Why Apple won't get into gaming

Even though Trademork came across an interesting trademark extension filed by Apple that says the company may be planning on releasing a product that could push it into the gaming industry, I just don't think it's even possible.

According to the extension, Apple's trademark extension included, "toys, games, and playthings, namely, handheld units for playing electronic games; handheld units for playing videogames; stand alone videogame machines; electronic games other than those adapted for use with television receivers only; LCD game machines; electronic educational game machines; and toys, namely battery-powered computer games."

And while this may look like the company is planning to release some sort of gaming platform, why would it? To be quite honest, I don't see any reason why Apple would even attempt to release a gaming system, even though it has enjoyed some success in the handheld market.

After all, with three companies currently vying for control over a multi-billion dollar industry offering a wide array of features, where does Apple fit into the equation? If you ask me, it doesn't.

The most obvious reason why Apple would never get into the gaming industry has nothing to do with money or budget concerns and everything to do with its insistence on keeping all of its hardware so tightly controlled.

In the video game industry, the very first requirement of all hardware manufacturers is to allow other companies access to the console or handheld in order to create games for it. And if we look at Apple's history with its hardware, the company has been able to maintain a relatively stable environment because of its ability to keep its devices out of the hands of those filthy software developers.

To make matters worse, Apple is still trying to gain ground in the computing market and is trying to do all it can to make some headway in the cell phone industry. Does it really have the money and capability to get into another industry that's controlled so heavily by three major players? I doubt it.

Simply put, Apple's trademark extension is nothing more than a way for the company to cover its tail in the slight chance that one day it wants to get in on the video game industry. And if you think anything different, you're incredibly mistaken.

Video games have never been a part of Apple's focus and the culture of the industry will never appeal to the company. Suffice it to say, the very thought of Apple getting into the video game industry is laughable.