14 DAY TRIAL // With rumored plans to extend gaming to its $99 / €109 set-top box, Apple has prepared a “master list” of titles that are fully compatible with made-for-iPhone game controllers supplied by third parties, such as Logitech.
Apple has been mum on its rumored plans to turn the Apple TV into a game console. Sources close to the company revealed earlier this year that users would one day have access to the App Store and support for gamepads (wireless ones, we assume).
This week, the iPhone maker announced a new Controller Forwarding feature, which bodes well with the aforementioned rumor. Basically it’s an API that allows developers to create software and turn iPhones and iPod touches into controllers for iPad and Macintosh games.
The feature also supports add-ons like the Logitech PowerShell, the Moga Ace Power, or the SteelSeries Stratus, while adding touch-screen and motion controls.
Apple wants people to leverage these features, so the company is reportedly preparing a “master list” of titles that support third-party controllers.
Currently there are only a handful of games in the App Store that support these accessories (compared to the sheer number of titles available in the venue), but as Apple continues to roll out new gaming support, more developers will tweak their apps to take advantage of the feature.
In fact, one of the main grievances expressed by hardcore console gamers is that touch-screen controls cannot deliver a complete experience. Case in point, not rarely is the developer also forced to dumb down his/her game to make it touch-compatible. It’s not ideal, and it’s actually a shame this happens, considering the gaming power of the iPhone/iPad hardware.
The add-on controllers are also not ideal. Some of them actually look ridiculous, while many reviews have pointed that these accessories are cheaply made, despite their exorbitant prices.
Apple has expressly stated its plans to approach games more seriously. One of the new technologies it announced in this area at WWDC is Metal.
“Gaming on iOS takes a huge leap forward in iOS 8 with Metal, a new graphics technology that maximizes performance on the A7 chip,” Apple said. “With its dramatic 10 times improvement in draw call speed, Metal enables leading game providers for the first time to bring console-class 3D games to mobile devices.”
The company added, “For casual games, iOS 8 now features SceneKit, making it easy to create fun 3D games, along with major enhancements to SpriteKit, including field forces, per-pixel physics and inverse kinematics.”