Why high-end game consoles have little to fear from the new Apple TV

When Microsoft first introduced the Xbox One in May of 2013, it focused on the $499 box's non-gaming functions, such as TV streaming, Skype phone calls, and the voice-activated Kinect. The audience of gamers was largely confused—a video mocking that "TV and sports"-focused event is now approaching 8 million views on YouTube. By the time Microsoft got around to really talking about games at E3 months later, it was too mired in controversy surrounding the online check-ins and DRM on the system for many people to notice.

In introducing the new Apple TV, Apple also focused on non-gaming functions first, such as TV streaming, Apple Music, and a voice-activated Siri search. The ability to play games was a secondary concern, given only a modicum of stage time after a thrilling demonstration of searching for Sean Connery's James Bond movies using only your voice.

What was disastrous for Microsoft's rollout may actually be appropriate for Apple's. The $150 Apple TV doesn't seem to be positioning itself as a direct competitor to the more expensive and more powerful gaming consoles from Sony and Microsoft (or even the likes of the Nvidia Shield). Instead, Apple is positioning the device as a more powerful, more expensive alternative to popular media-streaming devices like Chromecast, Roku, and Amazon Fire TV—a competitor that just happens to have the ability to play some cool games on the side.