For the past few weeks, I've been hearing rumors about Apple's increased interest in the games market. Some people reported that the company would debut a new, dedicated gamepad for the Apple TV. Others predicted a partnership with a major player in the industry. Today, at a special event, didn't quite announce either of these things, but instead introduced a few more subtle developments that may still have a real effect on the way people play games. (The majority of today's event was about non-games products, of course, so for for an overview of the whole presentation, check out CNET's live blog of the event.)
The first major development for games on Apple platforms is actually a whole new platform altogether: Apple tvOS, an operating system for the latest version of the company's video streaming box, Apple TV. Competitors like Amazon, Roku, Google, and (most recently) Razer have all begun to explore the viability of playing games on a box built to stream video to a TV, and Apple's addition to the marketplace means that competition for these consumers is only going to get fiercer in the coming years.
The new Apple TV will come with a wireless remote control for navigating the OS, which will serve double duty as a game controller. The controller is a flat rectangle with a touch pad at the top and six buttons, but developer guides reveal that players will only be able to use two of the buttons (the touch pad itself and the Play button) as inputs, with the Menu button working as a pause. It also has motion tracking capability, which was used in a demo of Harmonix's Beat Sports, a rhythm-based mini-game collection which seemed like a more stylish take on some early Wii compilations, like Wii Sports. Beat Sports also featured a big baseball man named "Big Bawse," who I can only imagine is a beautiful and horrifying amalgamation of Rick Ross and Naked Snake.
Given all of the rumors that we'd be seeing a game controller designed in-house by Apple, I have to admit that this is a little disappointing. Though Apple does have a standard set for how developers can implement controller functionality into their games, the vast number of iOS controllers (many of which are of mediocre quality) means that devs can't ever really predict how gamepad controls will feel for their players. Having a single, Apple-branded controller would standardize the user experience for many players, and it would encourage developers to create games that take advantage of the controller integration. This is especially important since Apple has announced that tvOS game developers can require players to have a dedicated gamepad, though it is "highly discouraged."
Along with Beat Sports, Apple name dropped a handful of other games that would come to the device, including Transistor, Guitar Hero Live, and Shadowmatic. They also showed off a new co-op/competitive mode for Crossy Road's upcoming Apple TV release. Players can cut each other off or knock their opponent into traffic, but they can also work cooperatively since a run continues until both players are taken out. It's no competitive Catherine, but it still seemed like a decent time.
Apple also announced that the new iPhone 6s would introduce a new input method called "3D Touch," which uses Apple's "taptic engine" to detect the pressure of a user's press. The feature was demonstrated using the upcoming Warhammer 40,000: Freeblade, which puts players in control of an Imperial Knight battle mech. Tapping fires the gun, pushing in a little bit will zoom in for precision aiming, and pushing even harder than that will fire secondary weapons like rockets. It's not a game I'm super hyped for, but it clearly illustrated the value of 3D Touch for gaming. Anything that means I'll have to have to drag my finger from one virtual button to another less often is a plus in my book. Also: Tim Cook said "3D Battle Mechs" on stage, so that was pretty fun.
If you were expecting Apple to drop some earth shattering news, then I could see how you might be disappointed. But these developments could wind up being similar to many other Apple innovations, where slow but everyday integration into our lives makes a larger impact than a single big splash ever would.
Update: A couple of tuned-in readers sent word that the Apple TV developer guide also outlines one more hurdle for game makers: The platform has a 200MB app size limit. The guide lays it out pretty clearly:
There is no persistent local storage for apps on Apple TV. This means that every app developed for the new Apple TV must be able to store data in iCloud and retrieve it in a way that provides a great customer experience.
Along with the lack of local storage, the maximum size of an Apple TV app is limited to 200MB. Anything beyond this size needs to be packaged and loaded using on-demand resources. Knowing how and when to load new assets while keeping your users engaged is critical to creating a successful app.
So developers will need to build apps at under 200 MBs, and then pull remaining access from the cloud as needed during play. While I'm sure this is one of those problems that developers are already working out solutions for, it definitely feels like a real challenge.