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7 reasons why the Apple TV won't be your new console

Siriously

7 reasons why the Apple TV won't be your new console
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Apple has just announced the fourth-generation of Apple TV, and it looks set to offer a pretty great way to watch TV.

You can now shout at your telly to get it to do what you want, search multiple video services at once to find a movie, and - well, we'll just have to wait and see what clever things developers think of when they get their hands on the dev kit.

But the Apple TV is also kind of a games console with its very own App Store and two different types of controller. But does that mean it will be a viable alternative to your home console?

No. No, it doesn't. Here are seven reasons why the Apple TV won't replace your PS4 any time soon.

Developers are forced to use the remote

Apple has stated that every single game developed for the Apple TV must support the new Siri-enhanced touchpad remote.

That's incredibly limiting, as the remote only has two buttons, an accelerometer, and a touch panel. It will be virtually impossible for some button-heavy games to work with the remote alone.

Game makers can, and will, also support compatible MFi controllers that are bristling with buttons and thumb sticks. But how many developers will want to go through the rigmarole of trying to make their shooter work on a TV remote?

There are strict size limitations

Developers working on Apple TV can only make apps that are 200MB to download.

Now, before you soil yourself in rage: there's more to it than that. Game makers can then stream up to 2GB of data direct to your Apple TV while you play the game.

2GB will cover some games (but not all - XCOM: Enemy Within is over 3GB, after all). And after that, what if you have a crap internet connection? And do you want to download loads of data every time you want to play some Transistor?

Free to play will reign supreme

If the Apple TV's App Store is anything like the iOS App Store, we're going to see a smattering of high-quality premium games getting squished to death by an avalanche of free to play gumpf.

If you thought the odd microtransaction or slimy bit of DLC on your console was bad, wait until your Apple TV games are full of energy systems, timers, pay walls, confusing currencies, gacha mechanics, roulette wheels, and pay to win!

Every microconsole has been arse so far

Call them what you will. Mini consoles, microconsoles, unconsoles(?!) - the Apple TV is just the latest in a long line of tiny set-top game players that have completely, and utterly, failed.

Remember the Ouya? The GameStick? The Nexus Player? Neither do we.

Now, that doesn't necessarily mean it's doomed to failure but the cards are stacked against it. Especially when you consider that none of the above consoles suffered from the same gaming limitations as the Apple TV does.

There are no emulators

Speaking of limitations, how about the fact that there are no emulators? Every single Android-based mini-console has been able to call upon thousands of greats from throughout gaming history to spruce up their line-ups.

It's been a long-running complaint on iOS. On a microconsole, though, it's positively criminal. No Super Mario World? No sale.

Haven't we seen this all before?

The Apple TV may have some pretty smart new browsing capabilities, but aside from that we've pretty much seen all of this before.

The remote is a glorified Wii Remote, the Siri integration is not unlike what Xbox has been doing with Kinect for years, and the App Store has already been done on the Ouya, GameStick, Nexus Player, Amazon Fire TV, and the Nvidia Shield devices.

Sure, Apple's best stuff is often just a fancier version of things that already exist. The iPhone wasn't the first smartphone, after all, and MP3 players existed before the iPod. But still. Maybe this time it'll screw it up.

Does anyone remember Ping? How's that social network going for you, Apple?

Chris James
Chris James
A footy game fanatic and experienced editor of numerous computing and game titles, lively Chris is up for anything - including running Steel Media! (Madman!)