“I will be the first to write apps for Apple-TV when I can,” says Nat Brown

Feb 14, 2013 14:47 GMT  ·  By

The founder of the original Xbox project at Microsoft who actually gave the console its name, Nat Brown, lashes out on the console’s failures in a recent blog entry which also touches on Apple.

Mr. Brown is convinced that if Apple were to equip its $99/€99 puck-sized set-top box with a proper controller, the company would “simply kill Playstation, Wii-U and xBox by introducing an open 30%-cut app/game ecosystem.”

“I already make a lot of money on iOS – I will be the first to write apps for Apple-TV when I can, and I know I’ll make money,” Nat boasts, adding that he would still choose the Xbox in a heartbeat, “if I could and I knew I would make money.”

It all boils down to how you distribute the apps/games, and how you monetize on them, says the developer.

“Maybe a ‘console-capable’ Apple-TV isn’t $99, maybe it’s $199, and add another $79 for a controller,” he writes.

“The current numbers already say a lot, even with Apple-TV not already an open console: 5.3M sold units in 2012, 90% year-over-year growth — vs. xBox 360 — about 9M units in 2012, 60% YoY decline,” Brown concludes.