Monday, March 25th 2019

Apple Introduces Apple Arcade

Apple today announced Apple Arcade, a game subscription service that will feature over 100 new and exclusive games, including original releases from renowned creators Hironobu Sakaguchi, Ken Wong, Will Wright and dozens more. Apple Arcade games will redefine games and be curated based on originality, quality, creativity, fun and their appeal to players of all ages. Apple Arcade will give customers the freedom to try any game from its handpicked collection of titles that are all-you-can-play, have no ads, ad tracking or additional purchases, and respect user privacy.

The App Store is the world's most successful and vibrant gaming platform with nearly 300,000 free and paid games. Free games, supported by advertising or in-app purchases, are enjoyed by hundreds of millions of players around the world. Paid games are often critically acclaimed and beloved by the people who play them, but competing with free is hard, so even the best of these games have only reached a smaller audience. With the simplicity of a single subscription, Apple Arcade will bring games like these to the App Store's more than 1 billion gaming customers. Apple Arcade is the perfect complement to the already enormously popular catalog of free games on the App Store, making iOS the premier gaming platform for players of all ages.
Apple is not just handpicking the games in Apple Arcade, but also contributing to the development costs and working closely with creators to bring the games to life. Made by some of the most critically acclaimed game developers in the world, Apple Arcade games will entertain customers with incredibly fun gameplay and immersive stories, while capturing imaginations with original art and music. The service will feature games from Annapurna Interactive, Bossa Studios, Cartoon Network, Finji, Giant Squid, Klei Entertainment, Konami, LEGO, Mistwalker Corporation, SEGA, Snowman, ustwo games and dozens more.

"The App Store is the world's biggest and most successful game platform. Now we are going to take games even further with Apple Arcade, the first game subscription service for mobile, desktop and the living room," said Phil Schiller, Apple's senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing. "We are working with some of the most innovative game developers in the world to create over 100 new and exclusive games to play across iPhone, iPad, Mac and Apple TV. Apple Arcade games will be great for families, respect user privacy and will not have ads or require any additional purchases. We think players of all ages are going to love Apple Arcade."

Apple Arcade will introduce an innovative way to access a collection of brand new games that will not be available on any other mobile platform or in any other subscription service. Rather than pay up front for each game, a subscription to Apple Arcade will give players the opportunity to try any game in the service without risk. Since every game includes access to the full experience, including all game features, content and future updates, no additional purchases will be required. Every game will be playable offline, and many games will offer support for game controllers. Because subscribers can play Apple Arcade games across iPhone , iPad , Mac and Apple TV , they can pick up where they left off in a game, even if they switch devices. New games will be added to the service on a regular basis.

Apple Arcade will launch in fall 2019 in more than 150 countries from a new tab on the App Store across iOS, macOS and tvOS . Developers interested in being considered for Apple Arcade should visit this page.

With the App Store, Apple ignited a worldwide app phenomenon that has revolutionized the way people work, connect, learn and play. The App Store drives the app economy and has earned $120 billion for developers worldwide. Today, the App Store is the world's safest and most vibrant app marketplace, with over half a billion people visiting each week. Privacy, security, quality and curation are fundamental to the App Store. Every app must meet and maintain Apple's strict guidelines to launch and remain on the App Store. For enhanced discoverability, experts create rich editorial content and curated collections of the best apps every day. The App Store is the single best place to explore the world of apps, and is available on iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch , Apple TV and iMessage .

Apple revolutionized personal technology with the introduction of the Macintosh in 1984. Today, Apple leads the world in innovation with iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch and Apple TV. Apple's four software platforms - iOS, macOS, watchOS and tvOS - provide seamless experiences across all Apple devices and empower people with breakthrough services including the App Store, Apple Music, Apple Pay and iCloud. Apple's more than 100,000 employees are dedicated to making the best products on earth, and to leaving the world better than we found it.
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21 Comments on Apple Introduces Apple Arcade

#1
Crackong
Could this be their way to fight Google Stadia?
But seriously ,Mac platform really benefits from Google Stadia..... Mac users can play Windows game on Mac, Wonderful.
Posted on Reply
#3
notb
kastriotLol what a joke.
Why?
It looks all right. Probably a lot of exclusive simple games, but some mainstream as well (I've seen Sonic Racing, for example).
Posted on Reply
#4
silentbogo
What's funny, is a couple of days ago I was watching one of the recent episodes of TechAltar, which was about Apple's move from hardware to services, and he mentioned Gaming services as well.
It was just a wild theory at the time, but ended up being on point.
All we have left, is to wait for Apple entertainment/family bundles to be announced to complete the circle.
Posted on Reply
#5
BakerMan1971
It seems this is just promoting some mobile games, yes they are getting more involved rather than just click games but this doesn't seem to be a proper gaming setup.
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#6
R0H1T
Yet another evidence that Macs will move to Axx in the future. This is also one in a long list of "services" Apple will offer to its user-base, probably alongside subscription based apps for Mac OS in the pipeline?
Posted on Reply
#8
notb
BakerMan1971It seems this is just promoting some mobile games, yes they are getting more involved rather than just click games but this doesn't seem to be a proper gaming setup.
Define "proper gaming". :)
This kind of arcade or logical games is "gaming" for most people.

And no offense, but it's not like arena FPS (e.g. Quake) are more elaborate than Sudoku or Chess. :)
Posted on Reply
#9
Unregistered
Have to say, this is a more creative way to bring out a game store than just recycling & reselling games already available.
#10
notb
yakkHave to say, this is a more creative way to bring out a game store than just recycling & reselling games already available.
Exactly. And games being somehow "produced" by Apple means they should be free from "indie" problems...
Apple will be very picky, as usual.
Posted on Reply
#11
Unregistered
notbExactly. And games being somehow "produced" by Apple means they should be free from "indie" problems...
Apple will be very picky, as usual.
One thing Apple requires is a LOT of polishing on anything related to them, no Greenlight stuff here I'd wager.

Of course no such thing as a free lunch, so these developers probably had to sign their life away to get access to those funds.
#12
TheGuruStud
What are they gonna play it on? 2 ghz dual cores and super slow igpu? Is it all point and click and board games? lololololol

I'd be surprised if anything decent ported over even runs.
Posted on Reply
#13
SLA1N
Late to the party....
Posted on Reply
#14
Unregistered
If Nintendo can make a game console with a low powered ARM processor in the Switch, why not Apple with much, much better processors and plenty of money to develop new IPs?
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#15
TheGuruStud
yakkIf Nintendo can make a game console with a low powered ARM processor in the Switch, why not Apple with much, much better processors and plenty of money to develop new IPs?
Too much R&D. Milking is the only biz model they know. In the very near future all of their devices will be unrepairable due to supply chain nooses and assembly (glue everything so much it breaks when you try pulling it apart).
Posted on Reply
#16
Unregistered
TheGuruStudToo much R&D. Milking is the only biz model they know. In the very near future all of their devices will be unrepairable due to supply chain nooses and assembly (glue everything so much it breaks when you try pulling it apart).
That is something Apple users know & willingly accept, but is also outside the scope of their game service.
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#17
silentbogo
yakkIf Nintendo can make a game console with a low powered ARM processor in the Switch, why not Apple with much, much better processors and plenty of money to develop new IPs?
'cause that custom Tegra X1 has a relatively beefy GPU (256CU Maxwell) with all the necessary features, like DX12, OpenGL, Vulkan, CUDA, OpenCL.
Also it's Nintendo. They have the IP, they have quality control, they have ecosystem control etc.
If Apple wants to compete, the first thing they have to do, is to clean it up. Go back to restrictive system where each app had to be validated by hand, so that crapware doesn't slip through, and there will be no 200 gazzillion variations of Sudoku and Serial terminal.
Posted on Reply
#18
Unregistered
silentbogo'cause that custom Tegra X1 has a relatively beefy GPU (256CU Maxwell) with all the necessary features, like DX12, OpenGL, Vulkan, CUDA, OpenCL.
Also it's Nintendo. They have the IP, they have quality control, they have ecosystem control etc.
If Apple wants to compete, the first thing they have to do, is to clean it up. Go back to restrictive system where each app had to be validated by hand, so that crapware doesn't slip through, and there will be no 200 gazzillion variations of Sudoku and Serial terminal.
Apple has Metal (Vulkan) which looks like they are integrating to run on both their ARM & x86 CPUs transparently, beefy enough GPUs for their target market, and looks like their Arcade service will strictly review approved developers and games as they stated 150 original games, not dozens of variations.

So I guess they are well on track, now to see if they can build a lucrative gaming market for themselves in addition to their app store crash cow.
Posted on Edit | Reply
#19
BakerMan1971
notbDefine "proper gaming". :)
This kind of arcade or logical games is "gaming" for most people.

And no offense, but it's not like arena FPS (e.g. Quake) are more elaborate than Sudoku or Chess. :)
I get you, not like you can't play fortnite and pubg on mobile already, it's just not embracing gaming outside of the mobile platform, i.e. the nice big Macs could have much better game support and cross platform play but we probably won't see that. I am personally into the social side of gaming hence multiplayer games get me, I am thrilled with cross platform teaming up in Rocket League, we need more of this. I don't see this Apple platform offering anything more than is already available on the App or Play store.
Posted on Reply
#20
notb
TheGuruStudToo much R&D. Milking is the only biz model they know.
They're actually quite good at making products that many customers like. That's how you "milk".
In the very near future all of their devices will be unrepairable due to supply chain nooses and assembly (glue everything so much it breaks when you try pulling it apart).
Products are meant to be friendly for the customer, not for the servicemen. This is a fundamental designing idea.
SLA1NLate to the party....
Actually, I don't think there's much competition in this market.

Apple is making a subscription-based platform for casual gaming. You'll be able to try many games for a fixed fee instead of paying few $ for each one.
It'll likely provide a "you may also like" mechanism like Youtube or Netflix.

This could also be a revolution for developers, although we don't have the financial details yet.
Posted on Reply
#21
MatGrow
They try to get back apple users like this. interesting step!
Posted on Reply
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