iGame?
Details are scarce right now, but a friend just passed me a photocopy of what is supposedly an article from an upcoming issue of Electronic Gaming Monthly about Apple’s soon to be released gaming device called, what else, iGame.
I don’t have many details, and only a supposed scan of the article itself to go on, but I will try and get more info and pass it along to you. Unfortunately I am in work and only have a black and white scanner available to me so I apologize for the quality of the scan below, but I will see what else I can come up with.
*UPDATE - Now in color. I am off to the newsstand to see if I can find the issue this appears in.
*UPDATE #2 - I just ran out to the local magazine shop and picked up the March copy of EGM but did not find the above article in its pages. Possibly this is something we will be seeing in the April issue? Perhaps. In either case the page layout seen above is clearly from EGM, in particular the "Press Start" logo in the upper left hand corner. I will keep you posted as I find out more.
*UPDATE # 3 -In my continued effort to cull more information from the little I have, which amounts to the scan you see above, I figured I would transcribe what I have been able to make out from the limited amount we can see of the text in the article. I marked places where the text cuts off, and where a new column begins, to help relay the information provided as clearly as possible given the state of the source. Here it is;
It’s a rumor that flares up every couple of years: Microsoft’s getting into the portable-gaming market - it’s big bucks, after all. Leave it to a lifelong competitor to beat Gates’ gang to the real deal. Apple, well known for its line of computers, iPod portables, digital-music players, and delicious pies, will be releas- (Cut Off)
(Starts again - second column)
and video playback.
No word yet on how big the internal hard drive will be, but it better be pretty fat - not only will it have to store pictures, tunes, and videos, but all the games as well. The iGame won’t play any discs or cartridges; instead, you sign on to Apple’s user-friendly iTunes Music Store and (Cut off)(Starts again - third column)
able files), then transfers to your iGame upon synchronization via Firewire or USB 2.0 cable. The game lineup includes a mix of PC Ports, original iGame exclusives, and very likely some Game Boy Advance and other handheld titles licensed from various companies (including some out-of-print classics from years past).
Like we said, details are scarce, right (Cut off)
UPDATE # 4 - I have the actual magazine the article appears in clutched in my grubby little hands. It indeed comes from the April 06 issue, page 32. It is NOT described as a rumor, and in fact is supposedly set to be introduced at this May’s Electronic Entertainment Expo in LA. I am going to post a scan of the full article as well as a transcript of the articles text in a few. Stay Tuned!
UPDATE # 5 - Below is the text of the actual article as it appears in the upcoming EGM magazine. I am still working on transcribing it. Click the pic below for an enlarged version;
UPDATE # 6 - Here is a link to a scan to PDF I did of the actual article. Let me emphasize, the article itself is NOT A FAKE. If the information EGM is relaying to their readers is incorrect that’s another matter. But this article will be in the April 06 issue of EGM. So save the "it’s Photoshopped", "FAKED" nonsense. Don’t believe it will happen? Fine. But the article, and that’s all I am reporting on here, will happen.
Click here to download the PDF.
UPDATE # 7 - As many have pointed out EGM apparently has a history of publishing fake articles as part of "April Fool’s Day". Is this one of those articles? Quite possibly. But so far I haven’t come across anything that indicates it is. I don’t read EGM, does anyone who does know where or when they would reveal which articles are the fakes? I will flip through the mag to see if I can find out more. Thanks for the tips!
UPDATE # 8 - Our friends over at MacDailyNews.com did the leg work and transcribed the full text of the article for us, which I will post below. Many are calling the device an April Fools Day ruse. Which is quite possible. But I flipped through the entire April issue of EGM and haven’t come across anything that would indicate that readers should be on the lookout for planted articles. That being said, who knows. Now on to the text;
Transcription of the PDF scan of EGM’s article:
i Got Game
Apple bites into the portable-gaming marketIt’s a rumor that flares up every couple of years: Microsoft’s getting into the portable-gaming market — it’s big bucks, after all. Leave it to a lifelong competitor to beat Gates’ gang to the real deal. Apple, well known for its line of computers, iPod portable digital-music players, and delicious pies, will be releasing its iGame portable gaming device late this year. The official debut of the machine isn’t scheduled until thei May;s Electronic gaming Expo (E3) in Lod Angeles, so we’re short on details right now. But we did get our hands on an early image of the iGame, as well as some initial plans for how the game will be distributed.
The iGame is set up like a typical portabel system, with a digital D-pad on the left side, four buttons on the right, and two shoulder buttons. It has a large widescreen and a thin overall profile (it’s reportedly just a tiny bit bigger that the current video iPod on its side). But look a little more closely. See the symbols on the face buttons? And that ring around the D-pad? (It’s a touch scroll wheel). Yep, the iGame is a fully functional iPod as well, complete with photo displat and music and video playback.
No word yet on how big the internal hard drive will be, but it better be pretty fat — not only will it have to store pictures, tunes, and videos, but all the games as well. The iGame won’t play any discs or cartridges; instead, you sign up on Apple’s iTunes Music Store and purchase individual titles for a fee. Like all other iTunes products, the game downloads to your computer (but as nonplayable files), then transfers to your iGame upon synchronization via ForeWire or USB 2.0 cable. The game lineup includes a mix of PC ports, original iGame exclusives, and very likely some Game Boy Advance and other handheld titles licensed from various companies (including some out-of-print classics from years past).
Like we said, details are scarce right now, but watch 1UP.com for more updates on the iGame as news breaks.
Gaming for the Masses
Of course Apple’s portable game machine is going to be sci-fi sleek and sexy — these are the guys who brought digitial music to the mainstream, and they;re itching to do the same with gaming. But is the machine too mainstream friendly? The design;s a big step backward in terms of game functionality: no analog stick, no dual analog controls (try playing any shooter on the PSP to see why that’s needed), no touch screen, etc. The hardcore gamers may not dig it, but that may not matter. If the mainstream picks up on it ike everyone did the iPod, iGame may be the next big thing.Here’s an unofficial list of licensed games our sources say should be available for iGame when it launches this winter. No word yet on iGame-original titles. Expect those to be announced this May and throughout the year.
• Call of Duty 3
• Casino Royale
• Madden NFL 07
• Splinter Cell Essentials 2
• Tak and the Power of JuJu on the Go
• WarCraft Armies
• Final fantasy II
• X-Men 3
UPDATE # 9 - Thanks to the many readers who have written in to fill me in on some of EGM’s past April Fool’s Day plants. Given the questionable details presented in the article (firewire on a new device when we are seeing Apple phase out firewire connectivity on new models of iPods?), and the fact it seems very highly unlikely that EGM would break the news on a release as big as this as opposed to his Steveness, it would appear that EGM has decided to pull the collective leg of the Mac faithful. Keep an eye on 1UP.com, EGM’s parent website, to see if they own up to their trickery.
Bad EGM, bad!
- AH
March 10th, 2006 at 2:08 am
April Fool’s?
March 10th, 2006 at 2:21 am
Apple podrÃa lanzar un dispositivo de juego portátil, iGame
Lo he leÃdo en 3 o 4 blogs anglosajones, apple podrÃa haber insinuado su posible entrada en el mundo de las consolas portátiles, y ahora que microsoft y intel presentan los Origamis, serÃa normal que apple contraatacará con un servicio de calidad,…
March 10th, 2006 at 2:33 am
Yup, looks that way Lee. Good show though.
March 10th, 2006 at 3:05 am
As a subscriber to the EGM Digital Version, I can verify that this does appear in the April 6, 2006 issue. It’s facing page is an advertisment for 24 The Game.
March 10th, 2006 at 3:37 am
Could sniff a mile away that it was a fake, but the updates were gripping. Next time you hear an event, let me know, real or fake, it’ll be fun.
March 10th, 2006 at 3:44 am
Une GameBoy/iPod par Apple ?
Et oui, le 1er avril on le sait, Apple fête ces 30 ans. Il est certain qu’elle ne laissera pas passer cet évenement sans sortir un nouveau produit inédit. On parle depuis quelques temps d’un iPod à écran tactile ou d’un tablet PC façon Origami…
March 10th, 2006 at 3:46 am
[...] Puedes leer la transcripción del artÃculo de la EGM de abril en esta liga. Enviar a un amigo [...]
March 10th, 2006 at 3:54 am
In any case, the design is distinctly un-Apple. The lines around the sides look ugly when you consider how seamlessly the metal back of the iPod meets the plastic front; no way that would be in a shipping Apple product.
March 10th, 2006 at 4:36 am
Your Delustional. This is not real, stop looking into it
March 10th, 2006 at 4:41 am
Clearly I am delusional Matt, but with that being said I did stop looking into it. I documented the whole sorted mess for you, culminating in the somewhat disappointing "April Fools Day" ruse. But thanks for the advice, not only did I stop looking into it once, but I will stop again. - AH
March 10th, 2006 at 4:45 am
[...] Yo no pondrÃa las manos en el fuego (muchos afirman que tal vez se trate de una broma por el April’s Fool Day), pero parece ser que el iGame es lo último que Apple se trae entre manos. En la edición de Abril de la revista EGM hay un artÃculo que trata sobre el iGame, la consola portátil que Apple habrÃa desarrollado. Informan que el iGame se estará presentando el próximo mes de Mayo en el E3 en Los Angeles. Pero no se trataria solamente de un consola de videojuegos, también reproducirÃa música y se podrÃan vizualizar imágenes y video. Incluso, entre sus controles, estarÃa el clásico touchweel que utilizan los iPods. Como bien explican en Ecetia: La distribución de los juegos serÃa por medio de la iTunes Music Store por medio de un puerto USB2.0 igual que como funcionan los iPods. La lista de juegos de lanzamientos, se comenta, son los siguientes: • Call of Duty 3 • Casino Royale • Madden NFL 07 • Splinter Cell Essentials 2 • Tak and the Power of JuJu on the Go • WarCraft Armies • Final fantasy II • X-Men 3 [...]
March 10th, 2006 at 4:45 am
Sadly this was the most exciting event of my work day Gillo, so the updates kept me entertained as much as anyone. Glad you enjoyed.
- AH
March 10th, 2006 at 5:00 am
What convinced me this was an April fool’s before i read any of the updates was the headphone port at the bottom, with the now-discontinued 4-pin accessory port!
March 10th, 2006 at 5:47 am
Don’t you mean that EGM pulled…your leg?
March 10th, 2006 at 6:15 am
Good point gbaisgreat, they really did only get me. Which is weird, because you wouldn’t expect a magazine like EGM to focus all their efforts on fooling just one guy like myself. But there ya have it. Then again I was primarily focusing on whether the article itself was a fake (as I didn’t actually have the magazine), which was made clear in my post, and through the many updates, but I’ll take the knock on this one. EGM got me, and got me good.
Good job guys!
- AH
March 10th, 2006 at 6:25 am
[...] Stationa.com running a very often updated article of iGame. The Newest rumor of Apple’s product. Yup, just like it’s name. It supposed to be a portable game console. But, is it real ? or it’s just an april fool ? So start saving your money, just in case it’s real. Technorati Tags: apple, igame, ipod [...]
March 10th, 2006 at 9:01 am
How could you possibly believe that iGame mess? Man, you’re gullible.
March 10th, 2006 at 9:47 am
That’s me. Thanks Joe.
I also believe in the Loch Ness Monster and Bigfoot if that helps you see where I am coming from.
Man, is this really the caliber of reader that Engadget attracts? Grammar police with no reading comprehension skills? Outstanding!
BTW - I just hired Joe as my fact checker for Station A going forward, so rest easy everyone - we are in good hands now.
- AH
March 10th, 2006 at 9:50 am
The tipoff is Call of Duty 3 and WarCraft Armies. What the fsck?
March 10th, 2006 at 9:54 am
I am not much of a gamer, but I was pretty sure that X-Men 3 is a movie, not a game. So that was a bit of a red flag. Of course if they had said X-Men Legends: The Reckoning or something like that I am sure my gullible gene would have kicked right in and believed every word of it.
- AH
March 10th, 2006 at 11:38 am
iGame de Apple, una inocentada de EGM
La revista EGM (Electronic Gaming Monthly) publica en su número de abril (en su versión papel) un artÃculo sobre la nueva consola portátil de Apple llamada iGame. La noticia está haciendo correr rios de tinta en Internet por su dudosa veracidad. …
March 10th, 2006 at 1:51 pm
… it’s funny to read all about this. Thank you for putting all the stuff together!
Good Idea: To buy the games directly over the iTunes Store.
On the other side, I ask myself, if it would be possible to release
a new gamingdevice on the “secret tour”. Who should develop the games?
March 10th, 2006 at 3:07 pm
Can you say April Fools?
March 10th, 2006 at 4:10 pm
Ha. This is funny. It’s quite obviously a fake though. There are several indicators.
First of all a game like Oblivion would make no sense at all on a device like that. The article also indicates that it would sync with both firewire and USB - something Apple has stopped supporting. Newer iPods can only sync with USB, so why suddenly put it back in?
It’s cute, but far fetched. Besides that … Apple may be Apple, but even they can’t take Nintendo on in the handheld department. Even Sony aren’t doing that well.
March 10th, 2006 at 9:37 pm
Its their yearly April Fool’s mag…..
March 11th, 2006 at 2:54 am
They always publish in the following issue which article was fake…
March 11th, 2006 at 4:49 am
Good to see that someone followed this through!! I knew it was fake from teh start!! There is no way Apple would bring out a console again.
Anyone remember the Pippin? here is a link for your enlightenment.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_Pippin
March 12th, 2006 at 3:10 am
The latest rumours on the Apple rumor sites involve a video iPod which is a touchscreen based 4″ diagonal screen device. In principal such a device could easily double as a gaming machine with a USB controls dongle. It could also be a “smart remote” if it had bluetooth or wifi.
Remember the pads in “Star Trek”? The Apple logo will be on the back of those soon.
Jerry
March 13th, 2006 at 3:25 am
Just one comment to make…
Look at the postion of the d-pad and buttons, then look at how far you would have to reach to be able to use the shoulder buttons at the same time…
Yes, that is entirely possible…
NOT!
I claim the machine is a fake and that EGM is playing the April 1st card…
March 13th, 2006 at 9:13 am
[...] Link: Station A [...]
March 14th, 2006 at 4:34 am
This is a total FAKE!
My friend has that magazine and he showed me on the bus. I said, “No way will Apple come out with another gay thing that will be “in”.
Now don’t say, “Yeah, maybe. But I found the article in EGM!”
I’m sure you did. But, we can’t go by those. I made an earlier but when I was like 7 that Nintendo will come out with a TOTALLY cordless system that is yet to come out (found it in the magzine GamePro).
I support Apple. I, in fact, DO own iTunes, and I was thinking about getting an iPod (decided to get a Sony Psyc) but I do not trust Apple in this decision.
In conclusion, I do NOT think Apple will come out with a iGame. They are just trying to get public amusement in their other items.
‘Nuff Said.
March 14th, 2006 at 4:42 am
first of all, kirk is just saying that cause we made a bet that if the iGame comes out he has to buy it 4 me.
sencond of all, the EGM’s newest release isnt a April Fools isue
March 14th, 2006 at 8:40 am
Its always worth it when EGM does a convincing April Fools gag and gets a bunch of suckers to believe it. No seriously though, keep those “its not a fake” arguements coming…they’re very entertaining.
March 14th, 2006 at 2:15 pm
You are not buying an April Fool’s Day hoax for your little friends, young man! What’s that? You’ll start a Nintendo Revolution? You say “I game,” well I say “don’t push my buttons”!
~Nutcase
March 15th, 2006 at 7:36 pm
No happy. I was actually excited about this hoax.
March 15th, 2006 at 7:55 pm
[...] Well, I have to admit, EGM got me really good. I read an article in their magazine about how Apple was going to jump into the video game market with the iGame. Unfortunately it was all a hoax. Even though it is not confirmed hoax yet, I know it is totally an April fools joke. It was both mean and uncalled for EGM, you hear me. Not that I am going to cancel my subscription or anything but I am not going to forget to really be more of a skeptic when I read their April issue. [...]
March 16th, 2006 at 5:02 am
Total fake. The sides are totally un-iPodish. Also Apple wont break from the iPod name. Thats why they dont have the iNano, iVideo, iShuffle, etc. Plus, Apple products never have the name on the front. The FireWire thing bothers me as well. This was a great April Fool’s joke, but it had some big errors in it. While I hope this is real, the evidence says otherwise.
March 16th, 2006 at 11:04 pm
Sure, it’s a paper thin lie to any major Machead. The truely sad part is how many people here are flaunting it with so much arrogance. Thanks for the info AH, I wasn’t too bent on my own Mac-obsession to see your whole intent was to find out if it really was true or not (and not just, “I know it’s fake because I’m so obsessed that I’m a human Macintosh.”)
Good work, I think I speak for the geeks that don’t have their Macheads up their aHoles.
March 16th, 2006 at 11:20 pm
Thanks Jason. I think the intent of my post, and the way the discovery of the article unfolded, is lost on most who visited here by way of Engadget or MacDailyNews. The updates were just way of keeping tabs on my hunt to track down the source of the article, and verify that it was in an actual publication and not just some Photoshop mockup. If you notice I made no comments on the supposed authenticity of the picture in the ad because, to be honest, I spent very little time examining it, and was more interested in getting my hands on the source of this “information”.
Once I determined it was in an upcoming issue for the month of April, and that EGM has a history of posting faux articles as an April Fools Day gag, I think I was pretty upfront with everyone that it was quite probably a planted article.
It was interesting, and fun to do the leg work nonetheless. And at the very least I think I was one of the first on the Mac web to bring attention to it. I guess as a whole we aren’t much in the way of “gamers”.
- AH
March 17th, 2006 at 4:00 am
Not just Macheads. Look at those little buttons. Then look at those titles: “Battle for Middle Earth” An assortment of first person shooters.
No.
March 19th, 2006 at 6:17 am
This is so clearly their annual april fool’s joke. Remember the mature version of Wind Waker, Sonic and Tails in SSBM, or the Sega super-system? Yeah, they do this EVERY year.
March 23rd, 2006 at 8:18 am
If you go to AppleiGame.com it will take you to Apple’s website.
March 25th, 2006 at 12:32 am
im tired of mac trying to be everywhere, there just trying to be like the PSP(playstation portable), if anything thatas the last thing they need to do. there just hating that the PSP is starting to take over the game/photo/video/music market. all i got to say is that MAC is just scared because their losing there buisness. i dont have a PSP but now im personally going to go buy a PSP after hearing this news.
March 25th, 2006 at 2:21 am
I think its the new April fools joke that EGM runs every year.
March 27th, 2006 at 12:19 am
“im tired of mac trying to be everywhere, there just trying to be like the PSP(playstation portable), if anything thatas the last thing they need to do. there just hating that the PSP is starting to take over the game/photo/video/music market. all i got to say is that MAC is just scared because their losing there buisness. i dont have a PSP but now im personally going to go buy a PSP after hearing this news. ”
Uhhh…Gobey Guyrocks, you DO know that the company’s name is APPLE, not mac….right?
March 31st, 2006 at 12:20 am
Yes, but appleigame.com is registered to a Juan Gonzales in Orange, Texas. Fake (but good!)
April 3rd, 2006 at 7:42 am
Did anyone notice the “most popular games” section on the “iGames website” they showed?
I’d play Oprah Chronicles!
April 5th, 2006 at 12:32 am
Furthermore, looking at the iTues Gamesore in the picture, there is a Ninja game that was categorized under “Ninja Action.”
They’re not even trying anymore.
April 8th, 2006 at 7:23 pm
How much is the igame????
April 10th, 2006 at 7:49 am
April Fools, says in new EGM.
April 11th, 2006 at 12:44 am
Thanks Jo, I was wondering if they had owned up to it yet. So the saga, finally, comes to an end.
It was fun while it lasted.
- AH
April 23rd, 2006 at 12:10 am
You wasted a lot of time being a dumbass and scanning shit just to find out it was fake. Way to go.
April 27th, 2006 at 7:42 pm
igame = ifake
May 7th, 2006 at 7:50 am
hello
July 22nd, 2007 at 10:35 am
[...] The iGame appeared in EGM’s April 2006 issue as their April Fools joke. In the fake article, EGM writers claimed Apple was hard at work producing an ipod clone that would serve solely as a portable game system offering iTunes support and a rich game library through their online store. [...]