Apple’s upcoming September 9 event may have a strong iPhone bias, but there’s also a great deal of excitement surrounding the possible introduction of additional hardware. A number of reports over the last month have speculated that Apple’s fourth-generation Apple TV will have a heavy focus on gaming; a speculative fire that had further fuel added to it when it was discovered that apart from the motion control support for gaming in the remote that will ship with Apple TV 4, the device would additionally support third-party Bluetooth gaming controllers as well. Now, a new report has reaffirmed that suspicion, by claiming that gaming will be one of the primary marketable aspects of the Apple TV 4.
It remains to be seen whether or not Apple is taking the ambitious decision of going head-to-head with traditional consoles, such as Microsoft’s Xbox One or Sony’s PlayStation 4, but given the limited specifications of the fourth-generation Apple TV in comparison, it seems highly unlikely. However, given the fact that the mobile gaming business is now a multi-billion dollar industry, and the ATV4 is highly expected to come equipped with an App Store and developer facing SDK, it seems very likely that Apple will attempt to position the Apple TV as the perfect casual gaming device.
The report cites individuals who have “been briefed on Apple’s plans”, claiming that Apple intends to make gaming a “primary selling point” of the new Apple TV. Historically speaking, the Apple TV has been classed as nothing more than a hobby project internally at Apple, and has been used by consumers predominantly to stream music and media from a number of supported services, such as Netflix, Hulu or iTunes. However, it now appears that those limitations would be cast away into the ether when Apple unveils the biggest upgrade yet to its little black set-top box.
Apple already has a range of devices that are great for mobile gaming. The launch of the Metal framework and improvements to its existing gaming frameworks for developers has seen a huge improvement in the quality of games available for the iPhone and iPad, and soon Macs running OS X El Capitan. However, given the fact that the Apple TV is relatively low-cost, and is connected directly to large screen HD television sets within the home, it makes perfect sense for Apple to try and position the hardware as a casual gaming device for consumers. There’s undoubtedly a market for those who don’t want to spend a fortune on a powerful console or upwards of $50 for new games. Apple’s fourth-generation Apple TV could fill that void perfectly.
(Source: The New York Times)
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