New Apple TV controller takes gaming to a new level

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Real gaming needs real controllers, right?
Real gaming needs real controllers, right?
Photo: SteelSeries

Most games you’ll get on the new Apple TV will likely take advantage of the new Apple TV remote, with its accelerometer, gyroscope, voice, and touch controls.

But if you want to play more hardcore games, you’ll want a more hardcore controller like this new SteelSeries Nimbus, a full-on gaming controller that looks and feels a lot more like the kind of controller you’d hook up to your living room console.

“This is a truly unique product – it’s the first of its kind with the Apple home button and lightning connector – features that simply do not exist on products that are not solely created by Apple,” said Ehtisham Rabbani, SteelSeries CEO, in a press release. “We believe in the new ecosystem and in bringing a new generation of family gaming to the living room.”

Xbox One buttons, PlayStation 4 thumb-stick placement, oh my.
Xbox One buttons, PlayStation 4 thumb-stick placement, oh my.
Photo: SteelSeries

The Nimbus wireless gamepad controller looks like a cross between an Xbox-style controller, with the X, Y, A, & B buttons to the right, and a PlayStation-style one, with the analog sticks aligned near the bottom of the controller. It’s got a 40+-hour battery life, a lightning connector to charge it, a menu button to let you manage Apple TV without putting the Nimbus down, and pressure sensitive buttons for precise control in all your Apple TV gaming sessions.

The SteelSeries Nimbus Gaming Controller will be available through Apple retail online and in retail stores globally at the same time the new game-friendly Apple TV is released sometime in late October. It will run you a cool $49.95, but if it’s as solid as previous SteelSeries iOS controllers, it will be worth every penny.

So pretty.
So pretty.
Photo: SteelSeries

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