"Console-Quality" Disney Infinity 3.0 Comes to Apple TV

Announced in September, Disney Infinity 3.0's new Apple TV version has arrived, boasting a "console-quality" experience with graphics somewhere between Xbox 360 and PS4, according to its producer.

The game is available now through a starter pack that costs $100 and comes with Anakin Skywalker and Ahsoka Tano figures, as well as a new Nimbus controller that was built by SteelSeries. It also comes with a Bluetooth-powered based with a black finish, as opposed to the white finish of the console edition.

Here's everything included with the $100 offering, which you can buy at Apple stores across the US:

• Star Wars: Twilight of the Republic Play Set piece
• Anakin Skywalker and Ahsoka Tano figures
• A Bluetooth enabled Disney Infinity base
• Web code card for mobile and PC devices
• SteelSeries Nimbus Wireless Controller

The Battle of Yavin from Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope is also playable in the game, while additional Disney 3.0 play sets, figures, and power discs are compatible with the new Apple TV edition. In addition, every figure and power disc from Disney Infinity 1.0 and 2.0 is also compatible with the new version.

Disney Infinity 3.0 for Apple TV is described as the "complete Disney Infinity 3.0 experience." It's being aimed specifically at people who don't already have a console in their home.

"We're really excited to be bringing the full Disney Infinity 3.0 experience to Apple TV," producer Sean Patton told GameSpot. "I cannot stress enough how much of a full experience it is. Even people here in our office are constantly amazed as we go through our presentations. They ask, 'Well, what about this?' 'What about this?' I'm like, 'Can you do it on console?' Than that's what we're doing. If you're familiar with the console product, this is the full console product on Apple TV."

Why work with Apple TV?

"It was a great opportunity for us to expand that product to many families that don't have consoles in the house just yet and maybe are more media-centric and the opportunity for them to get involved and introduced to Disney Infinity," Patton said.

He added that the Apple Metal developer framework simplified processes like using console assets on the Apple TV version of Disney Infinity 3.0.

"We can actually use our console assets directly into our pipeline," he said. "So we're actually using a variation of Xbox 360 and PS4 assets throughout the game, as well as thousands of shaders from PS4. It fits really nicely into that same pipeline."

The Apple TV has limited storage space, which some developers have expressed concerns about. But Disney Infinity 3.0 has a solution. "Because of the limited storage space on Apple TV, we save all of your progress in the cloud with your Disney ID account," Patton explained.

"The platform itself is actually really powerful" -- Patton, on Apple TV

This also allows you to carry your progress with you, regardless of what platfom you're playing on. Cross-platform functionality like cloud saves and Toy Box content works across all versions of the game.

"The way we look at is they're all ways to be involved in the product," he said. "And there's a certain convergence there. As a user, it becomes ubiquitous how I access my content. We, with Disney Infinity, always want to be there for the players. And to be on every platform that they want to play on. And then it's up to us to blend that as seamlessly as we possibly can so their experience is fluid across all the different platforms and all their different play patters."

Patton also stressed that Apple TV hardware, though it may not stack up against the PS4 or Xbox One, is no slouch, either, when it comes to straight performance.

"The platform itself is actually really powerful," he said. "It's always a gentle balance for us between how great can we push the visuals vs. how is the performance. So for us, our goal is always to have 30 frames-per-second performance. And all the amazing visuals. So we look at opportunities to bring things to the visual quality we want, starting with PS4, and then look at the performance and kind of dial it back. So it's somewhere between Xbox 360 and PS4 currently."

You may not even be able to tell difference between Disney Infinity 3.0 on Apple TV versus console. Patton recalls a meeting where someone said to him, "OK, so now we've seen the console, switch over to the Apple TV, we want to see what the differences are.'" And I'm like, 'No this is the Apple TV.'"

Finally, Patton says it was decided--after "very heated meetings"--to include Anakin Skywalker and Ahsoka Tano figures in the new Disney Infinity 3.0 set because they are popular with children who might know the characters from the animated TV shows and features.

Disney Infinity 3.0 launched at the end of August for consoles and mobile devices. For more, check out GameSpot's review.