Apple TV and Games

> Wu estimates that about 40 percent of downloads from the App Store for the iPhone and iPad are games, and he believes that games could be a major selling point for the Apple TV. > > “This capability isn’t available today, but we believe it could be added fairly easily as Apple TV uses a similar A4 processor architecture as the iPhone, iPad and iPod touch,” Wu said. Analysts like Wu are always making this assumption that touch screen games that work on the iPhone or iPod Touch could just magically work on the Apple TV. They still don’t get the massive difference between touching a screen directly and touching a controller that then moves things on a screen across the room. These are not even close to similar experiences.

The only way games on the Apple TV could work would be if developers developed games to specifically work with the Apple TV. Which means Apple would need to give developers a whole new SDK, simulator, etc. It would take months of development, and there wouldn’t be the benefit the iPad had of simply being able to run native iPhone apps at double resolution as a stop gap measure.

I’m not saying apps on the Apple TV won’t happen, but people like Wu constantly make it sound easier than it is. Or they assume that Apple would allow the Apple TV to just play native iPhone apps, giving us a user experience as crappy as the Google TV. I wouldn’t bet on that.

Update: Also, don’t forget that most of the successful games on iOS are casual, get-in-and-get out type games. The kinds of games you play while waiting in line at the supermarket. Casual games that can be stopped and started on a dime. Traditional TV console games, on the other hand, are more geared toward sitting down for a few hours and immersing yourself in a game for a while with no interruptions. Very different kinds of games.

AND the best iOS games are also the ones that take advantage of the touch screen, rather than trying to force the touch screen into a virtual D-pad or joystick. Games like Angry Birds work so well on a touch screen because you actually pull back the slingshot itself with your finger. Or games like Tilt-to-Live, or the many driving games where you tilt the device itself to steer. These work far better than simple ports of PSP or DS games. Using an iPhone or an iPad merely as a controller to a game that is being played on a big screen TV is actually a step DOWN from PS3 or XBox consoles, where you get the benefits of real buttons that you don’t need to look at as much.