Apple have entertainment divisions across both movies/TV and music. If they were to carve out a dedicated in-house gaming division there would be clear synergy, they already know how to run high performing successful entertainment businesses.
Structurally they share far more in common with Sony than they do Microsoft.
If apple wanted to take gaming seriously and create a console it would signal the end of Microsoft's efforts, I'm pretty sure of that. If xbox find it tough to compete against just Sony and Nintendo I have no idea how they would cope if Apple, Sony and Nintendo were all pushing one another. For a start, their notion that you can't be successful in Japan as an American console manufacturer would immediately look stupid.
That's why, and goodness forbid it
ever came to this but, if Sony were for whatever reason forced to either partner PlayStation with another company or even sell the subsidiary off altogether, the most likely company for such an asset would probably be Apple. Those would be the best hands to ensure partial or full trust of the brand into, all things considered.
Although for purposes of cloud expansion I've said that Sony could probably get a sweetheart deal with Google, it's also possible they could just tap Apple for funding and meanwhile provide the tech side themselves as they currently already are. A partnership between PlayStation and Apple would be insane; Sony selling PlayStation to Apple would be a lot less ideal for some obvious reasons, but still the best option among the bigger tech companies to manage the brand long-term.
That said there's nothing in the foreseeable future that would really push Sony into needing to take that option. Not even sure if (slightly) more mass 3P consolidation would be a reason. Though if that did blow up into a big trend, considering these various big tech companies with pockets much deeper than Sony's, then I could see more of a "need" for a partnership with one like Apple or best worst-case, selling the PS unit to them (but maybe getting some PS leadership employed at Apple to guide the ship on the gaming side).
They had stellar track record. And considering Xbox is off the table, that contributed to this mess massively.
But the thing is they had a stellar track record when Xbox management wasn't even in the picture. Unless maybe the previous owners were very hands-on, and it seemed like they were near the end before selling Zenimax off.
His hands off approach sucks so bad. He needs someone that has the balls to make his studios deliver stellar record games.
Also their inhouse ratings sucks so bad. I can't believe those bozos gave the game a good ratings. They are stealing a living there.
My thing here is, if Phil Spener needs more people assisting him in his capacity, then two things are probably an issue: Microsoft is rapidly expanding their gaming portfolio of studios too much too soon, and Phil Spencer may not be up to the task of leading all these teams if he was already struggling with far less teams under his watch.
You don't simply hire more hands to help; you replace the person running that operation with someone who can deliver better results.