Is Apple Making a PlayStation 4 Killer?

Apple wants to beat Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo at their own game.According to MCV (via The Next Web) the iPhone maker has hired a man who spent seven years leading the marketing efforts for Xbox Live: Robin Burrowes.This is not the first game-related appointment made by Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL). The company previously hired Nick Grange, a PR exec from Activision (NASDAQ: ATVI) and Electronic Arts (NASDAQ: EA). But Burrowes might be the most significant hire yet.While Apple has yet to comment on the matter, Burrowes will reportedly be in charge of marketing the App Store in Europe.On paper, this sounds minor. As an experienced marketing professional, Burrowes can provide the iPod creator with a level of expertise the company might currently lack. Why wouldn't Apple want someone like that, regardless of its future plans?But the timing of his appointment indicates that something more is going on. Right now, Apple is presumably developing a TV that it will one be marketed as the definitive entertainment device. It will almost certainly play apps. However, the current App Store is just that; a store. Thus far, Apple's attempt at adding other features (such as multiplayer gaming) has been weak at best. When people game on their iPhones, they are often playing solo. And when they game with others, the experience is far from that of Xbox Live.To become the center of the living room – and prevent consumers from buying whatever Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) is selling – Apple is going to need to produce a TV or an external device (such as an Apple TV-style set-top box) that can compete head-on with the next Xbox. Currently, Apple does not make any such product. Currently, most Apple loyalists will argue that the company does not need to design a product like that. But it will need one if it intends to command and transform the living room as significantly as it has commanded and transformed the tablet, smartphone, and MP3 player markets.When analysts talk about content for Apple's television, they always look to non-interactive features, ...

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