In addition to $5 game downloads for your iPod, Apple announced a new set-top box yesterday that lets PC and Mac users wirelessly stream movies and music to their TVs. The hardware, code-named iTV, will sell for $299 in the first quarter of 2007.
In response to the device, one analyst with investment bank Piper Jaffray said, "The big theme today was, Apple announced its intentions to take over your living room." Like Microsoft's Media Center and Xbox strategies before it, will Apple see video games as part of their living room plans? The company has released a gaming platform before, but with the direction of where iTV is headed maybe another dedicated console isn't needed; streaming PC and Mac games might suffice.
So can we expect gaming via iTV in the near future? Not so fast. Upon announcing the living room device, Apple CEO Steve Jobs said, "We think [iTV] completes the picture here," (emphasis added) and Apple Computer never enters new markets. Just ask Apple Records. Oh wait...
