Apple CEO Tim Cook Spotted at video game designer Valve headquarters

I think Apple has a chance of doing well and perhaps dominating the console game industry but I don't think it'll be through iPhones and iPads via AirPlay — the Apple TV already has an A5 in it with—I assume—a comparable GPU to that which drives the iPhone and iPad. Why require the battery consumption and latency of processing on a handheld? The Apple TV's only $99 and has been for many months. And iPhones and iPads don't make good controllers for lots of games, anyway.

So I'd sooner bet on an updated Apple TV (or even perhaps a software update to the existing one) and a range of purchasable, button-having controllers.

And it's possible that some games could be optionally- or even only-playable with iOS devices as controllers — an iPad coupled with an Apple TV seems able to do much of what a Wii U will be able to do.

I've been waiting and suggesting Google to turn Google TV/Android into a "console platform" and try to take over the console market the same way they did it with phones - by getting all companies to make mini-Android consoles with high-end ARM chips that have "good enough" graphics. They could've started doing this from day one of Google TV.

Instead they still keep focusing only on the "TV" part. I think they will miss a huge opportunity here, and like you said Apple will probably turn it into another blockbuster success a year from now, and Google will only then scramble to catch-up and do the same.

It baffles me how Google can't even get these pretty obvious "visions" sometimes. Even tablets should've been a pretty predictable market coming as a sort of upgrade from smartphones, and not how Microsoft tried to do it before with a full PC OS.

I'm sure Apple had the idea for years before the iPad launch, but the first "public" suggestion for such a thing I think was Mike Arrington's idea with the Crunchpad. I think it was 2008 when he started talking about it and getting people involved. Since then I myself started thinking that I would want a "tablet" rather than a mini-laptop/netbook in many situations (couch, bed, travelling, etc). But the iPad also seems to have caught Google completely off-guard back in 2010, as it took them a full year to even release a half-baked Honeycomb OS version.

Interesting, but true: Apple actually did enter the console market, in 1995.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_Bandai_Pippin

It was an unmitigated disaster the likes of which wouldn't be repeated until the CueCat 5 years later, but it was their first foray into the gaming market.

If Apple were interested in serious gaming on iOS devices, they would've put application-assignable buttons on their edges. We all know that didn't happen, so now they have the hokey volume-control workaround for the camera's shutter release.

In terms of casual gaming, the xbox 360's Kinect and Wii have already been wildly successful. One could argue that as an entertainment all in one hub, where the whole household buys casual games over the marketplace and watches TV shows and movies effortlessly, the xbox has failed.

This is the device Apple and Valve might be building. Not only are they going to try and streamline the software and UX of the whole thing to be in line with Apple's standards but I think they are also going to try to make it a replacement for cable tv. This is something Sony and Microsoft have not tried to do with their consoles, which confuses me.

Personally, I think Apple should just make a T.V. Apple has become such a strong brand that people will trust their hardware and software, even if the markup is somewhat outrageous.

Wait, what?

Valve's main product is an app store with an ecosystem. Are you suggesting Apple would sell hardware that ships with Valve's steam/steamworks instead of their own platform?

It's interesting how a company known for games has basically no game developer positions open. Anyone know why?

Not about the hardware jobs but about the Psychologist (makes perfect sense) but didn't those data analysis skills make a selective field even more selective? Or is that type of thing actually becoming more common for modern psychologists?

I was thinking the same thing.

The real interesting part is that the AppleTV would surely be an ARM platform and Valve are exclusively an Intel platform. Given the price point it could easily be both.

I agree that being compatible with whatever hardware Valve is making would be pretty awesome.

Seems like they've had this idea for a while, between their previous PS3 integration and their take on supporting televisions via Steamworks:

http://www.steampowered.com/steamworks/thebigpicture.php

Apple already has Game Center on iOS (and soon OS X, with the release of Mountain Lion). And Steam's user experience on the Mac is an absolute joke -- the app is ugly and filled with serious bugs. Unless Valve starts paying attention to their OS X client, I can't see Apple supporting it anytime soon.

That's what many hoped when they announced their previous Mac Gaming push. But nothing much has come of that.

It was likely behind Steam being ported to the Mac, so it wasn't nothing. But that move hasn't borne nearly as much fruit as one might have hoped.

And the continued existence of the performance gap between OSX and win7 via bootcamp is not a good thing. Apple needs to take a much more proactive position on correcting that. Maybe the problem is with drivers, maybe it's missing frameworks, maybe it's third party developers starting with directx and not following through with an OpenGL port. Whatever it is, they ought to put more effort into correcting it.

Mobile steam is already there so it wouldn't be a huge leap. Currently it's pointless except for the chat because, yeah I could buy that game on the go. But why?

More likely he will offer them a far better deal than 30%.

I also think apple tv and gaming will be discussed.

Also relevant: Valve has JUST started advertising for hardware jobs: http://www.valvesoftware.com/jobs/job_postings.html

see "injection molding" etc in job descriptions.

This is just ridiculous nonsense.

Everyone who actually uses a Mac knows that the App Store is completely optional and can be deleted. So I fail to see how Apple could force Steam to hand over ANY money.

I'd be surprised that Valve would even go for that, Apple hasn't been their market anyway.

Presumably their new smart TV would do to consoles the same thing phones and touches have done to mobile gaming.

Who, Gabe or Cook? If it was Cook I don't believe you, and if it was Gabe we'll have to wait another 3 months for Ep 3.

iFries, the trillion dollar idea coming to a HN front page next week.

For the record, if Apple buys Valve, I'll never buy another Valve game again. If they make HL3 a Mac exclusive, I'll publicly burn (nonessential parts of) my paperweight of a Mac Mini in protest.

So if Tim Cook visits Microsoft, we can assume Apple is buying Microsoft too?