Apple is said to be developing a new, dedicated game controller. Could this mean an Apple console, or something new?
Apple’s iOS devices have been responsible for the a huge shake-up in the games industry. More and more players are using mobile and tablet devices to play rather than dedicated consoles and this shift is sure to profoundly affect sales of the next generation of games consoles.
Now, from the floors of the annual Game Developer’s Conference in San Francisco comes news that Apple has been speaking to developers about a new gamepad-like peripheral. It is not yet know if this is intended to be part of a new console device, the rumoured Apple TV or if it is to be paired with existing iOS devices like the iPad in order to provide physical controls for certain games.
The latter seems less likely as an unwieldy add-on to the iPad would be completely at odds with Apple’s usual design aesthetic. A dedicated games console also seems a bit of a leap, given the company’s traditional aversion to games – the gaming success of iOS rather took them by surprise and former CEO Steve Jobs always resisted a move into gaming.
That leaves either the Apple TV (or ‘iTV’, although we still have our doubts about that name) or a new version of the existing Apple TV set top box with a hardware boost to support iOS gaming better than the current incarnation.
(source: PocketGamer)
