As talks heat up over the lat few days over Google and Apple releasing a game console, if we look not too far back to March, Samsung already unveiled all the elements necessary to turn a phone into a game console. The battle for the living room is always a big initiative for all of these tech companies, which is why when anything of the sort is announced it is big news. Ever since cell phones have been introduced gaming has been a major part of the mobile experience, anyone remember Snake on the old Nokia devices? Now with smartphones quickly reaching a level where they’re in the hands of everyone on the globe, we have approached “renaissance” period for gaming, and the question is if one of these major companies can dominate the space and the eyeballs that accompany it. And Samsung has already set those wheels in motion.
According Forbes.com:
“we’ve been here before. And recently. Think back to the Samsung Galaxy S4 unveil in March. Along with the S4 came…. a games controller that can double up as a console. The controller is an adaptable one that can take a range of Samsung devices up to 6.3 inches in length… At the time Digital Trends described it as “an Xbox-like games controller which connects to the phone using NFC and Bluetooth…. Along with connecting to the phone, it also hooks up to Samsung’s official dock, which in turn can be connected by HDMI to your television. In other words, it has got everything to turn the Galaxy S4 into a fully fledged Android console.”
Although this is a step in the right direction. It is just the elements of a console, not enough to takeover from Microsoft’s Xbox or Sony’s Play Stations, both of which will be releasing new variations of these lines this year as well. But what Samsung, Google and Apple can bring to table is an eco system that would be able seamlessly integrate all of your devices, both mobile and home.
Every time Samsung does something before Apple it does raise the debate of innovation about being first or being right? I’d argue it’s the right balance of the two, and only time will tell how this battle plays out.
