How Apple Sneakily Entered Into the Video Game Console Wars

As of March 2011, there are roughly 65,000 apps available for the iPad. Roughly 33% of those apps are games (20,000+).

In comparison, the PS3, Xbox 360 & Nintendo Wii have less than 5,000 playable titles ... combined. LOL?

The average price of a new PS3, Xbox 360 or Nintendo Wii game? $50. The iPad? $1.99. Developing games for video game consoles is incredibly expensive and they are still very much tangibly purchased by consumers. Obviously Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo are cognizant  of the cost savings related to selling their games digitally, but as of today, most are still purchased as hardcopies from a store.
Image via Wikipedia

Apple became a much more prominent and threat-worthy competitor to the console bigdogs with the release of HDMI output at 1080p resolution for the iPad2.

Anything and everything that you can view on your iPad2 can now be streamed in all of its glory in 1080p definition. I think this is the single most significant feature of the iPad2. Any existing game or app developed for the iPad2 is instantly competing with the multi-million dollar console titles which in some cases take 1+ year to develop and insane amounts of overhead. I could pound out a phenomenal iPad game in 30 days if I really, really gassed on it. Plus, I don't carry any monthly overhead once the game is finished, I don't have to worry about shipping costs & I can easily update it and add features available to all users anytime I want to.

Cover of NintendoWe are just starting to nibble on the potential of mobile & social games/apps. Angry Birds, one noteworthy smartphone game, could easily surpass 100 million PAID users in the near future - a distant target, but pretty frekkin obtainable. Like Mario was for the Nintendo, Angry Birds will be for mobile/tablet gaming.

The insane popularity, profitability and reach of games like Angry Birds across multiple mobile platforms & tablets will only continue to grow exponentially because of HDMI connectivity in devices such as the iPad2.

This is the beginning of a new gaming revolution - one that will be fueled by thousands of developers, quicker product releases & wide spread demographic adaptation. My Grandpa plays Angry Birds and my Mom plays Farmville. Can't say the same about Halo or Call of Duty.