Apple is reported to be hiring video game designers, suggesting that better gaming will be coming to the iPod and Mac platforms, and even a possible Apple-branded gaming system.

“We think the video game market represents a distinct possibility for Apple, especially considering that it recently announced the availability of video games for its iPod through its iTunes store,” Prudential analyst Jesse Tortora told clients in a research note on Monday.

According to Tortora, the company could approach the video game sector in one of two ways, via a home game console or a handheld device.

“The game console device could be morphed out of some combination of the Mac Mini and iTV, while the handheld player could be developed as an enhancement to a future version of the widescreen iPod,” explained Tortora.

Apple would face a variety of challenges in the extremely competitive gaming market.

“The video game console market is notorious for subsidizing hardware to sell profitable games,” he wrote. “Apple would then have to either rely on the sales of its games and downloadable movies to make enough profit to cover losses on hardware or figure out a strategy to make profits on hardware itself.”

The company may see gaming features as strategically important, since Microsoft recently added video downloading features to its XBox 360 platform.

via AppleInsider