Last Friday we were able to book the new Apple TV 4K with its Siri remote. A device that we have heard many rumors about in recent months and which is now a reality. A device which, in addition, brought some surprises compared to what we could expect and which surely still has room for improvements and changes.
Apple Arcade yes, but with which game controller?
There are several points to analyze around Apple TV and Apple’s gaming strategy. The first and most important point is that Apple offers a game subscription service: Apple Arcade. This service is present on Apple TV, so many sets from the catalog are available for the decoder from Apple.
So much so that the service, which on our iPhone, iPad or Mac is in an app tab App store, enjoy a standalone app on Apple TV. The visibility of the service is therefore considerable. So what will happen when we visit this app on the new Apple TV 4K? What many games in the catalog will not be playable.
The reason is very simple: the new Siri Remote does not have a gyroscope or accelerometers which included the previous remote. It is true that now, starting with tvOS 14.5, we can connect even more third-party controllers, especially those from the PlayStation and those from the Xbox, to our Apple TV, but Apple offers a service that cannot be used completely with own company equipment is not common.
This circumstance leads us to wonder what can be Apple’s strategy in this regard. Here I see several possibilities. The first is that Apple considers that in order to play Apple Arcade games it is necessary to purchase and connect a third-party controller. The second is that Apple Arcade games are updated and simplified to be played on the wheel of the new Siri Remote. Between these two options, and a bit in between, is the possibility that Apple will invite us to connect an old Siri remote control (if we still have it) or use an iPhone or iPad as an input device.
The last option, of course, is for Apple to release its own game controller. It’s an option we’ve been hearing about for several months. In fact, we were hoping that with the recent refurbishment of this Apple TV, the company would present this order to us. On the one hand, it doesn’t quite fit that Apple separates the remote from the Apple TV, but, on the other hand, if we see it as a remote that we can use on any device in the block , may make sense as an individual product.
What is clear is that right now there appears to be a missing piece in the entire Apple Arcade and gaming ecosystem. A void that can be filled, as we have seen, in many ways, each with its advantages and disadvantages. In any case, it seems that everything has not yet been said about Apple TV, we will see what the tvOS 15 news brings us and what steps the company takes a posteriori.
