This is some cringe-worthy speculation. Have you even tried to pretend to use the volume buttons as shoulder buttons, or hit the top of the screen with the side of your index fingers? It doesn't work.
-The Ouya, an indie gaming console running on Android, just had the most successful Kickstarter campaign in history.
-This has been the worst year for the videogame industry since it crashed in the 80s, partially because casual and old-school gamers are choosing iOS over consoles.
-The target market for the AppleTV, and the supposed AppleTV televisions, is people who already own at least one iDevice.
-Obviously the next AppleTV will have a lightning connector for receiving video output from iDevices.
So we're looking at a $100 console that upgrades every time you buy a new smartphone, controlled by a $50 proprietary Bluetooth controller, with a library of games that travels everywhere with you, some of which you already own, many of which can be played on-the-go with the touch screen. Whereas Sony will charge you an extra $40 to play on the go with tactile feedback (which gamers have already decided isn't worth it by not buying Vitas), and NO company will allow you to take your game to a friend's house without bringing the whole console. Apple could always release a portable controller case as well, though I doubt they would.
Basically, Apple can take over the videogame industry by releasing a Bluetooth controller. I know very few people who plan to buy a next-gen console, and if consumers are suddenly expecting to be able to play Madden for iOS on a big screen with tactile feedback, $30 for an app will be a much easier sell than it is now. Two years from now, iPhones will be as powerful as today's consoles, and next-gen consoles will be.....$400. Almost like PC gaming, it will only be worth the expense to the dwindling number of hardcore gamers, and if companies like EA decide to make up for lost sales by putting an OnLive-type service on AppleTV, the gamers with fast internet connections won't buy consoles, turning online console gaming into a lagfest. Not to mention, as next-gen consoles approach a point where they can be sold at a profit, iPhones will be getting more powerful with each passing year.
I'm excited for the future.