Apple TV Said to Have Motion Sensitive Remote Control Targeted at Casual Gamers

[MikhailT]

Extremely doubtful. Gaming is highly platform specific and gamers tend to be fiercely loyal to whichever they are on and most are very anti-Apple. With Twitch and now Youtube even having a game platform it isn't enough to just dip your toe in the water and see if you like it. If Apple doesn't fully commit and execute they will be left behind again in regard to gaming.

Except they weren't talking about hardcore gamers, they're talking about casual gamers and casual games are the biggest money maker on the iOS platform. That's who Apple is targeting for if this Apple TV rumor is true. My entire family play games on their iOS and Android devices, they don't even play any console games, just watch movies with xbox 1 or ps4 that they have. They spent more money on the iOS and Android games than they do on anything else.

I used to be a hardcore gamer as a kid but over time as I get older, I spend more time playing on my iPad or iPhone than my Xbox or PS4. If Apple brings some of the games I like on my iPad, I probably won't ever buy Xbox or PS again because I simply don't care much about these hardcore games anymore. Heck, I sometime airplay the game on the big tv.

 

[Dennison]

This would be great! Now just get Nintendo on board and we're good to go.

Nintendo as a technology and entertainment company is completely irrelevant now.

They had some kind of home run with the market with Wii, but keep in mind that came out even before the iPhone. Their Wii U product is abysmal, is a complete embarrassment in sales by the company's history, and they've released hardly any impressive software for it (and they've got next to zero third party support). The new Apple TV (by this article) sounds like a serious problem for Nintendo (even though I know they're working on their own future product, code named NX).

Before I receive any beating from Nintendo fans, you're looking at one. I've owned a Wii U for years and have thoroughly enjoyed titles like Mario Kart 8, which is the best in it's series and my favorite video game franchise too. I still have come to the conclusion above from my experience with the company's products and offerings over the past several years.

 

[Tech198]

i hope Apple is smart about it's motion, as the last thing i wanna do is wave a remove in mid air like the wi, but it sound s like this.

I could see Apple TV being a a game changer, but like how no one likes remotes anymore to type in passwords, no one will like playing games on a tiny remote control.... We need a game pad to play games, who's heard of playing games on a remote control ? be so much better on a proper device.

So hopefully these will be a good replacement for even the casual gamer...

even a tablet has touch controls..... and this makes it look far better than playing games on a remote.

 

[DaveN]

And somehow Apple fanboys and Apple themselves will call this revolutionary, even though its been done years ago.

No. Apple Fanboys will call it evolutionary. Google fanboys will then claim that Apple fanboys said revolutionary and that Android had all what the new Apple product has and the Android products had it even before Android existed.

 

[xaqt93]

This thread has nothing to do with an iPhone, this is all about Apple TV and its remote.



Nope, look at their SEC filings which goes into headcount sometime in the last several years, they often said retail are the biggest number of hires. You can also look at this page: https://www.apple.com/about/job-creation/

66K Apple employees total, at least 30K are retail, this is where majority of their hires are exploding, not engineers. Now, 36K are non-retail, it's not perfectly clear how many are QA/sales/marketing/AppleCare/Data Center which has nothing to do with engineers, the page suggests at least 10K are for AppleCare support alone.

my bad dude, I totally thought I was posting in a different topic. My bad.. Haha. Anyway, the remote, I totally think is going to be a great thing. Gaming is going to be great, I am mainly just waiting to see what raccing games are coming to the Apple TV.

 

[rp2011]

The possibilities and potential for a big screen framework are limited only by developer imagination.

 

[HiVolt]

duplicate post

 

[HiVolt]

I'll buy one if they allow 3rd party media center apps like plex and kodi, so they can play any kind of file from a network file server...

 

[scapegoat81]

new ip games not old classic games

Good enough for me

 

[malexandria]

What are the odds Apple will do something stupid like remove the Ethernet from the new Apple TV and also do something that's going to end up gimping the "current" gen? I have two of them and I'm perfectly "happy" with them.

 

[Che Castro]

What are the odds Apple will do something stupid like remove the Ethernet from the new Apple TV and also do something that's going to end up gimping the "current" gen? I have two of them and I'm perfectly "happy" with them.

The current Apple TV is already gimped

 

[Darien Red Sox]

It would be nice if Apple would add either IP or RS232 control to it. Although I think this is highly unlikely.

 

[B4U]

That one has no touch screen...
The following one has it.

 

[JeffyTheQuik]

Nobody has actually seen the damn thing but it would make sense for Apple TV to have a custom chip. Current game consoles have a life span. Apple TV would most likely have a life span for something years so it makes sense to have a high performance chip that will not get hammered by iOS updates. With this, maybe the addition of 4K will be possible.

In other words, it should be future proof. If they decide that every year there will be a new Apple TV, well they're douchebags.

Well, if the last 3 years are an example, it looks like their saving the vinegar and water for the salads.

 

[JeffyTheQuik]

It would be nice if Apple would add either IP or RS232 control to it. Although I think this is highly unlikely.

I doubt they'll add a standard from 1969 to it. Maybe a Centronics port?

 

[npmacuser5]

When it comes to things like video, music, and sharing I hope Apple moves to a more open environment. The positive in this Apple TV rumors thread is the App Store. Apple Music would have more appeal for me if it played on more then Apple devices, Sonos? Nice to have Apple integrated products however, many times this is not possible or practical.

 

[winston1236]

They are not targeting enthusiasts, merely the crowd that likes the casual games, much like the wii opened gaming to a hole field of casual players. Basically they are gonna open up the API and let app makers see what works.

I'd love to see a new age wii bowling where all my friends iPhones are controllers.

They specifically mentioned Nintendo, that's a platform with many dedicated fans.

 

[TimUSCA]

This is the moment I've truly been waiting for, but I'm also hoping Apple will allow standard MFi controllers on iOS to work with the new Apple TV.

Forgive me if this has already been asked, but don't those controlled need to be powered by an iPhone to work? I suppose you could put it on your iPhone to use it on Apple TV, but it certainly wouldn't work on its own.

 

[iamayellowbanana]

Here's how it will play out on September 9th. Tim Cook will be on stage talking and smiling.

TC: Now wasn't that cool?! As you can see, we've really innovated the new Apple TV with 4K video support, faster AC wifi, a new 21st century design, and two USB-C ports. Here's a little video demonstrating Siri on the new Apple TV. Huge smile as he's walking off stage.

Video: Michael J. Fox in Back To The Future 2 standing in his living room. "Ok, I want channels..." And all those channels pop up on the TV screen on the wall. You know the scene. Closes with people clapping loud.

TC: To demonstrate Siri on the new Apple TV, I'm privileged and honored to welcome a very special friend. He's been a friend of ours for many years and has had a lot of great input into Siri on Apple TV. Please give a big warm welcome to our friend, Michael J. Fox. TC is smiling as Michael J. Fox comes out on stage in person followed by a three minute standing ovation. Cue to after his speech, TC makes a comment about the Parkinson's Foundation or whatever it's called and how Apple partnered up with them as part of their updates to HealthKit. Then a few weeks later we learn that Apple donated $5 million to them.

My prediction to Apple TV is that it's circular shaped to go along with the circular theme in iOS, etc. available in both white and black.

Yes this is my first-ever post to MacRumors. I've been a long-time listener for several years.

 

[Icaras]

Forgive me if this has already been asked, but don't those controlled need to be powered by an iPhone to work? I suppose you could put it on your iPhone to use it on Apple TV, but it certainly wouldn't work on its own.

Not necessarily. You're probably referring to the MFi controller models that are designed to act as controller shells for your iPhone. Aside from those models, there's also plenty of other MFi controllers that are stand alone and either have built-in rechargeable batteries or probably use AA or AAA batteries.

I have the Steelseries Stratus MFi controller and it is completely wireless via Bluetooth and uses a micro USB cable for recharging its lithium battery. It's great because I can use the controller for both my iPhone and iPad. I personally don't think the shelled controllers are proving to be very popular, because of the fact the designs are fixed and won't fit new iPhones as they undergo design changes every two years.

 

[Clarky!]

This would be great! Now just get Nintendo on board and we're good to go.

thats what that 'star' is in the diagrams for the upcoming venue

 

[shiseiryu1]

I think a well thought out AppleTV would make a great gaming machine. First, Apple is already used to making processors and graphics for double the resolution of a typical HDTV (think Retina iPad resolution). It would only take a little bit more power to also support 4k televisions (please Apple support 4k)! I want an excuse to get an awesome new TV. ). Second, there are already a bunch of great games on the app store...it's just some of them are hindered by having to use a touch screen. Having a platform where you could count on everyone having a (cool) controller would allow developers to go wild. Third, there really isn't a great device that I know of that does music, movies, education, and gaming well...not to mention one that is not massively expensive. Last, even if the games aren't on the level of PS4, they're going to be close enough for most people while at the same time being a TON cheaper!

Also, if the new iPhone is going to support 4k video recording then it would be cool to airplay that to the television via the AppleTV.

I'm also excited about a streaming television service; although it would be nice to have streaming+on-demand for the channels that are part of the "package". I personally think the whole "package" idea is a bunch of crap...you should be able to pick from free channels that you want, then pick cheap paid channels, and then premium channels. Make your own package but for those networks which are small and need ad revenue, make them free and have them show up first or be pre-selected by default.

I'm excited about a new remote because the current one sucks so very bad. It will be nice to be able to search for music/movies using Siri.

I'm really interested to see what interface they come up with. I think if the remote is awesome enough then the interface could be super great. I haven't seen a "smart TV" interface that impresses me yet so I think this area is ripe for Apple domination.

Like some others, I'm excited about the idea of apps to do things aside from games...like an app to stream NAS/TimeCapsule content. Other home kit apps may be neat too. Learning apps for kids. Fitness apps. It's a whole wide world of possibilities out there!


Things I worry about with the new AppleTV:

1. No support for 4k
2. Small amount of built-in memory (16GB is NOT ENOUGH Apple)...especially if apps support 4k resolution.
3. Expensive and limited TV service
4. Confusing or (on the other hand) not exciting UI

Can't wait!!!

 

[Clarky!]

Here's how it will play out on September 9th. Tim Cook will be on stage talking and smiling.

TC: Now wasn't that cool?! As you can see, we've really innovated the new Apple TV with 4K video support, faster AC wifi, a new 21st century design, and two USB-C ports. Here's a little video demonstrating Siri on the new Apple TV. Huge smile as he's walking off stage.

Video: Michael J. Fox in Back To The Future 2 standing in his living room. "Ok, I want channels..." And all those channels pop up on the TV screen on the wall. You know the scene. Closes with people clapping loud.

TC: To demonstrate Siri on the new Apple TV, I'm privileged and honored to welcome a very special friend. He's been a friend of ours for many years and has had a lot of great input into Siri on Apple TV. Please give a big warm welcome to our friend, Michael J. Fox. TC is smiling as Michael J. Fox comes out on stage in person followed by a three minute standing ovation. Cue to after his speech, TC makes a comment about the Parkinson's Foundation or whatever it's called and how Apple partnered up with them as part of their updates to HealthKit. Then a few weeks later we learn that Apple donated $5 million to them.

My prediction to Apple TV is that it's circular shaped to go along with the circular theme in iOS, etc. available in both white and black.

Yes this is my first-ever post to MacRumors. I've been a long-time listener for several years.

I love BTTF. That is all.

 

[Andrei90]

My TV (and body) is ready. I am so sick of half-assed and half-hearted attempts at revolutionizing the TV experience. One box to do gaming, video, and home automation sounds like a legitimate plan. Tired of offerings from Roku, Amazon, Smart TV manufacturers, Nintendo, and Microsoft. I truly hope that Apple comes through with the TV in a big way and blows out the competition.

If we judge based on their latest atempt to revolutionize a market with the Apple Watch, I think you'll be dissapointed.

 

[Banquo]

This would have been great in 2011, but if in 2015 it's just an aggregated streaming box it's a day late and a dollar short – assuming it's as confusing an interface as Apple music.

I liked it when Apple's 1.0 release did a small number of things really really well, and they added to the feature set in an elegant and natural way over later, iterative releases.

It could be either a terrific or a painful portal to services, and the best at none of them. All these tv shows IF you have a subscription to X and also to Y and also to Z. And then adding to the mix a casual gaming service. And then a confusing integration with my iTunes Library where movies and music are grouped together.

I guess system-wide search and integration is a must. I don't want to search for a movie title and get the Netflix option when I have the 4k version in my iTunes library, so I have to go to a separate tab and search iTunes.

I miss my Boxee Box :/