Engadget is reporting that the latest beta of iOS 4.3 features a hidden reference to games for the new Apple TV.
Here’s an excerpt:
Several references have been found pertaining to “ATVGames” and “ATVThunder” that point to a controller of some sort, leaderboards (think Game Center), a way to schedule games (multiplayer?), and a store front (think App Store, iTunes).
Engadget is speculating that games would be streamed to the device and not stored locally on the device. That said, the Apple TV has 8GB of on-board storage, most of which is used for the OS and video buffering.
If I had to guess, Apple will open up the Apple TV to developers, who will be able to sell apps, specifically games, for the Apple TV, effectivly making it a gaming console. The controllers for the Apple TV could be iPod touches, or iPhones, and so on. I could also see the senario Engadget is suggesting, playing out just as well. Apple did build a $1 billion data center in North Carolina that could handle the data.
But I’m sure games are coming to the Apple TV. Too much is too perfect for them not too. Apple switched the OS to iOS, there is local storage, and it has the same internals as the current iPhone and iPod touch, which is a lot of power for basic gaming. Apple could simply issue an OS update and the new Apple TV could be open to app development and consumption. I believe that’s the fundamental reason why they switched to iOS to power the device. We’ll see how this pans out, but I’m very excited either way.
Image courtesy of Engadget.
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