iOS Game Pad?

Killian Bell on the rumour that Apple is developing a physical controller for iOS:

iOS devices are terrific for mobile gaming, but they could be even better. They’re already stealing market share from portable consoles from the likes of Nintendo or Sony, who saw their share of software sales slip from 70% to 36% and 11% to 6% respectively between 2009 and 2011. But there’s only so far they can go without physical controls.

I can't see it happening. Honestly. However,  what I could see is Apple developing a bluetooth controller for Apple TV that allows iOS game to be played on your 1080p HD screen. On the flip-side, perhaps Apple has plans to bake in new APIs for hardware developers to create physical controllers. So they've built one for testing purposes.