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Does anybody else think that there should be a way to require your game to use a game controller?

Apple Fanatic 44

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Ok first off I get that Apple is forcing developers to have support for the remote because not everyone is going to have a controller. I think they should've added a third option of the Apple TV that includes an Apple made game controller that everybody uses for their game. As a result a ton more people would have game controllers because they actually know this feature exists and they don't have to go through a third party and worry about support from games and they're getting it from Apple so they know it will work.

But if Apple isn't going to to do that then they should allow developers to make their game require a controller. If they don't then there's no way games will ever take off on this thing. First off, it looks as though Apple is trying to put iOS games on the television. That I don't think is the right decision. Casual iOS games would not be enjoyable on the television. It takes a lot more work to get the game started than on iOS, you have to turn on the tv go to Apple TV open the game. And if your only going to play for a few minutes then there's not as much of a reason to play on the tv and not on your phone unless your doing a multiplayer game like the Crossy Road demo. So casual iOS games on the tv I think won't take off because the iPhone is so much more convenient.
iOS games on the tv also won't work because getting the control scheme to work with the remote isn't going to be good for most games. There are those few games where it's like tap or swip the screen. Games like Crossy Road or Flappy Bird or Threes. But games with any more complex controls like Clash of Clans or Minecraft (two of the most popular iOS games) won't work with the remote. And that's just for already popular casual games not even more advanced games! Another thing is that those games that will have good controls with the remote aren't games that you'd want to play on your tv. Who would want to play Threes or Flappy Bird on their tv? It takes up the whole screen, your only going to play for a few minutes and it takes so long to set up, and you don't want games like that to be an immersive experience. Let's face it most of us play casual games while listening to a podcast, watching tv, or your waiting in the doctors office. Nobody wants a casual game to take up their whole screen, their whole room, and their whole experience. Unless there was a split screen for apps like on the iPad then casual games would be too immersive.
So I don't think that casual games would be very fun on Apple TV. I think that Apple should be targeting games that people want to play on their tv. A game that they'll sit down and play for a few hours. A game that they want to be fully immersed in or a game that they can play with friends. Those are the types of games people want to play on their Tvs.
These are also the types of games that are typically on consoles. Games like Halo or Minecraft or Sky Gamblers would be great on the Apple TV. So what's stopping people from making games like this on the Apple TV? Well right now developers have to support the remote that comes with the Apple TV. Games like Minecraft, games that people want to play on their Tvs typically work best with a game controller. There are exceptions like Asphalt 8 but for the most part these games need controllers. If Apple allowed developers to not support the remote then combined with a decent amount of ram and the power of the A8 chip we could have true console level games.
I want the Apple TV to be more like the Wii, it has the remote but also comes optionally with a controller (aka nunchuck on the Wii) for more serious games. There could be a special section of the App Store for games that need controllers, or they could mark the games that need controllers, or they could prompt or even block the user from buying a game that needs a controller if no controller has ever been paired with the tv. There are a million ways around that people won't know that the game needs a controller.
So to sum up, Apple should sell the Apple TV optionally with a controller, allow developers to only support the controller, and not allow you to buy games that need a controller unless you own one.
 

Just_Me_D

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TLDR, but I'll reply to the thread question. No, I do not think there should be a way to "require" your game to use a game controller.
 

gordol

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TL:DR

Based in the title and first few lines, my answer is NO.

People who are serious (or curious) about gaming on the AppleTV will buy the controller. The rest of us can safely ignore it.
 

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