With plenty of rumors of its own video streaming service, Apple now seems as if it's hedging its bets on the future of streaming by making ventures into other areas as well.
Video streaming has become a massive playing field in recent years, with big companies the likes of Disney and many other hopefuls investing top dollar to become players and spar toe-to-toe with Netflix and Amazon.
Apple, unsurprisingly, is one such hopeful. But it's not just focusing on video. As it turns out, rumors say the Cupertino brand is developing its own video game streaming service as well. A report from Cheddar cites five anonymous sources saying that Apple is talking to game developers to be part of a new subscription service.
Apple Looks Into Cloud-Based Video Game Streaming
The service, similar to Netflix, would require users to pay a set fee for unlimited access to a library of titles. Further details, such as pricing or availability weren't provided. Apple is apparently aiming to act as a publisher for titles, which would see the company taking on a more hands-on approach toward the release of new games.
Suppose this service is real, it's fair to assume that the selection would grow overtime, but that in itself presents a unique set of problems.
For starters, how does Apple plan on compensating developers? Given how new cloud-based video game streaming services still are, what will it do to convince third parties that giving away their games is a good idea, especially when this kind of service hasn't prove significantly profitable yet?
What Would Happen To The App Store?
Again, suppose this video game streaming service does comes out, what would then happen to the App Store? If iOS users find that the new service is more economical than purchasing games individually, what happens to Apple's business model for the App Store?
Even still, a gaming subscription service could certainly open up new revenue streams, and it might even convince people who don't typically spend money on games to subscribe if they could get access to a wide selection of titles for a set fee.
Another important question also arises: Is Apple trying to become a serious video game company? Moreover, will it eventually develop and produce games at the level of Sony, Nintendo, or Microsoft? For now, it's hard to determine whether such a scenario is possible, but the tech word is highly fickle, and the market could be in for big surprises soon.
