Apple · maker of iPhone and Mac
Allow only the TV remote for games to push a new way of playing
Games suffered; controllers allowed 3-4 years later, too late for gaming
Failedfeature-development
What they did
Apple TV games were limited to the Apple remote so developers would not require a game controller, echoing the 1984 Mac keyboard shipping without arrow keys to force mouse-driven apps and Vision Pro launching without motion controllers. Controller support came about three or four years later on Apple TV and two years later on Vision Pro (PlayStation VR controllers).
What happened
David says games were bad and by the time controllers were allowed it was clear Apple TV would not be a gaming platform.
- Effort
- Several years of remote-only games on Apple TV
In their words
Sub Club by RevenueCat · The Past, Present, and Future of Building on Apple — John Gruber, Daring Fireball“And games sucked, and I was so pissed at Apple. It took them what, like three or four years to finally enable controller support.”
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