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It seems that Apple TV isn’t proving as fruitful for developers as some may have hoped.
Launched at the end of October, the latest iteration of Apple’s TV media box put a greater focus on its gaming capabilities.
For the first time, the App Store was available on the platform, with a redesigned remote including a touch pad and various third-party controllers released not soon after.
Apple’s website itself talked up the device as a potential follow-up to the explosive success of iOS games, claiming: “Games and apps on TV. It’s gonna be huge.”
Some developers also saw promise in the box.
“It feels like set top boxes and smart TVs could be the natural successor to the traditional games console, side-stepping games into people’s entertainment diet and blurring the lines between linear and interactive media,” Her Story creator Sam Barlow told Develop at the time.
“Apple TV could be an important step towards this.”
However, there were also reservations.
“What remains to be seen is whether this new product will see Apple giving games an equal emphasis alongside movies and music,” Barlow continued.
“A few details, such as the restriction on download size, suggest we’re not quite there yet.”
These worries may have been well-founded, according to anonymous development sources speaking to Touch Arcade editor Eli Hodapp.
According to the sources, ‘successful’ apps on Apple TV have been generating less than $100 (£67) a day at their peak.
It’s a worrying sign mere weeks after the machine’s launch, and a stark contrast to the ever-growing power of the iPhone and iPad App Store.
Have you launched a game on Apple TV? Tell us your experience at mjarvis@nbmedia.com.
