Apple beat to the punch on the Apps and Gaming on the set top box. Seems like Apple let this one slide too long. The A7 chip is totally powerful enough to be a gaming platform and the games are already there with developers lined up to modify them the moment Apple allows them on Apple TV.
There is no reason Apple couldn't have launched a product like this six months ago. No reason at all.
Now maybe there is a reason Apple won't launch such a product. Maybe it is that the user interface of iOS (which is based around touch screen) doesn't translate acceptably to TV watching. But I feel like between using iOS devices as remotes and Siri control, there could have been a work around.
Have you noticed how many bugs have come about as iOS transitioned into the 7 era? Mavericks hasn't exactly been rock solid either. If you threw new TV product into the mix six months ago, you'd be asking for way too much trouble.
Apple knows that they're going to have the better hardware whenever they drop their product, and they also know they have a far more established app development community ready to move when Apple finally hits the go button.
And to be clear, I'm not even saying this is a bad product. I think it looks like Amazon did a real good job in many regards and they got the price right, so if it performs well, that's great. I think a standalone box is generally a much better option than the Chromecast model that Google's done, and the Fire TV does have features that will appeal to some users.
But when Apple puts out a new box, unless they completely drop the ball, which I don't think they'll do, I think it'll clearly jump way out ahead of some of these other boxes on the market. Apple has a huge reach already, they have the hardware edge, they have a huge group of developers well-versed in writing iOS apps, and they're likely to end up having the OS software edge as far as usability goes for most users. Nerds who want to do nerd things will never be happy with stock Apple, but the 99% of the market who actually buys these things tend to prefer software that's simple to use. Even if other companies are catching up, Apple has developed that reputation in consumer devices and it will give them an edge.
It'd be great to know more about what they're planning, but I think whenever we get it'll have been worth the wait. And I'm really, truly not hurting at all with three Apple TV 3s running off an iTunes server system. I've never had a smoother experience with my media.