14 DAY TRIAL // An iPhone + Apple TV combo is a lot like the Nintendo Wii and its and Remote controllers. But while the latter is specifically tailored for playing motion-based video games, the former combo is not leveraging this type of functionality. Yet.
Next month, Rolocule Games plans to introduce its all-new title called Dance Party, which lets you “experience console motion gaming on your iPhone without the need for Wii, Xbox or Playstation,” according to the dancepartygame.com site.
Drawing inspiration from Apple’s new promotional materials, Rolocule Games says, “Your Apple TV is more powerful than you think.” Dance Party uses the motion sensing abilities of the iPhone and the AirPlay streaming capability of the Apple TV to put you on the big screen dancing your rear off, burning calories, socializing with others in multiplayer battles and, most importantly, having fun.
The game will use various technologies (and maybe even upcoming sensors in the iPhone 6) to record your activity and give you health & fitness readings, something that will undoubtedly catch Apple’s eye. We wouldn’t be surprised to see this one featured in the company’s Editor’s Choice section.
There are a few drawbacks to the game, as users will undoubtedly notice. Since the solution doesn’t involve “eyes” (like those found on the PlayStation Eye or Microsoft’s Kinect), it can only track the iPhone, and not your entire body. Moves like torso spins will probably fail to record in the game.
Drawbacks aside, this is the first natural implementation of motion controls in Apple TV gaming, and there are even rumors of Apple opening up some APIs to let developers put games on Apple TV with support for third-party controllers, essentially turning the cheap black box into a full-fledged console.
As noted above, Rolocule Games doesn’t plan to roll out Dance Party until July, so there’s still a bit more waiting to be done on your end. In the interim, you can check out the game’s official web site, like it on Facebook, and sign up to get a free copy of Dance Party when it rolls out in the App Store.
Rolocule Games encourages people who know Apple TV owners to give them a heads up using the “email a friend” button on their site. Normally, this would be considered a typical marketing technique, but if you have female friends who own an Apple TV, you can be sure they’ll love hearing about it.
Don’t forget to watch the demo video too, and let us know what you think of Dance Party in the comments section below.
