iTunes – the next gaming console?
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The concept that most drove the iPhone (and by extension the iPod Touch) above and beyond all smartphones or multimedia players was the ability to purchase and use apps within the device. While cogitating on this as well as the hypothesized upgrades available in iTunes 9, a thought crossed my mind.
Why isn’t it possible to play iPhone/iPod Touch games on iTunes itself? It is already possible to watch video and listen to music via iTunes (even using the iPhone or iPod Touch as a remote). Granted, the iPhone or iPod Touch supports multitouch while the Mac and Windows operating systems currently do not, but I’m sure Apple imagineers could figure out a way around that. Perhaps they could have the user simulate multitouch using the keyboard and mouse?
If Mac could do that, they could have a software-based gaming console on every Mac or PC to which it is downloaded and the delivery system to go with it. Imagine if the Wii was given away for free and charged only a fraction of the current price per game (because delivery charges would be practically nothing). Apple could sell apps without needing to sell the hardware that is currently needed for the apps to run. I think the average consumer would go for that. Would Steve Jobs? I don’t know.
Of course, at this stage they couldn’t call the program "iTunes" anymore. That name was invented when the iPod only played music and iTunes was its jukebox repository. iTunes has become much more since then. Apple would likely change it to some imaginative, esoteric name like iDea ("idea", but with a capital "D"). What name would you call it?
