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Apple TV 4: Gaming will be major focus

Nzyme32

Member
Casual users are already on mobile. Plus, in terms of games, I'm pretty sure AppleTV will be compete with mobile phones, not consoles.

Yes - that doesn't restrict them to mobiles only though, as many of my friends will attest. This device is not a mobile phone and not with the same use cases. This is like saying the Wii was only competing with mobile games and not consoles - it misses the point. Most people don't care for the difference between the two as you are. They are interested in a device for the living room that will give them some games for party purposes or just a bit of fun, but importantly, a wealth of entertainment and internet services they already love - easily accessible for their TV. That makes it competitive in the lounge and not as a mobile device, whereas a phone is not something you share all the time and serve around a living room and TV. That will have an affect on consoles whether big or small dependant on its ubiquity and how well it caters to gaming in a palatable way for average folks with a passing interest.
 
It'd be exciting as hell if Apple took an actual shot with gaming, they're poised for absolute fucking destruction, but they've yet to show any sign of even remotely caring about it.
 

Cleve

Member
I'm talking about modern Apple, after the iPhone (where Macs are less important). Every year there is the same rumor (or whatever you want to call it) about Apple launching a competitor for the consoles and it's never true. Gaming is not something they particularly care about. Not more than any other app.

Yeah, I definitely agree. I think whre they've tried to bite in to gaming in the (reasonably distant) past they've been a little lost as to what to do and they're not likely to make a real push of things. I don't see modern apple investing much at all.

They're far more interested in getting more devices in to users hands and letting other companies push any sort of gaming initiative why they reap the app store sales.
 
It'd be exciting as hell if Apple took an actual shot with gaming, they're poised for absolute fucking destruction, but they've yet to show any sign of even remotely caring about it.

They did release the Pippin with Bandai.

Also, Steve Jobs mentioned this when announcing the iPhone. He showed that the gaming market share was very small compared to phones, so he basically said "This is why we're not making consoles, so we're skipping to phones"
 

Etnos

Banned
It'd be exciting as hell if Apple took an actual shot with gaming, they're poised for absolute fucking destruction, but they've yet to show any sign of even remotely caring about it.

Yeah me to, they could disrupt the current establishment big time. But, it is hard to imagine a world were Apple is teaming up with Rockstar, Bethesda, Activision to push out exclusives or you know just a decent hard core gaming device

As much as we love hard core gaming, it is not really a "big" business, not sure if big or relevant enough for apple to care.
 
One of the things I think would be interesting would be for someone to follow the PC / Cell phone model for consoles.

What if instead of one new console every 5 years, there's a console that gets revised every year for better graphics / etc. Games would have to support the last 5 revisions but this way they could launch consoles on a more regular basis and also fight one of the worst trends in the industry, which is every 5 - 6 years you have to burn all your customers and start over.

It might not work, but nobody's brought that business model to consoles yet so it'd be interesting to see if it would. That's basically what Apple has done to iOS devices, and I think it could work for the Apple TV
 
The thing I'm most interested in with this is: 1. how will Apple handle multi-player. Presumably phones will be the controllers, but how will pairing work. 2. How much will this shift the game market in iOS. Obviously party type games will take off. So it'd be interesting to see how or what shakes up from it.
 
They did release the Pippin with Bandai.

Also, Steve Jobs mentioned this when announcing the iPhone. He showed that the gaming market share was very small compared to phones, so he basically said "This is why we're not making consoles, so we're skipping to phones"

They released the Pippin when Steve Jobs was not with the company. Games have never been central to their position of their products.
 

Etnos

Banned
Let's also note that they are releasing Metal for OS X, so it would definitely seem the focus in gaming is coming

Can't wait of that to come out, a good API could make a big difference. The current MBP have decent GPU, Intel is also doing great work with their Integrated graphics.
 
Can't wait of that to come out, a good API could make a big difference. The current MBP have decent GPU, Intel is also doing great work with their Integrated graphics.

Absolutely true, it makes a huge difference. I actually run my games on Windows in my Mac and they run so much better just because of DirectX and the drivers. (and I mean ages better, like from 1280x720+some effects to 1920x1080+all effects better)
 

spekkeh

Banned
It'd be exciting as hell if Apple took an actual shot with gaming, they're poised for absolute fucking destruction, but they've yet to show any sign of even remotely caring about it.
Yes it would be exciting as hell if Apple went for absolute fucking destruction and all that is left to play on our big screens is exploitationware time-wasters with pay to speed up mechanics, smh.
 

Josh5890

Member
I can honestly say I do not care about what Apple does. I don't see them having much of an impact on the type of gaming that I enjoy.
 
I'm baffled by the fact that some of you guys are calling AppleTV a "console".

Nvidia Shield Android TV is a console, isn't it? Why wouldn't the Apple TV be able to do the same thing given the proper features? They are no more set top boxes than the XBox One wanted to be

EDIT: forgot to mentioned the PlayStation TV, also a console
 

MajorTom

Member
The rumor I've seen floating around is it will aim to emulate the same technical fidelity found on PS3/360, so if I'm being optimistic I'm hoping it will target Wii U specs so 1080p/60fps can happen for smaller titles ala Rocket League.
Rocket league isn't even 1080/60 on ps4
 
I'm wondering if this will affect Nintendo? Will NIntendo's mobile games be avialable on the TV through the Apple TV?

Could Nintendo possibly see ports of any Apple TV developed games?

I have no idea but just something that came to mind and had me wondering.
 

Trago

Member
I'm wondering if this will affect Nintendo? Will NIntendo's mobile games be avialable on the TV through the Apple TV?

Could Nintendo possibly see ports of any Apple TV developed games?

I have no idea but just something that came to mind and had me wondering.

I imagine that like, the Android TV, games for the new Apple TV will be categorized as controller compatible. And if Nintendo are making mobile specific games, then we likely wont see games on this thing.
 

Viper3

Member
Nvidia Shield Android TV is a console, isn't it? Why wouldn't the Apple TV be able to do the same thing given the proper features? They are no more set top boxes than the XBox One wanted to be

EDIT: forgot to mentioned the PlayStation TV, also a console

Well, not according to Nvidia at least. ;)
 
The rumor I've seen floating around is it will aim to emulate the same technical fidelity found on PS3/360, so if I'm being optimistic I'm hoping it will target Wii U specs so 1080p/60fps can happen for smaller titles ala Rocket League. But who is supporting it? Is it simply going to be an Apple outlet for indies and ports?

I think there's space for a low-cost, simple games system out there for the mainstream audience and coupled with the Apple ecosystem, there's the potential for disruption. But Apple's not going to get away with just porting iOS games to the TV and calling it a day. Since it seems they're trying to emulate the Wii, they should learn from it: without the software support Nintendo provided, that system was utter garbage.
Rocket League doesn't even do 1080/60 on PS4. Framerate is all over the place.
 

darkside31337

Tomodachi wa Mahou
I have a feeling there will be a lot of crows to eat in this thread in two years time.

You can find people saying the -same- exact thing you just said 2 years ago regarding Apple TV and games.

It's never happening. Apple doesn't care about games for whatever reason.
 

openrob

Member
Wait - so they make you buy replacable batteries in an age where we have had recargable gadgets for yeeeaaars, and then market it as a good thing?
Madness
 

LAA

Member
Please just stay in mobile gaming. If apple get in on console gaming I really feel it will be the end. I hate the company as it is, don't want it infecting something I love dearly.
 

mcfrank

Member
You can find people saying the -same- exact thing you just said 2 years ago regarding Apple TV and games.

It's never happening. Apple doesn't care about games for whatever reason.

And yet they run one of the most profitable and most popular gaming platforms in the world.
 
I don't care for this sentiment much personally, but if they're going to be serious about this initiative, I doubt they're only going to go with standard mobile gaming fare.
 
I'd like to see Apple actually be serious about gaming for the first time ever. Putting someone at the upper-executive level in charge of it the same way they've got Dre and Iovine for music would result in some massive and much-needed changes/improvements to the App Store ecosystem.

Personally, I'd like to see "games" separated out entirely from "apps" and sold through a different store altogether on iOS/OS X devices. The incentives for what makes great games kinda require very different pricing structures from the incentives for what makes great utility or social software.

It'd be interesting to see Apple produce some first-party gaming content, too. I could see them hiring Jenova Chen.
 

Timbuktu

Member
AppleTV never quite reached the success of the iPhone but if it ever does it will definitely have an impact on the industry.

Has Apple ever really advertised or pushed the Apple TV with any effort as they do with other major releases? They introduced it as a 'hobby' and it sort of just lingers there with an update once ina while.
 
Has Apple ever really advertised or pushed the Apple TV with any effort as they do with other major releases? They introduced it as a 'hobby' and it sort of just lingers there with an update once ina while.

They spoke a bit about airplay but I think that was to sell ipads more then the apple tv itself, well you needed both for airplay so I guess it counts. This was before they added airplay support to macs and all that.
 
Lots of people (myself included) doubted that mobile would hurt dedicated handhelds, and well, look at that market now.

That's not to say that the handheld market is the same as the console market, and Apple TV clearly won't be aimed at the PS4/XB1 audience, but I do think it's at least possible that a casual-focused STB console could shake things up a bit. Even if neither Ouya nor Fire TV have managed to do so yet.
 

Etnos

Banned
Lots of people (myself included) doubted that mobile would hurt dedicated handhelds, and well, look at that market now.

I don't like sweeping generalisations but sometimes I feel this forums are the very best definition of reactionary. Some people is stuck back in the 90s when console gaming was "bigger than hollywood"

Kinda bizarre considering the demographic is mostly young fellas who enjoy a tech based hobby
 
Lots of people (myself included) doubted that mobile would hurt dedicated handhelds, and well, look at that market now.

That's not to say that the handheld market is the same as the console market, and Apple TV clearly won't be aimed at the PS4/XB1 audience, but I do think it's at least possible that a casual-focused STB console could shake things up a bit. Even if neither Ouya nor Fire TV have managed to do so yet.

I've said this elsewhere, but if the Wii had supported 1080p and had had best-in-class media-box support it would've taken over the world. That said, the Wii's success was driven by killer-app first-party local multiplayer games and I don't think Apple's working on anything of the sort.
 

DavidDesu

Member
Well mobile gaming has of course put one hell of a dent into portable games consoles. As well as expanding the player base to a ridiculous degree beyond people who would ever have bought a portable console to begin with.


If Apple can create a simple home games console with this new Apple TV, and it works just as OS does on mobiles, then they have a good shot at expanding home console game players and at the same time putting a dent into the big consoles from MS, Sony and Nintendo. Mobile graphics are getting better all the time. Reasonable 3D games graphics are being done now, possibly comparable to PS360 level, and certainly with every passing year that gap closes.

There's A LOT of people out there who only want Minecraft, Skylanders etc on a home console, especially if it comes added on to the living room streaming box as extra functionality. The need to buy a PS3 or PS4 suddenly massively reduces for this demographic. Will the people who frequent these boards sell their PS4 and go to an Apple, well no of course not. Not anytime soon, if ever. BUT, if it does work and gain ground and if Apple commit to it, they could force themselves into the same playing field as the big three, with more powerful, more pricey hardware, that can compete some day, with the added benefits of being the one stop shop for streaming and connecting to your iPhone over Airplay etc.
 
Apple TV clearly won't be aimed at the PS4/XB1 audience, but I do think it's at least possible that a casual-focused STB console could shake things up a bit.

All it would take would be, say, 20-30% of the existing Console developers to do one less Console project and instead dedicate those resources to something like an Apple TV, or for some percentage of Console indie devs to start focusing on something like this for it to have repercussions on the home console market.

But people say "I'm not interested! I'm a core gamer and I spend a lot on games! There will always be a market for Consoles!".

Sure, there will likely always be a customer interested in home consoles. But who will continue to produce the content if costs continue to rise (they are) and the Console installed base keeps declining (it is)?

At some point, the home Console market will be niche enough for a smaller number of titles to be made for it, and at some point after that the niche audience shrinks as their needs cease being met.

It's coming some day. Maybe not from the Apple TV coming out soon. But it'll happen unless something crazy happens which allows for production costs to decline or for more households to start adopting Consoles.
 
So, with Nintendo confirmed to be making some experiences for mobile (likely Apple to begin with as it's logical), Apple is going to have Nintendo games on their TV... If the games are any good, things will start to get pretty weird pretty fast for everyone.
 

Quasar

Member
It'd be exciting as hell if Apple took an actual shot with gaming, they're poised for absolute fucking destruction, but they've yet to show any sign of even remotely caring about it.

Well they care in the sense that other general platform holders do. Develop a platform and tools and encourage devs to make stuff.

I'm curious to see if they can make a successful micro-console. And to see whether we'll see more ports of old iOS games or more games like we find in the pc/console indy space that doesn't need as much horse power. And to see if Apple can get more than a couple percent of existing iOS users to actually want to play games on a TV.
 
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