Nat Brown, “a founder of the original xBox project at Microsoft” who “gave it its name,” has suggested in a blog post that Apple could easily turn the Apple TV into an open game console, taking advantage of the still-poor Xbox user and developer experience to rapidly conquer the market. “Apple, if it chooses to do so, will simply kill Playstation, Wii-U and xBox by introducing an open 30%-cut app/game ecosystem for Apple-TV [sic],” Brown wrote. “I already make a lot of money on iOS – I will be the first to write apps for Apple-TV when I can, and I know I’ll make money.”
According to Brown, “The current numbers already say a lot, even with Apple-TV not already an open console: 5.3M sold units in 2012, 90% year-over-year growth — vs. xBox 360 — about 9M units in 2012, 60% YoY decline,” though the Xbox 360 is notably nearing the end of its life cycle. Brown argues that a “console-capable” Apple TV could benefit indie developers as well as users, who would jump at a chance to get away from Xbox’s confusing menus, loading times, and poor online marketplace for software, which hides smaller titles in an area without any promotion. Microsoft and Sony are both expected to announce next-generation game consoles this year, but at price points significantly higher than the Apple TV’s, which Brown suggests could become more expensive while still undercutting rivals.
