[Brave Ulysses]

Originally Posted by Partial Legit Question: Will Apple go against the iPhone principal and go with a hardware, fixed button game pad? If so, I think it's game over for the console makers.

Doubt it. I don't expect a remote much different than the current one. I think the iPhone/iPad will become the more commonly used remote. That probably won't restrict third parties from utilizing bluetooth gamepads if they wanted though.

I think fixed button game pads are on their way out any way. Even some PS4 rumors suggest that Sony may be moving more to touchscreens/motion sensors.

[turbulentfurball]

Originally Posted by Partial Legit Question: Will Apple go against the iPhone principal and go with a hardware, fixed button game pad? If so, I think it's game over for the console makers.

If they do, it'll probably have one button. But at least the button will be pretty!

[Brave Ulysses]

You do indirectly bring up an interesting point though.

It's widely expected that MS and Sony will announce and release their next generation consoles this year.

It seems likely that Apple would want to be out around the same time so as not to allow them to establish a lead and a tone to the market since I would guess a lot of similar functions and capabilities would be shared.

[Partial]

Originally Posted by Brave Ulysses Doubt it. I don't expect a remote much different than the current one. I think the iPhone/iPad will become the more commonly used remote. That probably won't restrict third parties from utilizing bluetooth gamepads if they wanted though. I think fixed button game pads are on their way out any way. Even some PS4 rumors suggest that Sony may be moving more to touchscreens/motion sensors.

Yuck. That sounds horrible for gaming as we know it today. Imagine playing Madden with a touch screen. That sounds more like work than fun. That sounds awful.

If they don't standardize it, there isn't much hope for success gaming wise (beyond casual stuff) in my opinion.

I think assuming people will use existing devices as controllers is a bad idea. I definitely think they should have a really low power device w/ a virtual qwerty on a screen as the controller. For 1500$, no reason they can't ship something like that. It can be an original gen iPod touch (spec wise), for example.

[turbulentfurball]

I could see a small touch pad (sans screen) replacing an analogue stick and working well, but physical buttons with tactile feedback would be a must for traditional console games - FPSs etc.

[Brave Ulysses]

Originally Posted by Partial Yuck. That sounds horrible for gaming as we know it today. Imagine playing Madden with a touch screen. That sounds more like work than fun. That sounds awful. If they don't standardize it, there isn't much hope for success gaming wise (beyond casual stuff) in my opinion. I think assuming people will use existing devices as controllers is a bad idea. I definitely think they should have a really low power device w/ a virtual qwerty on a screen as the controller. For 1500$, no reason they can't ship something like that. It can be an original gen iPod touch (spec wise), for example.

I don't think Apple has any interest at going at traditional console gaming. They have done just fine with touch based gaming on iPhone, iPod and iPad.


You may be right that Apple will ship a cheap/small remote device of some sort. But I think a major aspect of a potential Apple TV will be it working as an extension of your iPhone or iPad.

[Partial]

Originally Posted by Brave Ulysses You may be right that Apple will ship a cheap/small remote device of some sort. But I think a major aspect of a potential Apple TV will be it working as an extension of your iPhone or iPad.

No doubt. Having said that, even doing something as simple as connecting to a Wi-Fi network with the current remote is horrible. I can't imagine they will ship an expense, high-end product with that user experience. Imagine wanting to search for a show via text input... easy if you have an iPhone - horrible if you don't.

[Wrao]

The more I think about it, the more I'm convinced Apple will do this. There are simply too many indicators across too many areas, too many telltale signs that are strikingly familiar to how things were before the iPod, or iPhone or iPad. The TV set market has been ripe for 'disruption' for a while now, and Apple is in as good of a position as any to successfully take that to task. Which, given their already massive iOS installed base, only helps their cause.


The catch is that I think competition has already ramped up in this space. "SmartTV" is fast becoming the new norm for all televisions, and there is a ton of feature creep, spec boosting, minimalist design, price reduction...etc. Still, there were plenty of smartphones before the iPhone and plenty of tablets before the iPad, but they all stunk in some way or another regardless of what they could do, history has shown us that Apple(or anyone) realistically only needs to make the experience 'better', cross some threshold of acceptability that maybe people didn't even realize was there. Also, I doubt there is anywhere near as much value in TV sets as there is in tablets and phones, as well there is less turnover. You kind of wonder if Apple mightn't have made a TV set years ago save for Steve Jobs' personal disinterest in them (at least in the sense that his interest in them was dwarfed by his interest in the iPad)

At the end of the day, I'd buy an Apple TV set if it was, Lightweight(doesn't have to be class leading, but something that can be easily picked up/mounted), thin(again doesn't have to be 5mm or whatever, but it can't be 1"+ either), turns on instantly, changes inputs and channels instantly, has a good remote, and has good speakers and a solid picture and I'm happy. If that costs less than $1500, then I'd be all over it. Everything else, the content, the iOS or DVR or processor would be icing on the cake, but for me, the actual experience of having the thing in a room, knowing I can move/adjust it easily if I need to, and never getting frustrated with the speed and responsiveness of it is worth more than the totality of what it can actually do.

[addabox]

Originally Posted by Partial Yuck. That sounds horrible for gaming as we know it today. Imagine playing Madden with a touch screen. That sounds more like work than fun. That sounds awful. If they don't standardize it, there isn't much hope for success gaming wise (beyond casual stuff) in my opinion. I think assuming people will use existing devices as controllers is a bad idea. I definitely think they should have a really low power device w/ a virtual qwerty on a screen as the controller. For 1500$, no reason they can't ship something like that. It can be an original gen iPod touch (spec wise), for example.

Yeah, I can't quite get my head around an enhanced Apple TV being pitched as an iPad/iPhone accessory. I mean, sure, it can be, and for people with those devices further developments on the Airplay front would be welcome. But I can't see Apple trying to up their TV mojo by declaring the premium aTV experience to in any way require same, since that negates the very low buy-in price which is one of the big selling points.

Admittedly, the Apple TV is sort of a weird little thing for Apple, since it functions both as an iAccessory and as a stand-alone device, which AFAIK is unique among Apple's hardware offerings. Airport Express, that old Apple HiFi thing, Time Capsule, etc.--all of those are or were pure accessories, useless without the associated hardware.

In fact, I think that's exactly the problem, to date, with the Apple TV-- it can't quite decide what it is. My guess is that Apple will make it a more fully featured stand-alone device, rather than a more clearly defined iAccessory. The former strikes me as more Apple-like, somehow, with an out-of-the-box user experience that doesn't hinge on either having or springing for additional stuff. To that end they would ideally figure out how to include a more capable remote in the selling price, even it that meant raising same a few bucks (say $150).

[Brave Ulysses]

The analyst's prediction of an Apple TV event in March received a quick "nope" from Dalrymple so I guess that's out.