At long last, the new Apple TV will allow users to download apps from a dedicated App Store and—yes—games! But the Apple TV’s sleek new Siri Remote has the Wiimote problem: it can smash your TV.
So what do you do if you’re afraid of accidentally flinging the Siri Remote into your big screen TV when playing games like Beat Sports, which requires you to swing the remote? Get Apple’s Remote Loop which, somewhat unbelievably, isn’t bundled with the new set-top box—it’s an accessory sold separately.
“In case the action gets too exciting (and it will), there’s a Remote Loop, sold separately, to keep your remote tethered during gameplay,” reads the official Apple TV webpage.
The wrist strap connects into the Siri Remote’s Lightning connector.
It’s also one way to keep the Siri Remote out of the couch for sure.
The company has yet to list the price of the Remote Loop on its webstore. Given the company’s overpriced Lightning cables and such, I’d willing to bet that it’s going to cost at least $10 or $20 a pop.
Be that as it may, I’m not sure Apple’s made a smart choice here.
I mean, just ask Nintendo.
A few years back, the Japanese gaming giant ran into quite a PR crisis as angered players would post YouTube videos showing them accidentally throwing their Wii Remote in the middle of the action, smashing their precious HDTV sets..
Nintendo responded by bundling a safety strap with the Wii Remote and event sent them free of charge to those who had already purchased the console.
Apple should have learned from Nintendo’s example and just bundled the Remote Loop, which is compatible only with the Siri Remote anyway, with the Apple TV but they didn’t.
Or maybe Apple’s realized that owners of the new Apple TV are going to have the exact same problem so they purposefully decided not to bundle the Remote Loop with the set-top box in order to profit from your fear of smashing your expensive TV set?
Time will tell if this inexplicable decision will backfire.
Source: Apple