Apple has Wii-like Apple TV controller under development

A patent filed in 2006 and published this week indicates that Apple is developing a game controller that would allow for control much like Nintendo's popular console.

The controller will be able to detect which way it is being turned on the first and second orthogonal axes -- in other words, left and right, and up and down respectively -- and the position in the third orthogonal axis -- which is "in" and "out" from the screen.

In the filing Apple mentions that the processing is done within a console, which may suggest the company was referring to the Apple TV (this was a full year before its release).

"[The] console also can have one or more connectors to which accessories can be coupled. Accessories can include cables and/or, game cartridges, portable memory devices, adapters for interfacing with another electronic device, or combinations thereof," the filing states.

Apple makes at least one explicit mention to video games within the filing, although it does also imply the remote control could be used as a mouse of sorts to navigation through a user interface.

Clues as to whether it could be referring to the Apple TV also come in the fact that this technology could be used by the console to zoom in and out of a still image using the third axis, and photo capabilities are a key feature of the device.

Gaming is only something that Apple has recently put a lot of effort into. As part of its iPhone SDK announcement, the company showed off several games from top developers including EA.

Some analysts figured it was only a matter of time before the Apple TV gained such capabilities. In fact, hackers discovered references to gaming on the device last year within iTunes' source code.

News of the filing was first reported by AppleInsider on Friday.