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Ohayo

macrumors member
Original poster
Oct 25, 2017
34
17
hi guys, my first post on my new account.

Just intrigued to know if atv4k as gaming platform + entertainment, would be good idea?

Casually gaming with my wife.
 
hi guys, my first post on my new account.

Just intrigued to know if atv4k as gaming platform + entertainment, would be good idea?

Casually gaming with my wife.

this guy just did a pretty nice video on using the ATV4K for games
 
In short, no. It's a terrible platform for games. It doesn't come with a controller, and the games are all really, really old ports of telephone games. They're with the odd exception, terrible.

Buy a Nintendo Switch.
 
Pretty poor selection of games on the ATV, and most iOS developers have stopped bothering porting their games to the platform (I'd assume because of poor sales). Maybe the 4K will have an impact on that since it seems to be selling pretty well.

Personally I'm heavily invested in in-home game streaming, which lets you stream games from your PC to your TV's. I recently replaced my Steam Link with an app called Moonlight on the Apple TV (which will hopefully be on the app store soon). It works really well aside from some small problems (the MFi controllers do not let you click in the thumbsticks and do not have a select button).

The ATV is also very good for retro gaming (Super Nintendo, Genesis, etc), if you're into that.
 
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I think that the Siri Remote requirement at the tvOS launch killed any momentum for ATV gaming.

Before the launch of the ATV4, there were a bunch of rumors saying that the ATV4 would have been capable of Xbox 360 quality games. But the Siri remote requirement, and the 200MB limit to games may have scared away most developer support.

The Siri remote requirement has been remove since then, but it looks like it might be too little, too late.

I hope that the new ATV4K helps create interest for developers to bring some quality ports to the tvOS.

That said, there are a few good games and some good ports, but not many. The sonic ports are pretty good, and cheap.
 
I honestly think that for a system to be successful at gaming it has to come bundled with a controller. Trying to market a game on a platform that requires people to go out and buy a $50 accessory just to play it is a very hard sell. This is why NVIDIA insists on bundling the shield with a controller and you can't buy one without it.
 
Sadly it is a capable little machine, but will probably never get good software library. There are good controllers available yet no “official” one from Apple. This may seem subtle, but it makes it had to take seriously are a gaming device.
 
I honestly think that for a system to be successful at gaming it has to come bundled with a controller. Trying to market a game on a platform that requires people to go out and buy a $50 accessory just to play it is a very hard sell. This is why NVIDIA insists on bundling the shield with a controller and you can't buy one without it.
They sell a bundle now without the controller.
 
The Shield is much better if you are looking for games, but to be honest it is also a pretty terrible replacement for an console.
 
It’s a great TV box but it’s not a console and never will be no matter how much people wish it was.
 
Great games? They have many games not sure about a lot that are great.

Gaming on smartphones has gone downhill the past few years. Developers focus on making simple and addictive games that result in users making spending silly money onin-app purchases.

Even if you are amongst the few willing to pay £5.99/$7.99 for a full game, there are few good titles available. The incentive for developers to make big great games simply isn't there as it's very expensive to maintain the games for different phones and versions of iOS/Android.

If the OP want to play casual games with his girlfriend, he can just pick up a used Nintendo Wii for little money.
 
I play the odd game or two now and then, mainly the free ones.
The only paid one is the individual tables on Zen Pinball which I play on my phone but is a bonus to play on the big screen too.
 
Everyone is probably right in their own way. That being said, I think it should be mandatory that everyone has a copy of Nightgate on their Apple TV. It may very well be my favorite game of all time due to it's its insanely amazing sense of style and a really awesome soundtrack. And it works really well with just the Siri Remote.

Turn off the lights, crank the sound, and get lost for an hour. It's not a bad time, trust me. :)
 
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I say try a few games and see if they work for you. Or get a console. I would recommend an Xbox One S if you game casually or perhaps PS4 or Nintendo Switch. I think you'll have a better experience.
 
On the nvidia shield you can stream AAA PC titles. It will also play some on the device itself.

It can also connect to steam and play those games with controller support. And if you have an nvidia card it can stream any desktop game to it.
 
tvOS games are casual games. The ATV, Fire tv etc were not made to complete with dedicated game consoles. If you are into gaming I suggest looking a dedicated game console
 
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