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Published in Gaming

Apple controller designs mean little

by on15 July 2013

Don’t expect a high-powered console coming

There has been a lot of talk about the two controller designs that Apple showed at the Apple Worldwide Developers conference. These reference designs were for both iOS and OS X gamepads. The idea here is that 3rd parties will develop these reference designs into gamepad products for both the iOS and OS X platforms. Developers will be able to access these devices using an Apple-supplied API.

It seems, however, that the big question we are being asked isn’t if the existing iOS and OS X developers will take advantage of these gamepads, but is this just the first shot over the bow in Apple’s move to enter the console market? In a word, our answer is “NO”.

We believe that in all likelihood a revised AppleTV is coming that will be able to support a wireless gamepad and that would lead to Apple enabling the device to be able to play what would best be described as casual games.

This isn’t going to lead to Apple producing a console that could go head to head with the likes of Xbox, PlayStation, or even the Wii. In all likelihood, if you were to ask what this new AppleTV device would look like based on a description, we would suggest that it would be something similar to would you would get if you crossed the AppleTV with the OUYA.

One thing that is for sure, and that is that Apple is paying more attention to games. The numbers don’t lie. Apple has paid out a lot in royalties for games sold in the AppStore, and it is rumored that the GameCenter has over 240 million users. Those are big numbers.

So, an AppleTV that supports a wireless gamepad (sold separately, of course) that can play the popular iOS titles that we see on iPad and iPhone: we can see that. Nothing beyond that is on Apple’s radar, we believe.

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