AirPlay is regarded one of the most attractive selling features of Apple‘s newest products. AirPlay offers the ability to stream video, music or photos from your iOS device to an Apple TV which then displays the content on an HDTV in 720p resulution and stereo sound. One of the most interesting features to be offered in Apple‘s upcoming firmware update, iOS 5, is AirPlay Mirroring. AirPlay Mirroring was marketed to stream an exact mirror of the content displayed on an iPad 2 to an Apple TV which many regarded as a very useful teaching or presentation tool, but it seems now there there’s much more to it than that…
Apple has been rumored to be getting into the console gaming market on and off for the past few years and it’s starting to look a lot like AirPlay Mirroring could be Apple’s quiet step in the gaming direction everyone has been waiting for. As iOS 5 beta testing continues, AirPlay mirroring has seen significant performance improvements, where as one-to-one game controls and smooth video once seemed impossible, it now appear to be within reach. iOS gaming developers are discovering the possibilities of streaming a separate video stream to the Apple TV while using the iPad as an an input device. Any games with HDMI out support already built in apparently require no additional code for AirPlay mirroring. Just imagine the possibilities as developers are given more time or better hardware – Take a look at the examples of AirPlay Mirroring gaming including Real Racing 2 and Touchgrind BMX in the video below:
This tablet controller and TV console system looks awfully familiar, doesn’t it? Nintendo‘s upcoming Wii U includes a touchscreen tablet controller which is wirelessly connected to the a conventional gaming console connected to a TV. The Wii U tablet controller includes the classic gaming controller features such as analog sticks, triggers and buttons that the iPad 2 is lacking but it certainly looks like Apple is set to meet Nintendo head on in the tablet controller gaming market and it’s Apple going into this tablet gaming battle with a big head start.
Apple has the installed base advantage as they have already sold over a million iPad 2 devices and over a million Apple TVs that come complete with the App Store library full of games. The Wii U isn’t due for release until sometime in 2012 and all that stands between those Apple TV and iPad 2 owners’ and tablet-to-TV gaming is a free firmware update expected to arrive this Fall.
This similarity in systems will certainly affect game developers choice of platform when creating their next game. At very least, the ability to port games from Wii U to the iOS 5 AirPlay mirroring and vice versa will seem like an obvious path to take and a very cost-effective one at that. If only Nintendo was willing to make iOS games (at a competitive price), maybe we would see Zelda iOS or Super Mario iPad Brawl. Maybe Apple should just buy Nintendo, since they’re already making such similar products…
Are you interested in tablet-to-TV gaming technology? Does AirPlay Mirroring make you want an Apple TV and iPad 2, or are you going to wait till 2012 for the Nintendo’s Wii U?
Apple iOS 5 with AirPlay Mirroring is expected to be released in Fall 2011. The Wii U is set to release in 2012.
Source: Apple Insider
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Give me some triggers and sticks then we’ll talk.
Same.
give me a mouse and keyboard and better graphics and ill talk.
Now I know us console and PC gamers are usually at odds but I think we can all agree that for the sake of the future of video games, it’s very important that gimmicks like the Wii U are completely unsuccessful.
Mike, honestly, how the hell can you say the Wii U is a gimmick? The one thing that pisses me off about articles “comparing” Apple to Nintendo is that Nintendo systems will be massively cheaper. Look at the price of an Iphone 4 compared to the 3DS. The Wii U will offer the traditional console experience, but most importantly, it will add something VERY BLOODY IMPORTANT… A Touch screen (dual screen effect) controller. Last time I played games like Flashpoint where I was sniped dead thanks to having the map use up the whole screen when trying to select waypoints for my team… I REALISED ONE THING! WII U WILL SOLVE THIS!
Yeah, having a touchscreen is hardly a gimmick when you consider how useful it’s been for many DS games. It’s essentially a pragmatic approach to giving developers the ability to design their own control systems, but through software and a touchscreen rather than creating expensive new peripherals. Just like how analogue sticks are “gimmicky” (you don’t strictly need them), but they make things a lot easier.
Graphics are gimmicks. Analog sticks are gimmicks. That’s completely one-sided of you to wish death on a console just because you don’t like their “gimmick”.
@ Michael – I think Wii U is a gimmick and before I explain why let me talk about the regular Wii and DS. DS made great, innovative use out of the touch screen and was absolutely NOT a gimmick. Then Wii came along and we all thought they’d get some great, innovative use out of motion controls just like DS did with touch screen. And that didn’t happen. The more popular Wii games don’t heavily feature motion controls and the ones that do are usually gimmicky just waving the remote in different directions and performing other boring, generic motions that don’t make good use out of the technology. I’m not blaming Nintendo, I just think that motion control gaming isn’t as revolutionary and fun as we all thought it was going to be. As for the Wii U, I feel like it’s the same situation. The technology won’t be that fun. Seeing all the stuff they did at E3 in the demos for the system, the tablet just seems like another gimmick that won’t offer anything really fun.
@ GameCollector44 – The Wii came along and sold a ton of consoles and because of that they began to shape the later part of this generation with Microsoft and Sony beginning to focus on that type of stuff with Kinect and Move. Because of Kinect, Microsoft has spent two full E3 shows focused on that and has almost completely abandon focusing on their first party support. So that right there is a huge reason why Wii selling well has hurt Microsoft. I want the Wii U to fail because I like playing regular games with a controller and I don’t want motion control nonsense shoved down my throat next gen on Xbox and PlayStation just cause causal “gamers” are buying a lot of Nintendo’s stuff and Microsoft and Sony are seeing dollar signs.
right on Mike especially the “shoved down my throat part”!
What your saying… excuse me while I yawn hugely, is that you want games to be played with the same Xbox/DualShock controllers towards the end of time. WELL I DON’T. The so called hardcore, that’s people like you who have their had super-glued the DualShock/360, are the people who need this controller the most. They need to experience fun gameplay. Imagine never having to open a game menu again. I’m glad they’re keeping WiiMotionPlus because they need to make a new PS3-Sharpshooter like thing. That’s the best way to play FPS’s. REAL PC/Console wouldn’t wish a console to fail that brings somethign new to the table. FANBOYS WOULD! Motion controls are great unless your to lazy to enjoy them properly (this is very hard to do when your hand is still super glued to that Xbox 360 controller. Hardcore gamers will eat the Wii U up especially since a lot of them grew up playing Mario and Zelda, Now they’ve got a revolutionary controller with all the old buttons and a new feel. Plus they’ve got a stronger graphical system and the great newer games like Assassin’s Creed and Batman Arkham City in addition to HD cell shaded Mario and Legend of Zelda more realistic than Uncharted 3. Next time you want to call a Nintendo product a gimmick WHEN YOU’VE NEVER TRIED IT. Think ” Don’t hate just because this thing can finally de-attach me from my Xbox 360 controller. Don’t worry the Xbox/PS4 rip-offs of the Wii U will come in around 2014 once they copycats have enoguh time to clone and repaint the Wii U.
gimme a REAL controller and better graphics and we’ll talk
Actually assclown, I do own a Wii thank you very much. I own a good amount of games for it and motion controls are a gimmick and add absolutely nothing to the gameplay. I’ve already explained this in my well written explanation above you and don’t need to further respond to your foolish “you don’t like motion controls cause you’re a lazy fanboy” nonsense.
bravo Mike. the only game my wii plays much anymore is Metroid Prime Trilogy. i got tired of that thing two years ago.
I also have a Wii and I have several games with excellent controls. I have Black Ops for Wii and NBA 2K11. The controls for those games are really good and they use motion to make the game more fun. What I’m saying is that it would suck if no one even tried to come with something new. Also I’ve played all three systems and enjoyed them. However you can’t hate on the Wii U when all the develops say it would be great for FPS’s and when places like IGN, who actually touched the WiiPad, say it’s lightweight and easy to play on. A REAL gamer respect every system and it’s strength and weaknesses. However we don’t know what will work on the Wii U because it isn’t out yet. All we know are some powerful specs and a good starting line-up. Would it really be bad to have a better port of a game like BF3 or Assassin’s Creed. It will be able to handle ports from the other next-gen system too sine they too are planning to change their control methods. Yes MS and Sony rip offs off the WiiPad are coming soon.
Bravo Yahya, you are a true Core gamer.
I think it would be interesting to see Apple back in the gaming department. When are they going to make a console that can be upgraded so they can compete with PCs? lol
Mike is right, especially based off of the examples, they are all gimmicks. Nintendo needs to focus on a console that can compete game and functionality wise against Microsoft and Sony. Like mike said Games that don’t require additional controllers and bs are better.
This is what I told Mr. IdiotFanboyMike over there
What your saying… excuse me while I yawn hugely, is that you want games to be played with the same Xbox/DualShock controllers towards the end of time. WELL I DON’T. The so called hardcore, that’s people like you who have their had super-glued the DualShock/360, are the people who need this controller the most. They need to experience fun gameplay. Imagine never having to open a game menu again. I’m glad they’re keeping WiiMotionPlus because they need to make a new PS3-Sharpshooter like thing. That’s the best way to play FPS’s. REAL PC/Console wouldn’t wish a console to fail that brings somethign new to the table. FANBOYS WOULD! Motion controls are great unless your to lazy to enjoy them properly (this is very hard to do when your hand is still super glued to that Xbox 360 controller. Hardcore gamers will eat the Wii U up especially since a lot of them grew up playing Mario and Zelda, Now they’ve got a revolutionary controller with all the old buttons and a new feel. Plus they’ve got a stronger graphical system and the great newer games like Assassin’s Creed and Batman Arkham City in addition to HD cell shaded Mario and Legend of Zelda more realistic than Uncharted 3. Next time you want to call a Nintendo product a gimmick WHEN YOU’VE NEVER TRIED IT. Think ” Don’t hate just because this thing can finally de-attach me from my Xbox 360 controller. Don’t worry the Xbox/PS4 rip-offs of the Wii U will come in around 2014 once they copycats have enoguh time to clone and repaint the Wii U.
the ps3, 360, and pc are fine and expensive enough. no need for another company to come out with another $600 console with 10 variations over 5 years and even more $20-60 games. JUST STOP.
The power of choice, my friend.
Apple is already in the gaming market. This isn’t news. If anything, it’s Nintendo trying to catch up to Apple by introducing a tablet, not Apple trying to beat them to the market. I sincerely doubt anything Apple does is contingent on Nintendo’s business.
Apple and Nintendo aren’t DIRECTLY competing. The whole tablet gaming means nothing. That’s like saying Sony and Microsoft are competing with their controllers. And honestly I don’t think you can say Apple is in the gaming market. IPad or Mac or whatever aren’t exactly “gaming” platforms. I mean, they do play games but you can’t classify them in the same category as Sony, Microsoft, or Nintendo. Gaming for Apple is more like a dessert rather than the main dish. Make sense?
O and btw, you misinterpret the article. Not saying they do better, but beat them by arriving on the market with it 1st.
I don’t support Apple in any way, so I’ll be passing this up.
I’ll be cold and buried before I touch an Apple product.
Like.
clearly not intended for hardcore gamers
So what? I don’t care who supplies the best all-round gaming experience, I’m not dumb enough to be a “fanboy”, I will go where the best is, no not P.C,’s either. Right now the Wii U is looking interesting, the ipad has a way to go and smartphone games are worth the 0.59p they cost.
One thing to say! Apple products will cost 3 times as much. How on Earth does this compare to a games console that will be massively cheaper and STILL do it better! Complex gaming on Iphone is atrocious with touch screen control pads and buttons taking up the visibility. The Wii U offers much greater functionality with it’s controller. Simple fact.
In the video, the controls are on the tablet, but the game is on the TV. There are no buttons because the screen can become any type of button you need.
Also, an iPad and Apple TV have quite a few other functions than just gaming, just like a computer. You can buy a dedicated video game console for cheaper, yes. If you only want to game, go ahead.
I am neither a fan of Apple or Nintendo. However, I am still open to them if they are going to bring a quality gaming experience like Sony and Microsoft into the next gen. In terms of gaming, I would be more inclined to go with Nintendo since they already have a killer line up with Mario, Metroid, Pokemon, and Zelda along with some okay 3rd party support. Apple needs to establish that 3rd party support as well as create their own properties.
I doubt Apple will ever design their own games. They’re a hardware company right now with high quality OS and an open App Store. Anyone can design games for them very easily and many already have.
I’m not familiar with Apple game apps. Are they close to PSP or DS quality?
DS but not PSP. Well atleast not Vita quality but I haven’t seen one compete with PSP yet either. Not 3DS either since it a little more powerful than a regular DS.
Agreed. Vita blows the iPad 2 out. No contest. 3DS has the power but uses it to run two images for 3D
iPhone 4 and iPad 2 are capable of quality comparable and even slightly better than the PSP and DS. The best examples use the Unreal Engine.
In the above video Real Racing HD 2 is a great example of what is possible.
Check out Infinity Blade for innovative gameplay AND graphics using the Unreal engine.
http://gamerant.com/trailer-infinity-blade-jeff-50949/
Dead Space for iPad 2 is visually solid and pretty well designed to use touch controls.
Personally, i prefer just a tv and regular controller gaming experience. Anything that uses a touchscreen or motion controls or anything like that just looses my attention within 10 minutes. I cant really get deep into any game that uses those kind of controls, its just to klunky and frustrating. I still think that they should be made though, just because it is really cool technology. So they can feel free to make this stuff, just never get rid of traditional gaming or i will be very angry.
Agreed 100%…. though, unfortunately I doubt it’d go that way. The numbers always come first, and if one gimmick makes a splash no matter how short sighted it may be, the rest of the buisness honchos who know nothing about games will make the order to follow suit. Think motion controls, 3D, Guitar Hero etc. Regular controller games will soon become as rarely heard of as “single player” or “offline”. Oh lord…. I’m starting to sound like my father ranting about the good ‘ol days. I feel like I owe dad a beer now.
Okay, so Apple tablet to TV gaming or Wii U Tablet to TV…. chicken/egg?
Good question. They work differently though so I’m not sure there is any patents to worry about. One processes on the tablet and the other processes on the console.
Apple will arrive on the market first. I’ll be interested to see how hard they push this feature in the coming weeks.
Wii U = $350 or less with:
*new touch controller
*console
*Buttons!!
*designed for the controller and TV screen from the start (as in the new controller can have one image, the TV can have a different image)
Ipad 2 + Apple TV Gaming
* $519.99 for iPad 2 with no buttons
* $99 for Apple TV
* The only thing the Apple TV and iPad 2 combo can do is to display the same image on the iPad 2 onto the Apple TV.
“* The only thing the Apple TV and iPad 2 combo can do is to display the same image on the iPad 2 onto the Apple TV.”
False. Watch the video or look at the images in the post please. Two different images are displayed in Real Racer HD, Pinball HD and Touchgrind BMX.
iPad 2 and Apple TV do a lot more than a Wii U will likely do with all the Apps on the App Store, iTunes content available and connection to your networked devices.
Oh I completely missed that point, sorry. But the price for the combined devices still is not appealing to me. Hopefully, Nintendo reconsiders and allows the Wii U to run apps (though being their stubborn selves they probably will not).
No problem. An iPad isn’t cheap but it’s becoming the jack of all trades with all it’s cool features like AirPlay Mirroring. (I think they should come up with a new name for it if they’re going to market it for games. It’s obviously not a mirror anymore.)
Well, have they said the Wii U cannot run apps? I think they said they will not turn their titles into apps, but I see no reason why tablet games cannot be deved for consoles, if there is a market for them, especially the Wii U. I believe Angry birds is already going down this route.
I think Nintendo would be mad to allow their games to be played on other machines. Their exclusive titles are a massive draw for their own machines, in fact that is what gives the Wii U it’s edge over the Xbox and PS3. After all they can all play the multi-platform games, so for a while at least, it is down to exclusive titles, in software terms.
Nintendo’s exclusives gives them an edge? I disagree. Sony and Microsoft have exclusives also.
@ATG: But Sony/Microsofts don’t sell as much as Nintendos.
If this comes out before the Wii U, Nintendo may actually take legal action against Apple if it infringes on the patent that Nintendo made recently on their new controller. I’m willing to bet it does, even if it is purely accidental. Let’s just wait and see though.
this kind of gaming totally sux, no buttins mo pads no analogs = FAIL
how can this compete with the wiiu , never
We don’t know how much the Wii U will be yet, but we do know a few things about Apple’s combo…
1. The two of them put together cost right around, oh, five hundred and ninety-nine US dollars.
2. They’re not sold as a set, so “over a million iPad 2 devices and over a million Apple TVs” translates to maybe a hundred thousand who own both. I have dozens of Facebook friends with iPads, and 3 or 4 with Apple TV, but only one friend who has both (and they’re an Apple-everything house). Apple would run into the same issue Sony has with Move and Microsoft has with Kinect. Developers can choose to develop for the subset of people who’ve bought both, or just pick one or the other, and history shows that they choose the latter every time.
3. Yes, you can do more with the iPad/Apple TV combo than you’ll be able to do with a Wii U. But again, five hundred and ninety-nine US dollars. Maybe it’ll be different now that people have gotten used to watching Hulu on their Xbox 360 and Netflix, well, everywhere.
4. There’s never been any serious indication that Apple even cares about the console market. Yes, they had their “Pippin” set-top box when CD-i and 3DO were floundering, but like the CD-i and 3DO, its focus was on “multimedia” and edutainment; Apple was no more a serious participant in the console gaming market than V-tech, Panasonic, and Commodore were.
I’ve never owned an Apple product except for the time between when I bought an iTouch for my niece and when I gave it to her, but I’ve already thought of ways to connect my Android phone or tablet to Google TV or some other Android set-top-box. Android already has HDMI mirroring, too. But I question whether Apple, or anyone making Android devices other than Sony, even cares about the increasingly niche console market.
The console market might be looking at 1984 all over again, except instead of cheap home computers taking their place, it might just be phones and tablets. Apple has remade themselves in the last decade using technology that allows everyone to have an individual, solitary experience. The last thing they’re going to do is try to tie their new, sexy technology to the same old “box that hooks up to a TV” model that’s been around since 1972 for the sake of the dying “family sits around the TV and all watch/play the same thing” experience.
ok first of all…. theres really not much point in apple making these games… i mean really… someone could hav an ipad but not have an apple tv and i can guarentee u that people aren’t going to just go out and buy an apple tv which probly costs like $800 and up atleast… and besides u could buy a 360 or ps3 and get atleast 5 games probly even 10 and just barely reach the price of an apple tv or an ipad…. i would rather hav a ps3 or a new pc instead of either of them….
and also as someone else said… ipads cost $600…
well if u had $600 u could buy 3 xbox 360s, 2 ps3′s, or u could pre-order 10 new games if u already have a system… i dont know about u but i see the better deal here and its not an ipad…. an defenatly NOT an apple tv!
Nevermind price or difference of game types. The bigger issue at the moment is that the AirPlay Mirroring feature on iOS 5 doesn’t work well enough to support any sort of serious gaming application. I’m running the betas on both my iPad 2 and my AppleTV 2, and I can tell you that the lag is currently a deal breaker. Anything that requires any sort of precision or timing simply doesn’t work well enough yet. Playing something as simple as Canabalt, a game comprised of timed screen taps, is nearly impossible. More relaxed games like Angry Birds are doable and work decently enough with the feature, but they’ve got a ways to go before most games will play well.
Again, this is admittedly the beta for both of these pieces of software, and maybe they’ll pull it together when iOS5 launches. But that is quickly approaching.
So whether it’s a gimmick, a fad or whatever, just throwing it out there that at present, one of these two tablet to tv gaming systems simply doesn’t work the way you would hope.