New Apple TV Reportedly Acts as a Games Console

Updated model could enable living room gaming.

Apple's compact set-top box, the Apple TV, could soon become the company's defacto video game console. According to new reports from 9to5Mac and iLounge citing unnamed sources, Apple will introduce a new version of the device sometime in the first half of 2014, which will incorporate revamped software and an integrated App Store. Unlike the current version, which only streams content from iTunes and select services, the new Apple TV will reportedly be capable of downloading and running a broad range of apps, including games developed specifically for the platform.
Unspecified insiders have told iLounge that several Bluetooth controllers are in the works and gaming capabilities will also be extended to older versions of the device, though how exactly that would be achieved is unclear.
We've long suspected that Apple TV would become Apple's gateway to living room gaming — check out our piece from 2010 — and this week's rumors certainly seem within the realm of plausibility. But per usual, we're taking it with a big grain of salt.

 

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