Might Apple have interest in gaming beyond its pokey iPod gaming offerings? Maybe, when you consider that the company has recently applied to expand its trademark into the realm of gaming. The new filing was made on February 5, and has not yet been assigned to an examining attorney.

The trademark filing seeks to extend the "APPLE" (text) trademark to cover a wide swath of the gaming world, to wit:

"Toys, games and playthings, namely, hand-held units for playing electronic games; hand-held units for playing video games; stand alone video game machines; electronic games other than those adapted for use with television receivers only; LCD game machines; electronic educational game machines; toys, namely battery-powered computer games." (emphasis added.)

Tradmork, who first unearthed the application and contacted us about it, suggests that this could be the first credible evidence that Apple might build a gaming machine. The question is, does this filing suggest anything more than the iPod gaming that already exists?

Pippin, Jr.

Our first reaction is that Apple is just covering its bases here. Yet the "stand alone video game machines" entry gives us pause, because that doesn't describe an iPod, and Apple doesn't need such a trademark for a PC that can play games. "Stand alone video game machines" could describe gaming on the Apple TV, however, and we don't think it's farfetched that we'll one day see the iPod-specific gaming titles playable on an Apple TV.

Recall Pippin, Apple's failed attempt at a "multimedia console"? Apple TV, with a dash of gaming support, could be almost everything Pippin wanted to be (and more). The Apple TV is already gearing up to be the centerpiece in Apple's new movie rental and sales scheme. Apple has also shown us that it can take its OS X and put it on just about everything, which opens up tons of possibilities for a set top box. Users have already managed to get OS X running on the Apple TV, so we know it's a possibility. And we do expect Apple TV to morph over time into something far more powerful than an iTunes-to-TV connector. While support for iPod-style games (low processor and graphics requirements) won't impress hardcore gamers, the casual gaming world could be attracted to them.

What is far-fetched is the notion that Apple would build a gaming-only console, rather than some set top box that has gaming support as one feature among many. The publisher support, the development framework, a market crying out for another console player—it's all missing in action. We don't see Apple surviving in the big-budget segment of the gaming world.

Nevertheless, the filing can be interpreted as a sign that Apple intends to step up its involvement with gaming, which is really a no-brainer given the company's success with handheld devices.