Apple's Conquest Continues With Apple TV Gaming? Cupertino Going After Xbox And PS3?

Apple seems to be taking over everything these days — they’ve done a remarkable job so far — however, there is one major lacking from their lineup: console games. There is a great opportunity for media delivery by way of the TV, and Apple certainly knows this. PS3, Xbox, streaming boxes and even Google TV have been making moves in this area for awhile; if Apple wants to make long-term success of the iTunes Stores, they need people buying into Apple TV. The gaming consoles have had a 1-up on the Apple TV for a while, just by offering games. Now, it appears that there are traces of gaming on Apple TV in the latest release of the iOS 4.3 beta. Could Apple be coming out with a gaming system and controller?

There are several references pointing to “ATVGames” and “ATVThunder” in the latest release that point to leaderboards like Game Center, ways to interact over multiplayer, a store front and a controller of some kind. The new controller could be just an iPhone or an entirely new piece of hardware. The Apple TV has a small amount of storage capacity, so if a game system were to become of it, it may end up streaming the games like OnLive. It’s possible that the Apple TV could process the streaming data locally with OpenGL.

If Apple were to add gaming to the Apple TV, would it be done well like the rest of Apple’s portfolio, or is still just a hobby?

[via engadget]