Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Apple Canceling Some Apple Arcade Game Contracts to Focus on Hit Games That Will Draw Subscribers

I think my biggest issue has been it's hard to make games that are great and touch screen only. What the Golf is probably best phone game I have ever played, as it is both bite sized, has a lot of content with wide vari and really nails the control scheme.

But many games just would be so much better if they were controller only, I just as well play something on a 3DS due to the dedicated buttons. Also great games drain the battery on my iPhone 8 like crazy. I think there are some great games on Arcade but I'd never bother to play them on my phone, maybe if there is a new Apple TV with like an A14X I would sit down and play some of those games.

I still think the price is more than fair though when you have a family, I got some gift cards for 20% off during BF so I paid $40 for a year for my GF and I. She gets a little more use out of it since she has an iPad Pro 2018 and iPhone 11 though.
 
I think not having a bundle for their services is a mistake on Apple’s part. Apple TV+, I actually find value in. Apple News+, Apple Music and Apple Arcade, I wouldn’t subscribe to on their own. There are magazines I would read and games I would play on them (and music, evidently... I just don’t buy enough albums/year to justify the subscription), but on their own, they aren’t compelling enough.

Put them all together at a reasonable price, and I’d be interested. It might even push me to buy an iPad, as the Apple News+ experience on iPhone isn’t great imo.

also unrelated, but am I the only one annoyed that the services don’t have all the same nomenclature? They should all have the "+" at the end to signify they are the "add-on" services. Apple Music should be the App, and Apple Music+ the subscription. Not sure how to do it for the arcade, but it should also be Apple Arcade+ (maybe separate the App Store for apps and for games into the App Store, and the Apple Arcade, where you can download games, and then have Apple Arcade+ in there). Not important but it bugs me
 
  • Like
Reactions: User 6502
I am in the minority I suppose, but I have no interest in puzzles, which is what the phone basically is used for gaming wise. The only type of game I’ve played on mobile were city building games, but anything short of a Cities Skylines has turned out to be nothing more than an “idle” game.

I tried Apple Arcade but there’s really outing for me there. I’m okay with that I guess.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Plutonius
rmoliv said:
I think the number of subscribers don’t justify keeping the service on. If someone is into gaming they’ll get a video game console. That said, Apple Arcade is a flop! Next is Apple TV+.
Click to expand...
Apple TV+ just needs to gain some live sports and all of a sudden the amount of people subscribing will skyrocket.
I actually think they are going to do just that, there is a reason why they are so keen on putting Apple TV+ on 3rd party devices. They also recently brought in the guy who was responsible to bringing the Premier League and live Tennis to Amazon Prime.
[automerge]1593550841[/automerge]
GeoStructural said:
Subscriptions and cables. Apple Music is the only competitive one of all Apple Services.
Click to expand...
Apple Pay is classed as a service and I would imagine far out performing Apple Music. The Apple Card is also proving popular in the USA as well.
 
Love Grindstone, love Mini Motorways and a handful of others. Focusing on titles similar to GS is music to my ears.

Also, I don't really understand the hate for Arcade. If it's not for you, move along. Guess that would go against the spirit of online forums though. Certainly MR.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Unregistered 4U
They just need to hire a developer that will make the next A+ RPG that has depth and replayability even with just a single player mode AKA POKEMON LOL
 
shinji said:
Grindstone is actually a great game and a much more involved than a "multi-level match-3 puzzle game" would suggest.

Really, it's the only game I enjoyed on Apple Arcade, and I had tried quite a few before cancelling.
Click to expand...

How is it more involved?
 
  • Like
Reactions: User 6502
I tried and paid for a month also, then even my 7 year old nephew didn't play the titles from Arcade but other games. Apple just doesn't understand gaming community and partner companies also don't put effort on to it. Konami for example has many well known games and can attract many people but they simply added a silly frog jumper game. My fear is that if Tim Cook comes up and says Arcade is the future of "Mac gaming" with arrival of Apple Silicon.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Huck
Now iOS, iPadOS and tvOS support true gaming controllers and the best console like games in Apple Arcade are just Oceanhorn 2 and Shinsekai. Look at that lineup! Shinsekai was very refined and quality game but it was more like the experimental. Capcom did a good job but just did as much as the money they got. And Oceanhorn 2. It has never been a good game from the first one. The movement of characters, battles and everything had to be refined and Apple invested money on that cheesy game and it is still the most ‘console-like so called AAA game’ in Apple Arcade that means lineup itself is already failed.
 
As I've said before, all made to sell, no soul... and yes I know there's some need/desire to sell in probably every video game ever made... but you have to have a balance to really earn people's trust and/or respect.
 
  • Like
Reactions: majkom
Apple dont get gaming.. and never did. Why would anyone want to pay for Arcade? If you are hardcore gamer, you already own pc rig/ps4/xbox one and have sooo many games to play that you do not need another platform. You like games and want to be mobile, nintendo is dominating that territory .. and you want to play occasionally some stupid mindless piece of garbage? Than you play whatever you find on app store for 99 cents - no need to pay monthly fee... apple wanted to add another service so they did, but did they do any homework before launching it? I doubt it... and even if they did and IF they believed that they can battle nintendo (hopefully noone in Apple believes they can fight with sony/xbox), they dobt get that they need aaa class games, you cant compete against zelda with some stupid generic 2hrs long “games”...
 
  • Like
Reactions: R88D
Grindstone is an alright game, I was playing that for a little bit. I do think they should include more adult oriented games that are especially challenging or more graphic like shooter titles.
 
  • Like
Reactions: User 6502
It's still early days.

The big bottlenecks for Apple Arcade are the Intel Macs and underpowered Apple TV that will be limiting the development for the 'play anywhere' requirement for Arcade games. When this is fixed later this year with the new Macs and clearly new Apple TV coming with the new Arm chip, I expect momentum will gather.

Also, it will make sense to split off Arcade soon from the App Store into a dedicated gaming app with Purchasable games, Game Center, Apple Arcade subscription etc. + the rumoured incoming Apple Gamepad.

I also have this sneaky suspicion they will pull a Microsoft and start buying gaming studios, and I really wonder if Sega is in their sights.

I wouldn't write it out just yet...
 
  • Like
Reactions: star-affinity
There is lots and lots of ok games every were. Apple will need a killer one if they want to attract attention.
 
I agree with Apple on Grindstone. It’s an excellent game. Obstacles encountered in Grindstone can be overcome in many different ways. The variety of special items like shields, potions, and blades encourage each player to develop a personal style.

Tangle Tower is a great sequel to Detective Grimoire. I hope it stays on Apple Arcade but I wouldn’t mind paying for it separately.

Shinseikei is a beautiful game but I don’t think it was thoroughly tested. After about 20 minutes of exploration there is a large area you can’t exit from.

Beyond a Steel Sky looks very nice but I haven’t been able to play it enough to form an opinion. It may turn out to be the best Apple Arcade game ever.
 
Last edited:
timcorin said:
I also have this sneaky suspicion they will pull a Microsoft and start buying gaming studios, and I really wonder if Sega is in their sights.
Click to expand...

^This. Gaming is the #1 category on the App Store. Apple can definitely afford to buy out a few studios (and/or start one from scratch) to produce their very own AAA titles. With tight integration of Apple Silicon and powerful SoC graphics they may be able to attract more game developers and studios to the Apple ecosystem.
 
I guess I’m in the minority, but I really like Apple Arcade. There have definitely been summed “meh,” games, but there have also been quite a few really good games. Specifically - Neo Cab, Sayonara: Lonely Hearts, Shinsekai: Into the Depths, Neversong, Cat Quest II, and Oceanhorn 2.

I’m currently playing Little Orpheus, No Way Home, and just started Beyond a Steel Sky.There’s also quite a few hand I haven’t even had a chance to look at.

Thus, for me, the $5/month is totally worth it. And, if Apple is shifting focus to more AAA style games, all the better. I imagine this change is also related to the Mac switch to ARM, thus making it a lot easier to have the games working on both iOS and Mac.
 
  • Like
Reactions: star-affinity and Chupanibre75
Shirasaki said:
One killer game type that Apple Arcade will not offer is gacha games, or games with micro transactions. Hate all you want, this type is easily one of the most profitable model to date. Throws in some popular IP, twist it a bit or extend it, bang, you get players willing to pay several grands a month to roll those in-game stuff. Apple Arcade can’t allow those game to exist, so Asian markets are pretty much a no go. What’s next? I have no idea.
Click to expand...

If I could subscribe to Apple Arcade and get like 20 gems a month free for Disney magic kingdoms and 50 v bucks for Fortnite ... that’d be pretty swell
 
  • Like
Reactions: Shirasaki
Best iOS game, period, is Retro Bowl..

(not an Apple Arcade game - just "normal")

Made by ONE guy apparently.

So so great - check it out if you haven't.
 
  • Like
Reactions: markosb
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back