Will the iPod become a games machine?
We reported a couple of months back that Apple was putting together a games team, possibly with a view to selling games via its iTunes store. Now, further rumours have increased the gaming speculation. According to The Register, a deal with Nvidia could see the iPod mutate into a games machine for future incarnations.
American Technology Research market watcher Satya Chillara this week told clients Nvidia has beaten Broadcom to provide video chips for the video iPod. Broadcom’s part already delivers H.264 playback, but Nvidia’s offering adds 3D graphics to the mix, he said. As Apple recently swapped PortalPlayer for Samsung as the supplier of the key controller chip for future iPods, doing the same with the media chip provider is not unlikely. However, whether Apple would use the 3D acceleration Nvidia can offer is still just speculation. Adding more fuel to the gaming fire, an anonymous MacRumours source also claims upcoming iPods will play old Nintendo games – but this is pure speculation right now.
With Microsoft rumoured to be developing a handheld media player with Xbox-branded gaming, it wouldn’t be a complete surprise if Apple did shift the iPod’s emphasis beyond music, especially with films set to be added to iTunes in the near future.
Watch this space.
Via The Register
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