How competitive will Apple TV be to Next Gen Consoles?

[TallManNY]

This is a bit silly. If you're going for parity with modern consoles (PS4, Xbox One) then it's going to cost more than the rumoured price. It's going to be a similar size+cost of those systems. Even without a standard HDD and optical drive it'll be huge.

I'm sure not parity. But it will be interesting to see how far off. My xBox1 is connected to a 720p projector in my living room. I will buy and connect the Apple TV to it. Since the projector limits output to 720p instead of 1080p, I wonder how much of an advantage will the XBox have. I think games will be good enough.

 

[nebo1ss]

apple tv and next gen consoles shouldn't be uttered in the same sentence.
Its not a games platform and i dont see it becoming such either.

Totally agree, but these are probably the same people that were mentioning the Apple watch and Rolex in the same sentence. Some Apple fans just go a little bit too far.

 

[0098386]

I'm sure not parity. But it will be interesting to see how far off. My xBox1 is connected to a 720p projector in my living room. I will buy and connect the Apple TV to it. Since the projector limits output to 720p instead of 1080p, I wonder how much of an advantage will the XBox have. I think games will be good enough.

With consoles, the image is rendered and then scaled to the output resolution. It's why setting an Xbox or Playstation to 480p on the output settings doesn't change performance. I don't think Apple, the company notorious for removing user customisation, will let you lower the resolution to increase graphical fidelity.

 

[mlovergaard]

I don't think the games on the Apple TV will really be able to compete with console games

 

[0098386]

I don't think the games on the Apple TV will really be able to compete with console games

Now we know what they're doing... yeah.

I feel like the Apple TV is one step away from being a great device that everyone needs, but I get that thought ever year.

 

[321estrellas]

I think there can be so much potential with Apple TV gaming. For anyone familiar with Wii U's Nintendo Land, there are games that utilize the mobile controller/screen very well, and if iPhones can be used as controllers for the Apple TV, this could very well be possible.

For anyone not familiar, there are some cool 4 player party games. In one game, the player with the game pad (the one with the screen) is pretty much playing hide and seek while the other 3 players run around to find him. Of course the 3 players on the big screen can't see where the gamepad player is hiding because he has his own screen to use. So in other words, no screen cheating!!

 

[cooperb21]

I think there can be so much potential with Apple TV gaming. For anyone familiar with Wii U's Nintendo Land, there are games that utilize the mobile controller/screen very well, and if iPhones can be used as controllers for the Apple TV, this could very well be possible.

For anyone not familiar, there are some cool 4 player party games. In one game, the player with the game pad (the one with the screen) is pretty much playing hide and seek while the other 3 players run around to find him. Of course the 3 players on the big screen can't see where the gamepad player is hiding because he has his own screen to use. So in other words, no screen cheating!!

Someday maybe but as a gamer i have yet to see any mobile game come close to the level of a console game. Most games on iOS are designed to be quick games and nothing more not a real impressive experience. You compared that to hardcore gaming on a console where games are actually art and fully featured its not even close what so ever.

I still remember people saying that PS3 and 360 would be last of the consoles but there is no end in sight right now as long as iOS keeps offering casual games and hardcore gamers have no where else to go they will keep buying the new hardware.

 

[0098386]

I still remember people saying that PS3 and 360 would be last of the consoles but there is no end in sight right now as long as iOS keeps offering casual games and hardcore gamers have no where else to go they will keep buying the new hardware.

The big thing for me and my friends, now, is how Apple are able to simply remove items from your history.

Steam, PSN, etc have all removed items for purchase but you can redownload them all (except PT). On a console if you own legacy software you can either install an old OS emulator (DOSbox) or you can just use an old computer, and that's just if your new OS won't run it.

With Apple by removing downloads you can't access them even on your old devices.

So I'm completely out now. I don't want to buy games for my Apple devices with its supershort lifespan compared to (eep) proper consoles.

 

[gkarris]

I went to the Apple Store today to check out the new Apple TV.

They had a Geometry Wars demo installed.

The controls with the Siri remote are abysmal...

You can't move in one direction and shoot in another like you can on the consoles and handhelds.

Hopefully you can if you buy the game controller.

Supposedly you need to buy the 32Gig version if you plan on lots of games, add a controller for $50 and now you are at $250.

The XBox one is $300 at Target after the $50 gift card.

I don't see the Apple TV competing at all with ANY console (including my Atari 2600).

Who wants to play games with a TV remote?

(Note: Tried before with CD-I System)

 

[0098386]

I went to the Apple Store today to check out the new Apple TV.

They had a Geometry Wars demo installed.

The controls with the Siri remote are abysmal...

You can't move in one direction and shoot in another like you can on the consoles and handhelds.

Hopefully you can if you buy the game controller.

Supposedly you need to buy the 32Gig version if you plan on lots of games, add a controller for $50 and now you are at $250.

The XBox one is $300 at Target after the $50 gift card.

I don't see the Apple TV competing at all with ANY console (including my Atari 2600).

Who wants to play games with a TV remote?

(Note: Tried before with CD-I System)

Geometry Wars on the Apple TV? That's hilarious! I find that mobile games (and now it seems Apple TV games) are trying to make the best of a bad situation in terms of controls. Some games work well with it but trying to shoehorn games designed for other systems is just daft. And that price for a 32gb system is just abysmal. You could buy an Xbox and plug in a larger capacity drive, or a PS4 and install your own 2tb drive.

Crazy days. I think I'll stick with full consoles.

 

[Tsuchiya]

Apple has already gotten some solid titles on the App Store for iOS devices. If developers are willing to make them universal, the Apple TV would be compelling indeed.

It'll never have the chops to entice people away from dedicated consoles, and the lack of AAA titles will hold it back. But yeah, it has potential.

 

[TallManNY]

I think only fans will buy it, not even typical apple users. People like me will buy consoles but I don't even care about the tv stuff bc I cant afford subscriptions. In summary, only apple fans and a fraction of the relatively small market for movie and tv streaming will buy this. I really doubt it would be the first regularly used apple product in anyones home.

The "fan" proportion of Apple's costumers is so freaking small as to be irrelevant. I am, arguably, an Apple Fan. Nearly everyone I know uses an iPhone and most have a Mac at home. None of them would describe themselves as Apple fans; none. They just buy the simplest combination of good tech and ease of use. The result turns out to be Apple but they could care less about the fact that is Apple.

No one I know is going to buy an Apple TV except myself. My Apple TV arrived today, but I won't bother to set it up until I have some time. But eventually folks I know will buy the Apple TV because it will be the best device out there with the simplest operating system.

 

[gkarris]

Geometry Wars on the Apple TV? That's hilarious! I find that mobile games (and now it seems Apple TV games) are trying to make the best of a bad situation in terms of controls. Some games work well with it but trying to shoehorn games designed for other systems is just daft. And that price for a 32gb system is just abysmal. You could buy an Xbox and plug in a larger capacity drive, or a PS4 and install your own 2tb drive.

Crazy days. I think I'll stick with full consoles.

Yeah, it was strange trying to play it. I went home and played it on my DS Lite to make sure it wasn't me - left thumbstick to move and right D-pad to shoot in different directions.

Also, it was sort of weird holding the Siri remote in landscape mode to play as the right buttons are in the middle of the remote. Remotes that can be used as controllers should have buttons on the bottom of the remote for landscape mode - Nintendo and MS seem to have it right (you can't use the XB remote for games but they do design it with bottom buttons)

No one I know is going to buy an Apple TV except myself. My Apple TV arrived today, but I won't bother to set it up until I have some time. But eventually folks I know will buy the Apple TV because it will be the best device out there with the simplest operating system.

If you are able, can you maybe make a thread "AppleTV as a Console Reviews" to see how console type games play on it?

 

[TallManNY]

Yeah, it was strange trying to play it. I went home and played it on my DS Lite to make sure it wasn't me - left thumbstick to move and right D-pad to shoot in different directions.

Also, it was sort of weird holding the Siri remote in landscape mode to play as the right buttons are in the middle of the remote. Remotes that can be used as controllers should have buttons on the bottom of the remote for landscape mode - Nintendo and MS seem to have it right (you can't use the XB remote for games but they do design it with bottom buttons)

If you are able, can you maybe make a thread "AppleTV as a Console Reviews" to see how console type games play on it?

Well I will certainly buy a few games to see how they play on this device. But I've got an XBox One which it seems will remain my primary gaming device.