Is iGame Lurking In Apple's Future?

Something is afoot. Steve is lurking in the weeds. New and unusual trademark filings. Curious job postings. A closer bond with former rival Intel (INTC) around handheld devices. An upcoming event to announce something big. You can feel it in the air. Apple (AAPL) is on the cusp of another move to further cement its legacy as the pre-eminent brand in consumer technology. It kind of feels like the calm before the storm, just like before the iPhone was announced. And you know what? A move into handheld gaming is totally logical.

Apple is synonymous with fun, easy and cool. And Steve has engineered this first-class user experience by keeping control of every stage of the production process, vertically integrating in a way that hasn't been successful for decades. He has been among the vanguard to usher in the Consumer Era of Computing, something I wrote about over a year ago in the wake of Vista's release.

He did it with the iMac; the MacBook; the iPod (and its variants); and the iPhone. The iGame? It's a natural. Nintendo (NTDOY.PK) has shown us only too well how much money there is to be made in handheld gaming by delivering a package of hardware, software and a user experience integrated into a seamless whole, unlike others across the competitive landscape. They have adopted the same vertically integrated approach Apple has, maintaining maximum control to ensure that disconnects between engineering, hardware design and the customer experience don't get out of alignment. It may not be the cheapest way to do it but it certainly delivers results when executed to perfection, as Apple and Nintendo have been doing for some time.

I believe the original thesis around the Consumer Era of Computing is continuing to play out, and that Apple's move is yet one more indication that starting with the customer experience is Job #1. Yes, top engineering is needed. Yes, wicked software development skills are the ticket to play the game. But at the end of the day it is the delicate dance among design, engineering and production that separates the good from the great. And this is what both Apple and Nintendo do so well. And for the first time in quite a while Nintendo is likely to be challenged by a worthy competitor, and by a competitor it didn't even know it had.

Comments

[Winston Kotzan:]

Okay, let's not get carried away now...

2008 Feb 11 12:51 PM