So what do you think of the Apple TV?
Good step for gamers? Or just vaporware?
This article seems to think it is the coming of christ.
iOS Dev: Why Apple TV Is 'Game Over' For Xbox One And Ps4
Last week, the gaming world had become curious about Apple’s long-awaited next installment Apple TV. There had been rumors that Apple would be taking. The actual announcement was a bit underwhelming: the machine comes with a Wii-style gyroscopic remote, and debuted with a demo of Crossy Road played out on the big screen (albeit with multiplayer, a significant, if not monumental, addition). It’s hard to imagine an immediate threat to Microsoft MSFT +0.00% Xbox One and Sony PS4 running games like Halo and Uncharted. But I talked to Jeff Smith, CEO of the popular Karaoke app Smule , and a developer who’s been with the iOS platform since the beginning. He says that Xbox One and PS4 fans shouldn’t be too quick to dismiss the Apple TV as a serious gaming contender. The key, he says, is that Apple is just one of the most developer-friendly platforms out there, and that means more content, and, as iOS has shown, more quality content as well.
“We think it’s significant if you consider the console market today: it’s been a market where there have been high barriers of entry to get into that market,” Smith says. “You have to get Sony and Microsoft or Nintendo to get you on to the platform, you have to have a custom deal, and they’re all proprietary platforms. With Apple bringing tvOS, which is a subset of iOS, onto a console-like platform, we think it lowers the barrier of entry. And I think you’ll see a lot more developers on the console market than ever before.”
The idea of an open platform is not a small one. Microsoft and Sony have made their platforms much more friendly to indie developers in recent years, but they’re still very much gatekeepers. An open platform is how iOS came to become a driving force in the gaming world through sheer quantity: sure, there are a lot of terrible games out there, but there are enough quality titles out there to make iOS a viable platform. But an open platform alone doesn’t bring the developers: just ask Ouya. Could Apple TV be the device that makes the leap?
All platforms, gaming and otherwise, suffer from a chicken and egg problem: developers don’t want to make apps for platforms without users, and users don’t want platforms with out apps. Apple has a way of moving units in a way in a way that other companies have trouble matching, but even so, there’s no reason to assume that Apple TV will explode out of the gate. That’s been why other similar devices haven’t taken off: Kindle Fire TV might have had similar capabilities as the Apple TV, but such a small market share made it a losing game for any developers who wanted to make a profit on the platform. Smith argues that the fluidity between iOS and tvOS elides that particular problem.
“We have a clear distribution model with Apple, and we’ve proven it,” Smith says. “Apple has 850 million credit cards. The content is going to come, because there’s an inflection point in distribution capabilities. If it s a chicken and egg, in this case, the developers are already there, because they’re already supporting iOS, so you’ve basically solved the chicken problem.”
Smule would be qualified as an entertainment app, not a gaming app, of course. But I’d argue such definitions are far less important than we make them out to be: there’s just a little more room to move when you start to exit the traditional gaming industry, and mainstream consumers aren’t as concerned about defining what is and is not a game.
Of course, we’re just talking about the basic viability of gaming on Apple TV , and of Apple TV itself. Even if the device does well on its own terms, is it really going to disrupt the current console market? It certainly won’t be running Rise of The Tomb Raider or Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 at launch. But Smith cautions industry watchers to see just how quickly remember just how quickly the iPhone and iPad increased their graphical capabilities: Apple runs much quicker generations than the comparatively sluggish traditional console market. And rest assured: if a company like Activision sees a strong install base and capable hardware, they’ll move. They’re already playing with Skylanders: Superchargers.
Good step for gamers? Or just vaporware?
This article seems to think it is the coming of christ.
iOS Dev: Why Apple TV Is 'Game Over' For Xbox One And Ps4
Last week, the gaming world had become curious about Apple’s long-awaited next installment Apple TV. There had been rumors that Apple would be taking. The actual announcement was a bit underwhelming: the machine comes with a Wii-style gyroscopic remote, and debuted with a demo of Crossy Road played out on the big screen (albeit with multiplayer, a significant, if not monumental, addition). It’s hard to imagine an immediate threat to Microsoft MSFT +0.00% Xbox One and Sony PS4 running games like Halo and Uncharted. But I talked to Jeff Smith, CEO of the popular Karaoke app Smule , and a developer who’s been with the iOS platform since the beginning. He says that Xbox One and PS4 fans shouldn’t be too quick to dismiss the Apple TV as a serious gaming contender. The key, he says, is that Apple is just one of the most developer-friendly platforms out there, and that means more content, and, as iOS has shown, more quality content as well.
“We think it’s significant if you consider the console market today: it’s been a market where there have been high barriers of entry to get into that market,” Smith says. “You have to get Sony and Microsoft or Nintendo to get you on to the platform, you have to have a custom deal, and they’re all proprietary platforms. With Apple bringing tvOS, which is a subset of iOS, onto a console-like platform, we think it lowers the barrier of entry. And I think you’ll see a lot more developers on the console market than ever before.”
The idea of an open platform is not a small one. Microsoft and Sony have made their platforms much more friendly to indie developers in recent years, but they’re still very much gatekeepers. An open platform is how iOS came to become a driving force in the gaming world through sheer quantity: sure, there are a lot of terrible games out there, but there are enough quality titles out there to make iOS a viable platform. But an open platform alone doesn’t bring the developers: just ask Ouya. Could Apple TV be the device that makes the leap?
All platforms, gaming and otherwise, suffer from a chicken and egg problem: developers don’t want to make apps for platforms without users, and users don’t want platforms with out apps. Apple has a way of moving units in a way in a way that other companies have trouble matching, but even so, there’s no reason to assume that Apple TV will explode out of the gate. That’s been why other similar devices haven’t taken off: Kindle Fire TV might have had similar capabilities as the Apple TV, but such a small market share made it a losing game for any developers who wanted to make a profit on the platform. Smith argues that the fluidity between iOS and tvOS elides that particular problem.
“We have a clear distribution model with Apple, and we’ve proven it,” Smith says. “Apple has 850 million credit cards. The content is going to come, because there’s an inflection point in distribution capabilities. If it s a chicken and egg, in this case, the developers are already there, because they’re already supporting iOS, so you’ve basically solved the chicken problem.”
Smule would be qualified as an entertainment app, not a gaming app, of course. But I’d argue such definitions are far less important than we make them out to be: there’s just a little more room to move when you start to exit the traditional gaming industry, and mainstream consumers aren’t as concerned about defining what is and is not a game.
Of course, we’re just talking about the basic viability of gaming on Apple TV , and of Apple TV itself. Even if the device does well on its own terms, is it really going to disrupt the current console market? It certainly won’t be running Rise of The Tomb Raider or Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 at launch. But Smith cautions industry watchers to see just how quickly remember just how quickly the iPhone and iPad increased their graphical capabilities: Apple runs much quicker generations than the comparatively sluggish traditional console market. And rest assured: if a company like Activision sees a strong install base and capable hardware, they’ll move. They’re already playing with Skylanders: Superchargers.