Apple to Launch Console by 2012 – Pachter

IndustryGamers has just posted the second “Pachter’s Podium” column, and it’s a juicy one. We encourage you to check out the full piece, but we wanted to highlight a couple of Pachter’s more interesting comments.

First we have Apple becoming a full-fledged competitor to Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo. Pachter thinks this will happen no later than 2013. “I think Apple has a deliberate strategy. They want to see what they can do with the handhelds (iPod Touch and iPhone) first, then move into console games. Apple TV is the device that they can turn into a console, and they have essentially the same goals as Microsoft–to turn Apple TV into an entertainment and Internet hub,” he said. “If they can get enough iPod users to download games, it’s a natural that they can ultimately convince a large number of these users to buy a game-enabled Apple TV. I’d guess a 2012 or 2013 launch. That means that Microsoft has to get enough of a head start to hold them off, which is why I see Natal and a big hard drive for the 360 next year.”

Also of note is Pachter’s prediction for the top-selling game for this year: Wii Sports Resort. “I think that Wii Sports Resort will be the biggest seller in 2009, with Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 a close second. My guess is that Wii Sports Resort will sell close to 15 million units, with a bias that it could sell as many as 18 million. COD will most certainly sell 10 million, and if Activision is serious about its advertising blitz in order to be the biggest entertainment launch of all time, the game could sell 12 million units or more,” he said.