‘Beat Sports’, ‘Guitar Hero’, ‘Skylanders’, More All Revealed For New Apple TV!

Briefly: Apple announced a new, App-focussed Apple TV earlier today, and while every Apple event always garners an unsurmountable level of hate (wake up sheeple), I’m damned excited for the thing.

First, it looks like an inexpensive and phenomenal way to get content to your TV. I’m not a cable subscriber, and as an everyday user (and fan) of the 3rd-generation Apple TV, it has been far and away the best device for getting content to my television, be it Netflix, iTunes rentals, photos, YouTube, or countless other services.

This new Apple TV does all that too, and by the looks of it, it does it even better.

But there’s something I’m looking forward to even more than that, and that’s apps and gaming. Sure, I own multiple consoles and handhelds, but there are no devices on the market that bring more approachable gaming to the masses than Apple’s. I had never seen anyone’s grandmother play a video game of any sort until the iPad, and that’s a trend that I think will continue with this new Apple TV.

No, Apple didn’t make a gaming console, and no, they’re not targeting Sony, Microsoft, or Nintendo. This is going to be a gaming device for people who are not gamers, and Apple and developers are going to make a killing off of it.

Oh, and it’s going to get full featured games too.

Following Apple’s ‘Hey Siri’ event this morning, Activision revealed that Guitar Hero, Skylanders, and Geometry Wars are headed to the new Apple TV.

Skylanders: Superchargers is a full port of the console game, and “The Skylanders SuperChargers Starter Pack for Apple TV, iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch will include everything fans with those devices need to play, including a Bluetooth-enabled portal, an embedded Bluetooth controller, and even a built-in stand. What’s more, if you have multiple Apple devices, your progress can be seamlessly synced across Apple TV, iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch with cloud save support under the same Game Center account.”

That sounds freaking awesome. You can play on your TV, and then actually take the same game on the go with you, it kind of sounds like what Sony wanted to do with the Playstation Vita, except it will actually work.

Here’s what the company had to say about Guitar Hero Live:

Guitar Hero Live is also coming to a wide array of devices, including consoles, mobile devices and Apple TV. Guitar Hero Live’s GH Live mode brings you closer to the live stage experience with live-action, first-person gameplay with crowds and bands that react dynamically to how you play. There’s also GHTV, the world’s first playable music video network, which lets you play along with a continually updated collection of official music videos spanning a variety of genres. Guitar Hero Live for Apple TV, iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch devices will come with the redesigned six-button guitar controller, which connects through Bluetooth so it be used across all supported Apple devices.

“We jumped at the opportunity to bring back Guitar Hero in a cool new way with Guitar Hero Live and have been energized by the response from fans who have had a chance to play it so far,” said Jamie Jackson, co-studio head and creative director at FreeStyleGames. “We can’t wait for the game to launch next month and think people are going to get a kick out of living their rock star fantasy on consoles, mobile devices and Apple TV this fall. It’s going to be rad!”

Geometry Wars 3: Retro Evolved is also headed to the Apple TV this Fall.

Rock Band creator Harmonix has also developed an entirely new IP for the Apple TV called Beat Sports, which looks like a mixture of Wii Sports and an extremely approachable rhythm title. The title offers “a collection of music-infused mini-games based loosely on familiar sports like tennis, volleyball, and golf. Designed and developed exclusively for the new Apple TV, Beat Sports is controlled using the brand-new remote.”

It looks simple, and it looks like a blast.

Another thing that I’m excited about? App store games are generally far more affordable than their console counterparts, and with my ailing exchange rate, I need to save all the money that I can. Also, my current Apple TV turns on way, way faster than my PS4 does, so if I have just a few minutes to jump into a game, guess which controller I’m more likely to grab?

Bring on the hate.