Apple confirms you’ll be able to play games and other apps on new Apple TV

SAN FRANCISCO — Apple chief executive Tim Cook confirmed that the fourth-generation box will be the first Apple living room device that uses apps to actively competes with video game consoles thanks to new hardware, software, and peripherals all targeted at gamers.

Confirming previous rumors, the new Apple TV will have an app store with games that are playable on your TV. Clearly, Apple intends to build upon the disruption of the handheld console market (think Nintendo’s line of DS and 3DS systems) that began with its App Store, iPhone, and iPad products. Now it’s clear that it aims to disrupt the consoles with lower-priced (but also less capable) hardware and apps that are far cheaper than $60 console games.

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Dean Takahashi

Dean Takahashi is editorial director for GamesBeat. He has been a tech journalist since 1988, and he has covered games as a beat since 1996. He was lead writer for GamesBeat at VentureBeat from 2008 to April 2025. Prior to that, he wrote for the San Jose Mercury News, the Red Herring, the Wall Street Journal, the Los Angeles Times, and the Dallas Times-Herald. He is the author of two books, "Opening the Xbox" and "The Xbox 360 Uncloaked." He organizes the annual GamesBeat Next, GamesBeat Summit and GamesBeat Insider Series: Hollywood and Games conferences and is a frequent speaker at gaming and tech events. He lives in the San Francisco Bay Area.