Expected quality of Apple TV gaming?

[slackerinabox]

Good enough to replace a nintendo wii for a household of toddlers and guitar hero fans? Casual gamers, if that.

 

[Commodus]

Good enough to replace a nintendo wii for a household of toddlers and guitar hero fans? Casual gamers, if that.

That sounds about right. Some folks seem to have this odd notion that Apple must either compete directly with the latest dedicated consoles or abandon all attempts at gaming. Well, no... it's a $149 media hub that happens to play games, not a $349 game machine that happens to play videos.

I could see some games being particularly big, especially if TV-friendly titles like You Don't Know Jack make it over. It's just that the Apple TV won't be defined by its games, just as you don't buy a Roku because it plays Angry Birds.

 

[rugby]

We loved our Wii back when we first got it. It was a lot of fun to play. Granted my oldest is soon to be 14 so that might say something but we also have an XBox 360 if they want tougher games.

My AppleTV should be here next week.

 

[Childs]

I would expect the graphics to be on par with the 360 and PS3, but the controller seems to be only thing that could hold it back from having those kinds of games. Wii with better graphics seems about right, since devs cant assume customers will have a real console style controller, but the AppleTV remote seems like a drop in replacement for the Wiimote.

I dont even know if something like Guitar Hero would make it on the AppleTV, since Apple was requiring all games support the shipping remote.

 

[freeskier93]

You can expect the same quality of games as you'd find for the iPhone given it's using the same processor/graphics as the iPhone 6/+.

 

[Midwayman]

The biggest issue is that they require the games to be playable with the stupid touchpad remote. That's going to be seriously limiting.

 

[Commodus]

The biggest issue is that they require the games to be playable with the stupid touchpad remote. That's going to be seriously limiting.

It will be, but I can't blame Apple. The last thing the company wants is angry parents returning the Apple TV because they found out that the $10 game they bought requires a $50 gamepad. It's a classic example of Apple setting expectations -- it wants you to buy anything from the App Store knowing that you can use it right away.

 

[slackerinabox]

Awesome, wii with ps3 level graphics sounds perfect for our needs. I hear that their will be a guitar hero, maybe it's just a rumor.

 

[Printer Bandit]

Nintendo will be releasing apps for AppleTV soon. Hope to see Mario!!

 

[Childs]

When I went to pick up my ATV4 the worker guy gave me a demo while they got my box. The graphics are better than Wii quality. He demo'd a racing game and it was on par with Burnout Paradise on the PS3, and it was running at a good frame rate. The only issue was some aliasing on certain things. Whats funny is the guy wasnt that good at the game, and we blamed it on the controller. Then this middle aged guy played the same game right next to us, and he didnt crash at all. lol

Overall, just seeing the ATV4 in person was more impressive than the preview videos. And there are apparently a ton of apps already. We were looking at them, and there's all kinds of stuff, lots of games and random apps like how to do Yoga and a bible app.

 

[rugby]

My issue with gaming on the Apple TV is the lack of easily switching between gamecenter ID's. I have 3 kids that have their own ID's as do I. We want to track status of games individually and between both Apple TV's.

This needs to be added ASAP.

 

[TheStu]

My issue with gaming on the Apple TV is the lack of easily switching between gamecenter ID's. I have 3 kids that have their own ID's as do I. We want to track status of games individually and between both Apple TV's.

This needs to be added ASAP.

Look at how long it's taken them to NOT add multiple user accounts to iOS for iPads (and with TouchID it'd be SUPER slick).

What's involved with switching IDs in GameCenter?

 

[slackerinabox]

Nintendo will be releasing apps for AppleTV soon. Hope to see Mario!!

I know, it would be so rad to introduce the toddlers to mario through classic games, but nintendo has it's head in their ass and is releasing a social network app! i get it, slow and steady into the market. But a paid mario app would sweep, an ad supported version could make them billions. they'll eventually do it, after their next billion dollar console fails and someone is fired.

 

[slackerinabox]

When I went to pick up my ATV4 the worker guy gave me a demo while they got my box. The graphics are better than Wii quality. He demo'd a racing game and it was on par with Burnout Paradise on the PS3, and it was running at a good frame rate. The only issue was some aliasing on certain things. Whats funny is the guy wasnt that good at the game, and we blamed it on the controller. Then this middle aged guy played the same game right next to us, and he didnt crash at all. lol

Overall, just seeing the ATV4 in person was more impressive than the preview videos. And there are apparently a ton of apps already. We were looking at them, and there's all kinds of stuff, lots of games and random apps like how to do Yoga and a bible app.

That sounds amazing, I have a ps3 collecting dust because it's just too much gear to have around, and the 18 month old destroys optical media for some reason - i never see her do it, she's a ninja. Anyways, that much gaming potential and I can hide it behind the tv. I really hope they release a time warner app, which allows you to stream every channel. Most of my tvs now just have a roku attached with no cable boxes, it's simple and no boxes. An apple tv eco-system upgrade means gaming in every room!

 

[rugby]

Look at how long it's taken them to NOT add multiple user accounts to iOS for iPads (and with TouchID it'd be SUPER slick).

What's involved with switching IDs in GameCenter?

Logging out and logging into the other account. Not happening in our house every time they want to switch.

 

[slackerinabox]

Apple tv plugged in - immediate impression: slick setup (wave iPhone in front of apple tv and it grabs wifi credentials/apple id), nice remote that powers on tv and controls volume (retiring the harmony), and nice app selection already. Plex is MUCH better here than on my roku 3. Really missing the TWC app though, it's early still..

Gaming - bluetooth controller charging, will download the sports game now.

Pre-gaming impression: I'm under/overwhelmed. Very nice hardware package that feels more upscale than Roku, but nothing game changing except for the potential of the app ecosystem (which could be huge).

I'd almost view this as not the Apple Tv 4 but a TV Os 1.0 beta device, with lots of potential by 2.0.

 

[Childs]

One thing I wish was different was the remote. Its hard to know what the orientation is by feel, so I often pick it up upside down. Also, the default remote isnt really good for games. Maybe I'm not used to it, but I tried it with Crossy Road, and using the touchpad makes it much harder than it should be.

Otherwise, I like it alot. Already put away the FireTV. The only thing I'm missing is Kodi, but I have an HTPC for that. I dont use Amazon Instant Video all that much, so using AirPlay to play that stuff isnt much of an inconvenience.

 

[slackerinabox]

One thing I wish was different was the remote. Its hard to know what the orientation is by feel, so I often pick it up upside down. Also, the default remote isnt really good for games. Maybe I'm not used to it, but I tried it with Crossy Road, and using the touchpad makes it much harder than it should be.

Otherwise, I like it alot. Already put away the FireTV. The only thing I'm missing is Kodi, but I have an HTPC for that. I dont use Amazon Instant Video all that much, so using AirPlay to play that stuff isnt much of an inconvenience.

Yeah, it's really silly to not shift the whole remote up or down to make the track area more obvious (and top), but apple and their need for symmetry.

I'm getting used to the control but will probably pick up a iArcade compatible controller because the toddlers are enjoy gaming on it so much. Colorful, ps3 graphics are great but $.99-5.00 games are even better. They're actually learning stuff, which is awesome.