Rumor: New Apple tablet is also gaming device?

It’s looking increasingly likely that Apple will be releasing a tablet device later this year, and now an anonymous analyst has told Barron’s that the newest (alleged) addition to the Apple family will let users play games. From Barron’s:

It could be a home media center, somewhat like the current Apple TV, and it could be a gaming machine, opines Jon Peddie, head of Jon Peddie Research in Tiburon, Calif. “Gaming will be a big part of what this is about,” he adds.

That’s all we’re going to get right now, it seems. Apple expanding its reach in gaming is a perfectly plausible claim, especially given the relative success of many iPhone games to date.

However, like all other rumors that have gathered around Apple’s mysterious multimedia slab, it’s a fairly vague statement that poses more questions than it answers. We’ve no idea, for instance, whether these will be original games for the tablet, or titles adapted from the current Apps Store. With a (speculative?) release date of September being touted by some respectable publications, we may learn more pretty soon.

[Barron's, via 9to5Mac, via Engadget]

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