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Apple Arcade Games Reportedly Permitted on Xbox, PlayStation, and Nintendo Switch After Brief Exclusivity

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Apple is spending hundreds of millions of dollars to secure new games for its forthcoming Apple Arcade subscription service, with its total budget likely to exceed $500 million, according to the Financial Times.

apple-arcade-devices-800x467.jpg

The report, citing several people involved in the project's development, claims Apple is incentivizing developers by spending several million dollars each on most of the more than 100 games that have been selected to be available on Apple Arcade when the service launches later this year.

While the report claims games on Apple Arcade will not be available on Android or through other subscription-based gaming services, it says developers will be permitted to release their games on PCs or other games consoles such as the Nintendo Switch or PlayStation after a few months of exclusivity.

Apple Arcade will feature titles from well-known brands such as Disney, Sega, Lego, Cartoon Network, and Konami, as well as indie studios such as Snowman, Annapurna Interactive, WayForward, and Klei Entertainment.


Apple has yet to reveal pricing for its Arcade service, slated to launch in fall 2019 in more than 150 countries across the iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple TV. All games on Apple Arcade will be fully-featured, all-you-can-play experiences, with no ads and no in-app purchases necessary.

Apple Arcade will be accessible via a dedicated tab in the App Store.

Article Link: Apple Arcade Games Reportedly Permitted on Xbox, PlayStation, and Nintendo Switch After Brief Exclusivity
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2019/04/15/apple-arcade-500m-plus-budget-report/
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MacRumors said:
While the report claims games on Apple Arcade will not be available on Android or through other subscription-based gaming services, it says developers will be permitted to release their games on PCs or other games consoles such as the Nintendo Switch or PlayStation after a few months of exclusivity.
Click to expand...

Keeping the games off Android sounds like a bad idea. That means popular multi platform games likely won't show up in Apple Arcade.

Can you imagine if Rovio had to choose between having Angry Birds on everything, or just putting it in Apple Arcade?

It's nice to see that they're not trying to force developers to abandon real consoles. But they shouldn't try to keep the games off Android. The marketing should be "Play games on Apple Arcade because it's better (no ads, no in-app purchases)." Not "Play games on Apple Arcade because we won't let developers publish games on Android."
 
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Knew this already, some of these games were announced for console a while ago. I think it was pretty much a blatant lie or maybe you could say truth bending that apple loves to do at these keynotes to make them sound good. Stuff like safari is the most used browser on ios, uh-duh, lines like this bother me and make it hard to watch. It's also possible apple just has no clue when it comes to the gaming space, and did not know they should have said timed exclusive.
 
tann said:
Speaking as a consumer this platform exclusivity is sad.
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As long as it’s only for a certain time period, that’s okay. I mean, Apple is spending hundreds of millions of dollars, so we can actually be happy that the games might be available on other platforms other than apple’s own.
 
tann said:
Speaking as a consumer this platform exclusivity is sad.
Click to expand...

Speaking as consumer, I understand sometimes this is the case as a result of free market dynamics.


While the report claims games on Apple Arcade will not be available on Android or through other subscription-based gaming services

IMO the title of the post buried the lede.

Mine:

Apple Arcade Games Reportedly exclusive on mobile. (No Android versions) Other platforms still allowed.
 
Issue #1: This is a nightmare scenario for better hardware on the Mac. If you can run the same game across computers, Apple TV and a mobile phone. Where is the incentive to put good graphics hardware in a Mac? Short answer, there isn't.

But still expect to pay a premium for those computers with integrated intel graphics, or what ever custom mobile GPU Apple ships later down the track.

This emphasis on garbage hardware (well built garbage, but garbage none the less) has always been a sore point for gamers with Apple. But now that they are making games for the lowest spec available, this is only going to solidify further in gamers eyes that macs are under powered garbage. Which brings me to.....

Issue #2: Apple doesn't understand gamers. Steam is amazing because it supports indie developers with early access and green lighting games. Apple just hopes the words "indie developers" rubs off on them. Like "The Rock" in a Siri advert, or "Oprah" in a documentary. There is currently a revolt against established game publishers at the moment due to IAP and loot boxes. I understand Apple is making this subscription service to try and combat that, because let's face it, iOS gaming died years ago because of this. But you cant invite the fox (established publishers) into the hen house and expect everybody to behave. So why do you think this exclusivity thing will stand with these vested interests? Exclusivity is not the problem in gaming like it used to be. There are other sicknesses within the gaming industry. Showing once again, Apple doesn't understand games.
 
Madmic23 said:
Keeping the games off Android sounds like a bad idea. That means popular multi platform games likely won't show up in Apple Arcade.

Can you imagine if Rovio had to choose between having Angry Birds on everything, or just putting it in Apple Arcade?

It's nice to see that they're not trying to force developers to abandon real consoles. But they shouldn't try to keep the games off Android. The marketing should be "Play games on Apple Arcade because it's better (no ads, no in-app purchases)." Not "Play games on Apple Arcade because we won't let developers publish games on Android."
Click to expand...
Pretty sure the marketing will be the former whether the games are published on Android or not.
 
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I wonder how much money a AAA mobile title typically makes on iOS vs Android? Maybe a games publisher would be ok with giving up profits on Android in exchange for prominent placement in the iOS universe. Or maybe some of these games were not originally slated to come to mobile in the first place but rather to the Switch and other consoles? In that case getting onto iOS, especially if Apple is footing the bill to migrate it, would just be icing on the cake or at least ensure them some early success before moving on to other platforms.
 
This is kinda as expected. The way this is worded does leave the possibility of these games being released for Stadia open as well, which would mean they'd be available on Android... technically. :D
 
It seems Apple could either A) try to get people to buy Apple hardware just for access to Apple Arcade or B) put Apple Arcade on Android and get subscriptions from Android users as well as Apple users. Interesting strategy. I would have thought after putting Apple Music on Android, they would be open to more services being cross-platform.
 
The only thing in that video that remotely interests me is that Fantasian game, and even then, it looks like a typical mobile game. lol, this is such a mess, wth is Apple thinking? Can't wait to see it fail (sorry!) hahaha Sinking so much money into this... man, they are really desperate for those subscription dollass.. But they seem so out of touch and corporate... Nobody wants to pay a $9.99 a month for mobile games, or even $5.... It's like they are plunging into the swimming pool without even knowing how to swim. :rolleyes:

This is the next Ping. And MORE bloat for their devices/software, because we ALL want that amirite??
 
Madmic23 said:
Keeping the games off Android sounds like a bad idea. That means popular multi platform games likely won't show up in Apple Arcade.

Can you imagine if Rovio had to choose between having Angry Birds on everything, or just putting it in Apple Arcade?
Click to expand...

I think you're completely misreading this. Apple is giving developers a big gob of cash to build games for iOS/macOS, and in return is asking for platform exclusivity in the short term, and no android in the long term. The choice is not Apple, or everything; the choice is free money, or fund this ourselves. Your Rovio dilemma is thus false, since Rovio already made the choice to fund themselves.

This is hardly new. MS and Sony do this all the time, but usually their exclusivity deals don't expire after a few months.
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MEJHarrison said:
It seems Apple could either A) try to get people to buy Apple hardware just for access to Apple Arcade or B) put Apple Arcade on Android and get subscriptions from Android users as well as Apple users. Interesting strategy. I would have thought after putting Apple Music on Android, they would be open to more services being cross-platform.
Click to expand...

How are they going to run iOS games on Android hardware?
 
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This is a bit off-topic, but We (as Apple supporters) have been here before.

Apple will make a big fuss about the upcoming Apple Arcade, and even send Devs to help the game companies get ready for the big release.

Many people will subscribe and it will seem cool that we get some exclusive titles, and new titles will trickle into the system for a while – Then the honeymoon period will be over. Apple will send all the staff that made it happen back to the emoji department and Apple Arcade will stagnate. New games will stop being added. Existing games will not get updates. Eventually the media will publicly shame Apple enough that they will announce a reboot. Rinse/Repeat
 
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From what I’ve seen so far the games are going to be meh anyway. But we’ll have to see what the service ends up like, and, how much it costs.....!!

FYI this service will crash and burn, Apple has never mixed with games, it had a go with the Pippin console and the fave up.

Gabe Newell said it was incredibly tough to get Apple to sit around a table and discuss bringing the Steam platform to Mac OS. It’s a miracle it happened at all:

http://archive.videogamesdaily.com/features/gabenewell_valve_iv_sep07_p1.asp
 
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The only exclusivity that matters is PC vs Mac and Android vs iOS. PlayStation, Xbox, and Nitendo consoles are all cheap enough that if games are an important part of your life you can get them all. People are unlikely to buy an extra phone just for games (but maybe some do).

For Apple this shows some seriousness about gaming that is overdo. Spend the money. Compete for real with the consoles. Make your service worth having.
 
AZREOSpecialist said:
You only say that because you use the platform in question. Have some empathy.
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No, I'm pretty sure he was saying it like he said it. No other company is going to do this. Microsoft isn't going to give you a few million bucks to develop a game and then let you publish it for Sony. If the companies want the money and want to be featured in the service and get a cut of the service revenue then they need to play by the rules. Apple is doing this to help produce good content that will hopefully replace the freemium garbage that is running rampant in the App Store. They're doing this to clean up their platform and the mess they created with IAPs all those years ago. I doubt this will really change their revenue much because it will just take away from freemium games where they already get a cut of the revenue. Google is free to produce something similar. Heck, even someone like Valve or similar could build a service like this for Android and I bet they probably will at some point. It's all fair game. Some of these smaller studios wouldn't even be making these games without this funding shot in the arm.
 
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Actually this is the most exciting news I've heard about Arcade so far. I am a serious gamer, with PS4, Switch and about 5 other videogames. The very fact that Apple is supporting Arcade means that (1) there will be less cash-grab games in the app store (with in-app purchases) and (2) real CONSOLE-like quality games will come to iOS. Imagine a game that will be released on Switch (which has less power than the latest iPads and iPhones), the company producing it would much rather have access to Apple's funds (just abiding to their exclusivity for the first few months) AND release it in Nintendo Switch e-shop and PSN at the same time. This is a REAL game-changer!
 
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It's sad, but it happens on every gaming platform. The platform owners invest money in exclusives to help draw people in, and to counteract exclusive games on other platforms. It's actually really generous of Apple to only block Android and not all platforms.
 
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