And what 'cord' needs cutting with a console? Sure the Xbox has Xbox Gold membership, but the PS3 has no subscription.
Also, what difference is there if you buy a game from an AppStore or a shop? You're still paying for the game, you're not getting any sort of contractual discount like you do with Netflix vs Satellite.
Hardly a comparison really is it.
The point was i don't need another console if its built into a box i aleady have connected to my tv. And if they come out with a newer version due to the fact i already love the current version, i'm more likely to buy 4 of them. I actually have 4 apple tvs and 4 rokus in my home right now. Each tv has 2 devices, 1 roku and one apple tv. The roku's were bought before apple tvs could be jailbroken, so they mainly are just there because i'm too lazy to go around and collect them. But we've been using set top boxes for years and wouldn't dream of going back to satellite tv or connecting another unit to our entertainment system just to play games. The point is if apple makes apps available for the apple tv then thats fewer consoles that will be sold to folks like myself who actually bought 4 of them the last generation. I personally don't see myself buying a single next generation console and for the last 30+ years i've bought them ALL.