More hints at Apple plans for the gaming market

Rumours that Apple has plans for the gaming industry have been spread over the Internet this week. Can we hope for games designed for the Apple TV and the iPhone?

A first report, claims that PopCap, a company presided by Microsoft's former X-Box manager, Greg Canessa, is working on games that will be ported to several platforms including Zune, iPod, Apple TV, Nintendo DS and PSP.

"It will be about taking the stable of franchises and games out of PopCap's studio and adapting, customizing it for different platforms -- adding multiplayer, new play modes, HD, customizing the user interface and display for Zune, ipod, Apple TV, Nintendo DS, PSP." told Canessa to Wired.

A more recent report on Businessweek now claims that Apple and Electronic Arts are in talks for a deal over games designed for handheld devices such as the iPhone.

"We have been talking to Apple about games on (the iPhone)," Lasky says. "We see a lot of the technology that we've utilized on the iPod side being incorporated into the iPhone." told Mitch Lasky, senior VP of Electronic Arts Mobile Division to Businessweek.

At the moment, Apple denies that the Apple TV will play games many believe the company will do the jump into that market so as to counter-attack Microsoft and other competitor's entrance into the living-room appliances market.