Apple TV is transforming into a casual game console and Apple has picked Sayonara Wild Hearts as the best game on Arcade while Wonder Boy: The Dragon’s Trap was picked as Apple TV game of the year.

Apple TV Game of the year
Apple is trying to establish Apple TV as a platform for streaming and gaming. Most recently, it introduced tvOS 13 with support for PlayStation and Xbox controllers and launched its Arcade game service, which is available for Apple TV, Mac, iPad, and iPhone.

Every year, the company picks the best apps and games in its app store. It is a type of tribute to its own and partners' succes. This year's best Apple TV game is, according to Apple, Wonder Boy: The Dragon’s Trap. It has also picked Sayonara Wild Hearts as the best game on Arcade.

FlatpanelsHD has yet to try Wonder Boy: The Dragon’s Trap but we have spent many hours playing Sayonara Wild Hearts and we agree that it is the best game on Arcade. It is a beautiful, musical, and almost psychedelic journey into the mind of a young woman. It should be enjoyed on the big screen with good picture and audio.



Apple TV as a game console
Sayonara Wild Hearts might as well have been released for a classic game console. And it is. Besides Arcade, it is also available for PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch.

It also highlights how mobile technology (ARM) is now mature enough to form the foundation under a new wave of game consoles for the living room - although still with obvious limitations.

 Also read: Apple Arcade now open with 100 games for $5/month

Apple TV 4K was launched more than two years ago and the next hardware upgrade should match - or surpass - Xbox One S and PlayStation 4 in terms of graphics performance, despite its far lower power consumption. Will this help establish Apple TV as a true game console? Time will tell.

It is also worth highlighting Sky: Children of the Light, which was picked as the iPhone game of the year. The game was developed by the studio behind Journey, which in its time was a very successful release on PlayStation. Sky: Children of the Light will be released for Apple TV later.

Apple - Best of 2019
- iPhone Game of the Year: “Sky: Children of the Light” (thatgamecompany)
- iPad Game of the Year: “Hyper Light Drifter” (Abylight S.L.)
- Mac Game of the Year: “GRIS” (Devolver / Nomada Studio)
- Apple TV Game of the Year: “Wonder Boy: The Dragon’s Trap” (DotEmu)
- Apple Arcade Game of the Year: “Sayonara Wild Hearts” (Simogo)