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New Apple TV Only Supports Two Bluetooth Controllers at Once

MacRumors said:



Apple's fourth-generation Apple TV includes support for a full App Store, making it possible for developers to create games and apps for the device for the first time. A platform like the Apple TV seems well-suited to multiplayer games, but it appears the new Apple TV will only support two Bluetooth controllers at once and three Bluetooth-connected devices total.

Our sister site TouchArcade got in touch with several developers who have Apple TV Dev Kits to test the limits of multiplayer gameplay on the devices, and these developers found they were only able to connect two controllers in addition to the Apple Remote control.

appletvremotegamecontroller.jpg

That means that at the current time, the Apple TV supports a total of three players for local gameplay using controllers, which will likely be the preferred method of control for games like first person shooters and platformers. Attempting to connect more than two controllers causes one of the first connected controllers to disconnect, and multiple Made for iPhone (MFi) controllers were tested by various developers.
The limitations on Bluetooth-connected devices do not extend to the iPhone, which can also be used as a controller in multiplayer games. Implementing iPhone control methods is tricker than simple MFi controller support, however, as it requires developers to build custom iPhone support into apps.

All tvOS games and apps are required to include touch-based controls for the Siri remote, so most titles should work with simple iPhone controls, but many gamers may prefer using MFi controllers. Apple's decision to force developers to build games around touch support has not been a popular one, as it limits games to very basic control schemes.

Apple may be planning to expand the number of controllers supported by the Apple TV ahead of its October launch, but for now, it looks like the device will only support two controllers simultaneously, further limiting the gaming capabilities of the Apple TV.

Article Link: New Apple TV Only Supports Two Bluetooth Controllers at Once
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And my excitement for this device has deflated faster than a whoopie cushion. Why Apple? Why? Couch play with real controls and you would have a niche that no one else is filling! This is inexcusable
 
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wovel said:
I would like you to indicate a larger gaming platform of any kind...
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So, what iPhone model are you referring to? Or did you mean IOS. Because Android has far more users than IOS and I bet a good percentage of them are casual gamers or at least tried one game. IOS does have better quality games than Android, but they still do not compare to consoles and Windows PC games.

For real gaming, Steam-Powered is the fastest growing platform in the world. Steam is the Facebook of gaming. Its intergraded features kill anything on the market at this time. I believe it has well over 60 Million users and at any giving time around 10 Million online. It may be much higher now. Not sure if it reached 1 Billion yet. remember most of these are real gamers, not random casual gamers. I know a few people that play IOSs games and none of them have ever upgraded to the paid version.

When it comes to gaming, Apple does not stand a chance against Microsoft, Sony and Steam-Powered. And do not forget about all the other games available for Windows PC. Mine-Craft alone which is owned by Microsoft, is still growing.

In the end, when it is added up. Windows PC is the largest gaming platform.

Just because millions of Apple phones and Android phones have bean sold and are in use, does not make either of them the largest gaming platform. The gamers make the platform...

But, hey! If you want to game on Apple TV... Hope it works out for :)
 
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well, the Apple TV appears to be a great TV box, but the more I hear about it, the more I think they have a lost opportunity here....

They could have made casual gaming amazing.. anyways.. who knows how many iphones you can hook up at a time.. hopefully phones are excluded from the 2 BT limit
 
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This is a shame. 4 player Bomb Squad is the most fun thing I've played on my FireTV, and the fireTV lets you use their pad and even ps4 pads (and probably other Bluetooth ones besides..)

4 player can be a lot of fun, and this seems like a totally arbitrary limitation.
 
8 controllers is too prohibitive to plan on players having on hand anyway. Make a game that uses the phone and syncs movement or input to a server. Can't do something heavy on sync PVP (like a shooter) but that's not usually the best type of party game anyway.
 
My money is on that it is just a limitation of the tvOS they have so far. Highly doubt that is the physical limit.
Remember this is beta...
 
Well there's always hope the indies create some cool living room games. But ....not seeing ATV take off as a gaming machine. Not enough storage and the consoles aren't much more money, if any, considering the cost of bundles on sale and the extra storage and processing power consoles provide.

NOt sure the iphone-type stuff will go over nearly as well in the living room. And the cooler indie games make it to the PS4, X1 and even Wii U anyway.
 
bommai said:
No way. Apple releases new AppleTVs once every 3-4 years. You are looking at 2018 at the earliest.
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Why not annually? They already release a new processor every year that is sometimes double in speed. While the consoles take 4-5 years for each release, Apple is not bound to their same model. Just like they release an iPhone every year, they could do the same here and there would be no compatibility issues.
 
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GFLPraxis said:
Apple just really loves to shut themselves out of the gaming market. Between this and the requirement that games cannot be designed for the controllers makes the controllers a novelty. Apple TV games will be low quality casual games until these are fixed, and that's unfortunate.


Um...this isn't how it works, dude. People buy the console and four controllers, and their friends just come over and they have the setup waiting.

People that buy a casual game console like Apple TV are not going to spend another $200 for four controllers.
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wovel said:
It is amazing how many experts on the gaming industry there are here on Mac Rumors. I am sure this product is doomed to fail because it doesn't support as many gaming controllers of a specific type that some of our experts here believe it should. Apple should just the project down. What a waste. Thank you for all the valuable insights.
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Well, you have to give them credit. After all, they did correctly predict the failure of iPod, iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch. Oh wait...
 
zorinlynx said:
It's not just that, though. REQUIRING that all games be playable with the (very hobbled) remote as a controller? Also, the tiny appbundle size limit, and the "non-permanent nature" of local storage.

All of these severely hobble the ATV as a serious gaming platform.
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Yeah, the iPhone too. It's too small, and only having a touch screen. It'll never take off as a game platform either....
 
superserious2.0 said:
I got my XBOX ONE new for $350 with a $50 gift card and one game. True gamers are not going to move to this Apple TV and a good percentage of casual gamers will not either. A good percentage of casual gamers, only game to kill time while traveling and they tend to do that on mobile devices.

The Apple TV may be beneficial for parents with toddlers! I think it could be a good way to keep the little ones busy while doubling as a video/music device...

I will stick to my PC and my XBOX ONE and when I want to plays some light-weight games on the go, I will use my tablet or phone...
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jkichline said:
You could do this with multi-peer connectivity.
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Where there is a will there is a way. Group controller inputs solutions will come out for sure. IMO, this a good thrid party opportunity to make an Apple TV specific Bluetooth access point.
 
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zorinlynx said:
It's not just that, though. REQUIRING that all games be playable with the (very hobbled) remote as a controller? Also, the tiny appbundle size limit, and the "non-permanent nature" of local storage.

All of these severely hobble the ATV as a serious gaming platform.
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I wonder if we can create a stupid mini game that can be used with the apple tv touch controller inside the real game to work around that retarded requirement to pass the app store rules?!? I hope some game cie does so, Apple is so greedy and lack what make them great for a while. This new fashion show for buzz features that are mostly useless (even more if outside of the US) is getting boring and annoying. Time to switch back to real hardware and performant software. I didn't knew at the time, but my aging iMac 2009 will be my last mac, recent hardware are plain uninteressting and software are so cripple, screw that, Android/Linux/Windows 10 here I come!
 
I'm sure this is just a bug. Why would they choose to demonstrate controller support using a picture of a controller that's clearly designed to be one of up to four (I assume that's what the LEDs signify) if that feature would be useless?
 
WordsmithMR said:
Not surprised... Actually I didn't think it would allow as many as it does. This isn't a console...
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What is it, exactly then? An Easter basket? A phone? o_O

The only difference between a PS3 with media player support and an AppleTV with gaming support is that they put their priorities on one end of the spectrum or the other. The CPU used has no bearing on whether it's a "console". I'd say it's a console. Is it a gaming console? Well, apparently they want you to know you can play games on it so yes, but they want to limit the types of games you can play so maybe not, but they do want to compete with others so if those start to sell then maybe they'll change their minds and put more than a half-arse effort into it. :confused:
 
I wouldn't say Apple TV is a console.....just a streaming device with an App store attached, that can play games.

Not sure u can call ATV 4 a console just based on specs that it doesn't have as much horse power as an xbox one to say "console" though.

I think of a console like the xbox one or something with the power to play demanding games and marketed as such.
 
superserious2.0 said:
I know a few people that play IOSs games and none of them have ever upgraded to the paid version.
...
When it comes to gaming, Apple does not stand a chance against Microsoft, Sony and Steam-Powered.
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It's actually the opposite. Enough people pay for games that the iOS App Store brings in over $2B/month. That's more than Steam.

And that's before the App Store opens to TV games. Next year will be interesting.
 
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