Minecraft for Apple TV Discontinued Due to Lack of Players

[MacRumors]

Minecraft has reached its end of life on Apple TV. The game has been removed from the tvOS App Store through lack of sales, while existing owners of the near two-year-old title for Apple's set-top box are met with the following announcement upon launch:

Effective from Monday, 24 September, the Apple TV version of Minecraft will no longer be updated or supported. We're grateful to the Apple TV community for their support but we need to reallocate resources to the platforms that our players use the most. Don't worry though, you can continue to play Minecraft on Apple TV, keep building in your world and your Marketplace purchases (including Minecoins) will continue to be available.

The Apple TV Edition of the wildly popular multi-platform construction game was announced at Apple's October 2016 keynote, where its potential for cross-platform play was enthusiastically promoted. "You can build new worlds on your Apple TV, and play with your friends using iPhones and iPads," said CEO Tim Cook.

The game was officially launched two months later for $19.99, but despite the Minecraft franchise continuing to thrive on other platforms, it looks like the Apple TV version just didn't take off as Apple and developer Mojang had hoped.

The removal of the title appears to be the latest example of the video game industry's continuing lack of interest in the Apple TV, which ships with a touch-based remote rather than a dedicated game controller like typical game consoles do.

RIP Minecraft on Apple TV. That didn't last long https://t.co/E67YOcYr8G - Steve Troughton-Smith (@stroughtonsmith) October 9, 2018

Initially, this meant developers were forced to build in support for Apple's remote as the primary controller, despite the fact that the Apple TV also works with third-party Bluetooth controllers. Apple eventually lifted the restriction following strong criticism, but other lingering issues like poor title discoverability on the App Store and a lack of game-oriented marketing or promotion for the Apple TV have hit the platform's gaming prospects hard.

Mojang's Minecraft: Story Mode, an adventure game based in the Minecraft universe, will continue to be available on Apple TV, while the Microsoft subsidiary said that it would issue full refunds on all purchases of Minecraft: Apple TV Edition made in the last 90 days of the game's availability. Players seeking more information or wanting to check on the status of a refund are advised to contact Apple Customer Service online or call 1-800-692-7753.

Article Link: Minecraft for Apple TV Discontinued Due to Lack of Players

 

[alexgowers]

My kid accidentally bought it. However when we tried to play it, we were prompted to use a gamepad. We don't have a gamepad so have never played it ever. I suspect this is the primary reason no one is playing it and nothing to do with a lack of interest. Cut your nose off to spite the face.

 

[Spanky Deluxe]

I completely forgot that the AppleTV could play games.

 

[tromboneaholic]

The Nintendo Switch is a lot closer to what I was hoping iPad gaming with Airplay to an Apple TV would be like. When apple introduced the 4th Gen Apple TV, I was hopeful, but they still didn't get gaming right.

 

[Herrzurkon]

Adding mouse support for iPad games would probably help solve that issue.

 

[5105973]

I can barely use that slippery fish of a controller to navigate the blasted tv part of Apple TV. I can’t imagine how people were going to use it for games, let alone Minecraft. Many of the kids I know who love Minecraft don’t have the fine motor skills necessary for smooth operation of that controller, either.

I may be middle aged, but I can still game and I handle VR controllers just fine for medium paced games.

Apple’s designs are beautiful but sometimes they don’t seem built for actual human beings to use.

 

[Vanilla35]

The Nintendo Switch is a lot closer to what I was hoping iPad gaming with Airplay to an Apple TV would be like. When apple introduced the 4th Gen Apple TV, I was hopeful, but they still didn't get gaming right.

This is really what is stopping the Apple TV. It's like they aren't even putting any effort into it. There is so much potential for this, and it's still just a lousy streaming box. I'm so annoyed, but it's all good as I'll be going in another direction.

 

[Abazigal]

The gaming store for the Apple TV is a barren wasteland. Apple basically screwed up by mandating that every game had to be supported by the Siri remote, which all but killed developer interest.

I like my Apple TV for apps such as airvideo, but I hardly play any games on it.

 

[EntropyQ3]

The gaming store for the Apple TV is a barren wasteland. Apple basically screwed up by mandating that every game had to be supported by the Siri remote, which all but killed developer interest.

I like my Apple TV for apps such as airvideo, but I hardly play any hands on it.

Yup.
The hardware is actually very capable, but Apple has fumbled the ball. Unfortunate - it could be so much more.

 

[msama]

AppleTV 4k remote has been a nightmare for me. Previous touch remote was ok. I'd never play a game with that thing.

It seemed like everywhere I went I saw a kid playing minecraft on a tablet, so I'm surprised that part didn't support development costs.

 

[hagar]

I can barely use that slippery fish of a controller to navigate the blasted tv part of Apple TV. I can’t imagine how people were going to use it for games, let alone Minecraft. Many of the kids I know who love Minecraft don’t have the fine motor skills necessary for smooth operation of that controller, either.

I may be middle aged, but I can still game and I handle VR controllers just fine for medium paced games.

Apple’s designs are beautiful but sometimes they don’t seem built for actual human beings to use.

Very true. I hate the remote as well. A more ergonomic and intuitive upgrade is definitely welcome.

 

[ipponrg]

I use the atv4 remote everyday, and even though I am used to it, I think it sucks for almost everything compared to a physical dpad

 

[Abazigal]

Yup.
The hardware is actually very capable, but Apple has fumbled the ball. Unfortunate - it could be so much more.

Sadly, even if Apple reversed course now, that rubicon has been crossed. With 3gb ram and A10x processor, the Apple TV could have been capable of running some killer games.

The only saving grace is if some company lets us stream games through the Apple TV. Like what nvidia is trying to go.

 

[tromboneaholic]

Very true. I hate the remote as well. A more ergonomic and intuitive upgrade is definitely welcome.

The white circle they added does not make it easier to pick up in the dark without pressing the wrong buttons or swiping on the touch surface.

 

[Naimfan]

Ha.

Amazing considering the game. Clearly Apple only cares about iToys, but not iGames.

 

[IGI2]

Apple has really mocked that aspect of Apple TV.

It could be something great, they could team up with some great developers, they could show some love, refresh with latest A12 chip so that it could handle better games, anything...

But they choose to do nothing.

 

[radiology]

Long time ago I said that Apple TV was not going to turn into a decent gaming platform. I guess all the signs tell me that my prediction was right.

 

[femike]

Sadly, Apple has effectively abandoned embracing gaming on the Apple TV despite it being very capable.
Apple views the Apple TV now as a streaming device. What a waste of opportunity.

 

[max.ine]

Clearly they all left for Fortnite.

 

[Sandstorm]

I agree with everyone, the ATV4/4K remote is a total disaster.

 

[macduke]

You know your platform is in bad shape when even the #2 best selling game of all time with 150M copies sold—second only to Tetris—can’t get traction.

 

[sinsin07]

There are already many good gaming options, PlayStation, Xbox, Nintendo, PC etc..
Apple appears to have conceded to those platforms, possiblely similar to how they got out or servers, routers, etc..

 

[TraceyS/FL]

I wasn’t spending $20 on a game we already had for the iPad, so my kids never played. They do like Crossy road on there though, and the cat stacking one.

 

[Darmok N Jalad]

Yup.
The hardware is actually very capable, but Apple has fumbled the ball. Unfortunate - it could be so much more.

It’s especially sad since Apple can build a pretty capable SOC. Switch proves that you don’t need a 250W chip to be a gaming system. Apple is wasting their own efforts here by not letting developers embrace the potential. Maybe Apple should make an AppleTV Gaming Edition that comes with a proper, standardized controller and extended storage so developers know what to target. Making users seek out or map a third party controller would not be very Apple-like.

It is perplexing considering the direction Apple is going with its own SOCs, and it’s not like the console market is losing steam.

 

[and 1989 others]

We have two Apple TVs latest gen one 4K and the video quality of phenomenal on a 4K TV. I can't help but think the device could be so much better with what it could do. They are really missing an opportunity with it. Surely there must be more functions than streaming Netflix.