they also perfected plug and play. Spend more money for convenience and simplicity on something that is almost guaranteed to work. Why not? If people aren't into this kind of mindset, microtransactions in games would've been a failed venture by now.