My prediction is that Apple has been biding their time and preparing to dominate the console gaming market. Think about it- the iPod touch and iPhone are becoming more and more robust in terms of hardware, I don't know the benchmarks but I'd wager they're close to consoles in terms of actual power. Apple has enabled "AirPlay" through AppleTV, which allows the iPhone/iPod to stream directly to the TV.<p>So what you have is a gaming platform that's already ubiquitous, can act as it's own controller (gyro, accelerometer, speaker, mic, vibrate, touchscreen, buttons are all built-in), and is able to stream wirelessly to any AppleTV. These devices already have a fantastic network in terms of downloading and paying for content. At this point all you need is some games to take advantage of it and you're set.<p>OR they could just be trying to integrate Steam into their upcoming tv. My hope is for the former though.
From: <a href="http://penny-arcade.com/report/editorial-article/valves-gabe-newell-talks-wearable-computers-rewarding-players-and-whether-w" rel="nofollow">http://penny-arcade.com/report/editorial-article/valves-gabe...</a><p>Quoting Gabe Newell,<p>> Well, if we have to sell hardware we will. We have no reason to believe we’re any good at it, it’s more we think that we need to continue to have innovation and if the only way to get these kind of projects started is by us going and developing and selling the hardware directly then that’s what we’ll do. It’s definitely not the first thought that crosses our mind; we’d rather hardware people that are good at manufacturing and distributing hardware do that.<p>Who do we know that's good at manufacturing and selling hardware? Which company has had explosive growth in the video game sector as a platform provider in the last few years? What company famously has its eye on the television market?<p>Valve and Apple have priorities and incentives that align nicely for a partnership on a new console-like <i>thing</i>. They also seem very alike when it comes to design values.
Also relevant: Valve has JUST started advertising for hardware jobs: <a href="http://www.valvesoftware.com/jobs/job_postings.html" rel="nofollow">http://www.valvesoftware.com/jobs/job_postings.html</a>
see "injection molding" etc in job descriptions.
Games + Augmented Reality? Apple could be looking to buy into steam for games, but they could also be working together on some Augmented Reality hardware / software.
Another interesting possibility is mobile Steam with app purchases and Appstore interoperability. It would be awesome to buy a cross platform game on Steam and get it for PC, Mac, Linux, iOS and Android all the same time. Ridiculously unlikely, I know, but I can dream.
I'll tell you why I think he was there: Apple wants a 30% cut of all sales on the Steam platform. Steam purchases will soon be required to go through Apple's in-app purchase system.
Hang on, what if Apple wants in on the console action (on top of TV) and wants to partner with Valve's Steam platform and bring Steam to consoles?<p>And instead of just a 'video game console', it becomes the ultimate entertainment unit with all the other good stuff.<p>Bam!
You don't "grow" a relationship or a company, any more than you "exist" a relationship or company. You build it. You nurture it. You foster it. It grows.
Surprised nobody has mentioned this yet: Apple is buying Valve. Creating a new "Apple Gaming" wing of the company. Valve + Steam + GameCenter + AppleTV + Steambox === AMAZING. Launches with HL3 exclusive.<p>Like MS did with Bungie and the Xbox, only classy and aluminum.<p>Saying this not because there is any evidence of this, but because I want this so bad. shutupandtakemymoney.png