More on iOS as the Gaming Console of the Future - Former Sony Boss Weighs In

As I mentioned in a previous editorial, I believe that AirPlay Mirroring could be the way that Apple enters the home game console market. AirPlay Mirroring was barely mentioned as an iOS 5 feature at the most recent keynote, but it has the potential to make the biggest change in how we think of iOS.

As a quick reminder, AirPlay mirroring will allow your iPad 2 to transmit your iPad screen to your TV via a connected Apple TV, wirelessly. Anything you see on your iPad will be mirrored on your TV. This includes any animations, interactions, apps, movies, photos, and most importantly, games. It's not just for images, it's the full iPad experience mirrored to your TV.

As the video below shows, AirPlay Mirroring just works with current iOS applications that are enabled for tethered HDMI output using the adapter for iPad 2. And it works very well for an early beta. There are some things that need streamlining, but it's very impressive.

A huge thanks for Trevor at Apple'n'Apps for this video. It does a great job of showing the potential. After thinking about AirPlay Mirroring I was concerned that there would be considerable lag as the video was compressed and transmitted to the Apple TV. As we can see from the demo, lag seem to be fairly well mitigated and the responsiveness seems good.

We can also see that if games are developed like Real Racing 2 HD, they can provide full screen output on your TV, not just the 1024x768 window that you will see otherwise. Real Racing 2 HD looks absolutely amazing when output full screen on a TV. And I think this is just the beginning of what we will see. With this system, Apple is in a position to own the home console gaming market. And they are well on their way to owning the mobile market already with 200 million devices out there; this number overshadows even Nintendo with the DS.

And it looks like I'm not the only person to believe Apple is the future for gaming. Phil Harrison, former Sony boss, believes that if current growth levels continue, Apple is in a position to be the entire gaming industry within 10 years. In a recent interview with Edge Phil Harrison states:

At this trajectory, if you extrapolate the market-share gains that they are making, forward for ten years – if they carry on unrestrained in their growth, then there’s a pretty good chance that Apple will be the games industry.

In the proliferation of devices – you’ve got iPhones, iPads, iPods, which are all part of the same ecosystem; the speed at which Apple sold 15 million iPads is phenomenal. And the number one activity on an iPad, according to some reports, is games, and I think that will only continue.

Whil the traditional console gaming companies have struggled to adapt to a more casual gaming market as well as electronic delivery, Apple continues set the bar. Apple seems to be hitting every point spot on, putting them in line to lead the gaming industry in the near future. And this upset of the current gaming leaders can not be underestimated - it's a huge shift. The story continues and I'm sure we'll be bringing you more soon.