Steve Jobs has stated in the clearest terms yet that Apple is to market its iPod Touch as a dedicated games device – and considering how the company has so successfully dominated the MP3 and mobile phone markets, the news will surely be met with concern at both Nintendo and Sony.
Jobs also confessed that last night’s price drop for the device positions it directly at the mass-market – a sector that to date Nintendo has courted with great success.
“Originally, we weren't exactly sure how to market the Touch,” Jobs told The New York Times. “Was it an iPhone without the phone? Was it a pocket computer? What happened was, what customers told us was, they started to see it as a game machine.
“We started to market it that way, and it just took off. And now what we really see is it's the lowest-cost way to the App Store, and that's the big draw.
"So what we were focused on is just reducing the price to $199. We don’t need to add new stuff. We need to get the price down where everyone can afford it.”