Apple TV's new remote has a touch pad, motion controls, and a few buttons, all of which will help it double as a video game controller. The remote's design — a thin candy bar of plastic that can be used both vertically and horizontally — should be identifiable to anyone who has used Nintendo's Wii. The Apple TV Remote Loop in particular looks identical to the Wii Bracelet, both harnesses wrapping around the wrist of their respective hand model. According to Apple's press materials, though, the Remote Loop isn't part of the remote. It's an accessory sold separately.

I grok the argument to be made that paying for the Remote Loop is no different than paying for a phone case. Or maybe that the Remote Loop, which doesn't have a listed price, will be so cheap that it doesn't matter. Then I remember how far out of the way Nintendo went to get Wii Bracelets and controller covers into the hands of everyone who used the system. People who bought Wiimotes before the covers existed could request one for free by mail. And the Bracelet, it was just part of the controller.

Today's presentation showed Apple wants to recapture everything that made the Wii the Wii, and apparently that includes a handful of people throwing controllers through their TVs.

Verge Video:Hands-on with the Apple TV