Apple CEO Tim Cook: "not interested in being in the console business"
'Traditional' market does not appeal, but expect to see company grow involvement
Apple CEO Tim Cook has sent a typically ambiguous message about his company's future involvement in the games market to attendees at the US D10 conference, announcing that although there are no plans to enter the traditional console market, gaming will become increasingly important.
Cook was opening D10, which is an annual conference run by All Things Digital. Asked by a journalist whether Apple was looking at creating specific gaming hardware, or whether he saw "big-screen gaming as something you'll get more into," Cook seemed to put to bed rumours that the corporate giant was looking at becoming a fourth wheel for the console business.
"I view that we are in gaming now in a fairly big way," he replied. "One of the reasons people buy an iPod touch is gaming. Some buy it for music. I realize that is not the big screen you are talking about. Gaming has kind of evolved a bit. More people play on portable devices. Where we might go in the future, we'll see.
"Customers love games.
"I'm not interested in being in the console business in what is thought of as traditional gaming. But Apple is a big player today, and things in the future will only make that bigger."
When pressed on whether that meant that the much vaunted Apple TV might be the device to nurture that growth, Cook was again non-committal.
"I think it could be interesting," he replied.