We posted a raft of Apple releases yesterday. One item that might have gotten lost in the shuffle, but that I believe has incredible importance, is this, from Apple’s tvOS 13 press release:
tvOS 13 adds support for the best and most popular game controllers in the world, Xbox One S and PlayStation DualShock 4, making it even easier for gamers to take advantage of Apple Arcade and other great games on the App Store.
And this tied footnote:
tvOS 13 supports the Xbox Wireless Controller with Bluetooth.
In order for Apple to climb into the tier of a first class gaming machine, they need first class game controllers, like the PlayStation DualShock 4 and Xbox One S. Such a smart move leveraging these two controllers, controllers most gamers are already familiar with, controllers that benefit from generations of refinement.
This announcement, combined with the release of the new iPod touch (a relatively inexpensive entree device for Apple Arcade), show a real vision to expand Apple’s gaming presence beyond the casual gamer.
Looking forward to seeing Apple Arcade’s official rollout later this year.
Yeah, that is big for games on ATV. Not only does it bring 2 quality controllers to the platform but it expands the number of people who *have* a good controller by millions.
With Apple’s entry into TV & Movie production & their strong presence in iOS gaming, this is a natural next step for them (albeit, it took a while to get here).
Could Apple, one day, produce their own ‘PC’ games that would benefit from the power of their Pro behemoth, Cheesegrater?
Let’s hope Steam Apple Tv App will now use these controller !!!
If Apple got strong Metal support in a few of the AAA game engines I think their “PC” gaming situation could be quite strong.
The Mac Pro is too expensive for gaming reasonably, but some Mac gaming variant would be really nice. Not sure how big a potential market that is, but I’d love it.
I’m hunting around the house for my Nimbus controller. Does anyone here know where it is?
I read in some footnotes somewhere that these controllers will also be supported in iOS 13 for iPhone and iPads. This would make actual PS4 gaming possible with the Sony remote play app.
That’s true, but there are few opportunities there. With consoles moving to PC hardware console and PC gaming are on track to merge into a non-mobile gaming segment which is reasonably large.
Additionally mobile gaming was quite niche before smartphone gaming became such a big thing (largely driven by the iPhone). Apple has the ability to blow a niche market into a huge revenue generator.
unlikely. PC gaming market is a niche. Apple isn’t huge into niches.
apple’s game controller problem -> solved. even better it’s also supported in ios13, so perfectly fitted for ps4 remote play on the ipad.
granted, there’s not a lot of AAA-Titles on the apple-tv and the graphics are still far behind dedicated gaming machines. on the other hand, the pricing structure is generally cheaper, so there might be a few games that are cheaper on apple-tv than on playstation or xbox.
either way, it’s a huge step into the right direction. looking forward to apple arcade.
well, there’s already some good games on steam for mac and there are even a few ones in the app store.
still, gaming on the mac truly is too niche, and the only macs with halfway decent GPUs are the pro-machines where you could buy all existing game consoles and a good gaming pc for the same price.
so, it’s not really a viable business for developers. and, with the advent of game streaming, it won’t be necessary in the future.