This week has brought much in the news of video games and the convergence of media. Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) shareholders might consider that Tuesday’s testimony on taxation of international income was the bomb. The real bomb may be that this elusive Apple TV might get released too late to matter. Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT) is soon to release the Xbox One (really the Xbox3) and Sony Corp. (NYSE: SNE) is soon to release its newest PlayStation 4 video game terminal. Digital media convergence may now be a product cycle ahead of Apple.

It almost seemed unfathomable that Apple could miss on a product delivery, but there have really not been any new products outside of a refresh cycle in two years. That elusive “one day, maybe, hopefully” Apple TV is expected to be the next big thing to drive Apple’s growth engine by many analysts on Wall Street. The problem is that no one has seen the thing work and no one really knows what the specs are going to be. And what about Apple’s price premium for a television?

A problem for Apple is that it has to have noticed that Sony has lost money on its television unit for about nine years now. The market is already more than crowded in the flat panel TV space, and Apple is not known for being excited about “me-too” products nor for losing money. So what can Apple do that is different, and how fast can it do it? Imagine this, if you go buy a new PS4 or Xbox One for all of the convergence of media, games, web, TV, music, and customized media: are you going to go out and plunk down the extra cash to buy another television set at a high above-market price premium just because Apple made it? Here are the summarized features of the Xbox One.

Apple has so far been trumped by Microsoft in stock performance in 2013. Microsoft shares are up about 23% so far in 2013 at a time when PC sales have been weak, while Apple shares are down about 16% so far in 2013. Amazingly, Sony shares are up almost 100% for its ADRs so far in 2013 as Sony is considering a major restructuring caused in part due to activist investor pressure.

It is almost hard to imagine that an Apple product might be in trouble even before it launches. Maybe the market isn’t telling you that directly, but the market is definitely telling you something. If Apple does have one feature we would love to see, it is that elusive trend in 3D: how about 3D TV without glasses for your living room?

It seems hard to believe, but that 3D TV without glasses from Toshiba was first seen three years ago.

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