Apple Explains What Happens When Games Are Removed From Apple Arcade

[darngooddesign]

This is a bunch of BS and I'm not paying one cent toward Apple Arcade if this is how it works. If we don't push back on this nonsense then we deserve what we get as consumers.

What did you think would happen if a game you are renting is no longer available to rent?

Rented streaming music and video is the same, If the label or artist removes an album you cant listen to it.

AA is mostly causal games. Are you really going to be upset if the temple run clone you don't play very often is no longer available?

 

[DanteHicks79]

There will come a point with 'Games as services'


"Would like some game to go with your ads?"

You mean, EA's entire business model?

 

[darngooddesign]

There will come a point with 'Games as services'


"Would like some game to go with your ads?"

Apple Arcade has no ads and in-app purchases are free.

 

[turbineseaplane]

It all sort of makes me miss games on cartridge or disc --- that work essentially forever

 

[JhonnyC]

Do we really need to ask this question?

Wreck It Ralph is what happens when games get pulled. There was already a movie AND a sequel about it. 😅

 

[Mysteriousone]

O

Apple's monopoly app store on iOS devices helped the "drive to bottom of the barrel" over 10 years ago to the point that it can only sustain on "Free" to play games.

It allowed the proliferation of stinkers and clones as quick cash grabs and cultivated a culture of "whales" who are exploited by gambling mechanics.



Small prices for indie games IS sustainable when you look stores on other platforms like PCs, Consoles and Even Apple's own Macs.

- Steam
- GoG
- UPlay
and others.

When there are more stores and allowing end users choice i.e. not be restricted to one App store, it drives competition and allows smaller indie developers/games more chance to flourish instead of having to stand out in a sea of F2P garbage that is Apple's App store.


I can NOT wait unit the European Union passes and effectively enacts measures to end Apple's bs monopoly, because the rest of the world will follow, lest Apple risks losing sales of its devices.


Indie games as well as older AAA games could then flourish when consumers are given a clear choice to get them from other stores.


IF a gamer wanted to a proper indie game and was given the choice between Apple's App store or Steam on their Apple tv/iPhone/iPad which store do you think they will most likely go to?


I don't even go to Apple's App store or use Apple Arcade on Macs, because I actually have a choice to use other things and am better for it.

Absolutely ridiculous. Nintendo, Sony and others also have a “monopoly” on their consoles and indie games “thrive” there too.

And if Apple allows everyone to own Apple, how the fu** is that gonna stop free to play games? Also you’re opening your iPhone to spam, viruses, bitcoin stealing schemes, dark web crap, photo hacking, crappy games that just steal your credit card info then vanish, identity theft, threats etc. etc.

Now Apples customer service calls will skyrocket for something they have ZERO control over and Apple will be more fragmented. Those long wait times you complain about? Expect them to double. Don’t be surprised if Apple has to start charging more for products and services to cover lawsuits and the mass increase of customer service employees and security engineers.

You’re opening Pandora’s box because you don’t wanna see ads. This is the most entitled generation of tech heads I’ve ever seen. No one was threatening to take down TV networks when we had mandatory, unskippable 10 minute ad breaks.

 

[darngooddesign]

IF a gamer wanted to a proper indie game and was given the choice between Apple's App store or Steam on their Apple tv/iPhone/iPad which store do you think they will most likely go to?

Sure, that must be why Steam has so many Mac games... oh wait.

 

[_Spinn_]

If a developer chooses to allow users to load their saved progress in the App Store version of the game, users can continue playing right where they left off in the Apple Arcade version. Otherwise, users must start the game over again.

I don't know why any developer would want to block this. Seems like a good way to make your players mad.

 

[ksec]

When Apple launch Apple TV+, Macrumors' comments said Netflix is dead. And Disney+ dont stand a chance.

When Apple launch Apple Arcade, Macrumors' comments said Apple is going after gamers. EPIC is dead.

 

[nickdalzell1]

When Apple launch Apple TV+, Macrumors' comments said Netflix is dead. And Disney+ dont stand a chance.

When Apple launch Apple Arcade, Macrumors' comments said Apple is going after gamers. EPIC is dead.

Well, to be fair, EPIC did the equivalent of pointing a gun at their heads and pulling the trigger.

 

[Mysteriousone]

duplicate.

 

[Mysteriousone]

I guess this is pretty self-explanatory, and I don't see any surprises here. Contracts expire, service offerings change.

However, the way it was handled shows how Apple still has to figure out how to run these new services. This support document should have been published as soon as the games were announced for removal, not sneakily published after the backlash and confusion.

“Contracts expire”?!?

Apple told us these were exclusive games. Sounds like an excuse to defend Apple.

What would you do if Apple TV+ announces “shows leaving soon”?…

This is some bull***!!

 

[nickdalzell1]

Apple TV+ shows are specific to the platform and created by Apple. Unlike other services which have to license third-party content. Don't expect to find Frasier or Seinfeld on ATV+.

I wish Apple allowed one to purchase the seasons of their original shows though. I don't like paying subscription costs at all on any service if avoidable.

 

[I7guy]

“Contracts expire”?!?

Apple told us these were exclusive games. Sounds like an excuse to defend Apple.

What would you do if Apple TV+ announces “shows leaving soon”?…

This is some bull***!!

Seems like they are exclusive until they aren't. And it also seems like the business of games is different than the business of streaming TV shows, which cost tens of millions of dollars to develop and film. All the above is faux outrage.

 

[joshwenke]

“Contracts expire”?!?

Apple told us these were exclusive games. Sounds like an excuse to defend Apple.

What would you do if Apple TV+ announces “shows leaving soon”?…

This is some bull***!!

Yes, a contract usually has a start and end date. Do you really not know how this service model works? Netflix gains and loses shows all the time. This is not a new thing.

I would expect that Apple owns the full rights to many of their movies and shows on Apple TV+, while with the games they are contracting with third party developers. With Apple TV+, Apple invested a large sum of money to own the rights to the media and can keep it forever. With Apple Arcade they pay the developers a monthly amount to keep the games exclusive to the service.

Apple did say they were exclusive, but they never said the games would be around forever... It's a service model. This is how the industry works. I don't love it either.

 

[oofio2461]

so hours spent in those games are gone unless you pay MORE? Nonsense.

 

[nickdalzell1]

Pretty much ensures they will never be as vintage or remembered as classic PC (DOS, early Windows) and console titles...

 

[NoIdentity]

So now that the games are gone. Is any of them available on the app store? I have checked a few and they are just conpletly gone. As for the games on my device, they are still there with all the progress.

Lifeslide still opens. The same goes for Over the Alps. It even still says that more content is coming soon. Ironic. I guess id I remove them from the device I will loose access. Idk, how this affects offloaded apps?

Apple should have really stated the games should stay in the app store and devopers could have given people the option to buy the game outside of Arcade, once the contract ends. Games outright dissapearing is a bit much.

 

[nickdalzell1]

This is just one more reason I buy them on Steam or physical media and own all my content be it TV shows, movies, music. I got 2,000 songs stored on my phone. Yet, people think I'm the odd one here!

 

[ProfessionalFan]

This is just one more reason I buy them on Steam or physical media and own all my content be it TV shows, movies, music. I got 2,000 songs stored on my phone. Yet, people think I'm the odd one here!

You don't own them though anyway.

 

[nickdalzell1]

Techically I do. Physical media can't be taken off a streaming platform; It'd have to be phyiscally stolen. My music is DRM-free MP3 format. A lot of them still harken to the days of Napster/BearShare! None of the games I currently play and this includes classic Nintendo titles require internet for verification, DRM or online play. I've circumvented any attempt to allow Steam to update or do anything without my strict permission (and boy howdy was that a chore!)

I have videos I saved and archived from the early days of YouTube that are now gone off the platform but remain available on one Galaxy Note tablet.

Oh and here's the best part. My account isn't being drained each month to pay a subscription fee to access all the above. That's how they get ya. A $5 here, a $10 there. Maybe y'all should add up all your subs and see what the total is? When I did last year, I was taken aback and got rid of all of it.