In the last decade or so, Nintendo has taken a lot of cues from Apple, from interface to branding to product design. Yesterday, Apple returned the favor when they announced the new Apple TV, which essentially looks like Apple’s take on Nintendo’s Wii. The new Apple TV is the third generation of Apple’s multimedia set top box, and in Apple’s words, is ‘the foundation to the future of TV.’
The Apple TV breaks down the TV viewing experience to apps, with an overall search and recommendations function powered by Siri tying everything together. It also gets the App Store to allow for third party apps- this means that the floodgates are now open, and games are coming to the Apple TV, making for the first big screen Apple gaming experience.
Indeed, games are a major focus of Apple’s pitch for the new Apple TV. The new remote for the APple TV, for instance, features Wii Remote like acceleremoters and gyroscopes, and uses those inputs to allow for gameplay on the big screen. It also has a touchpad on the top. In addition, the hardware also supports third party gaming controllers over Bluetooth.
Some of the big games announced for the Apple TV yesterday included Crossy Road, Disney Infinity 3.0, Guitar Hero Live, Transistor, Rayman Adventures, and a brand new Amplitude developed exclusive.
The latest version of Apple TV will release in late October 2015 in two configurations of 32GB for $149.99, and 64GB for $199.99, with the new device to feature a 64-bit A8 chip, IR receiver, 802.11ac Wi-Fi access with MIMO, and integration with Bluetooth 4.0. Stay tuned for more coverage.