Apple Launches 20 New Games on Apple Arcade

[MacsRgr8]

Do as this nearly everything Apple guy did and re-embrace PC for purposes like this. I bought one for "old fashioned bootcamp" (to pair with a Silicon Mac) and realized typical Apple computer money could buy a fairly loaded PC. It is my first PC in > 10 years but I have full Windows (not Windows ARM), a robust graphics card and access to pretty much all such AAA games instead of wishing they were available for Mac. It's great to have access to any software and the easy ability to pick & choose based on what runs best on which platform... or what is even available on which platform.

This is THE way to the best-rated games in 2023. They won't come to Mac until Apple puts sizable budget towards getting them much as the existing players put sizable budget towards getting AAA games for their own platforms. Gamemakers are motivated by CASH, not hype & spin about Silicon supremacy or even if Apple rolled out a M20 extreme ultra++ super AI hybrid SOC Mach 7. Money talks... LOUDLY.

Yeah.... I a not much of an AAA gamer, but love Flight Simming, whicg requires a lot of CPU / grfx horsepower.

I adore X-Plane 11 and 12, and to be able to play those well, you need a high-end Mac (M1 Max is really required for very good performance) which I have and love it.

But.... but.... bare with me on this: so X-Plane 12 is Apple Silicon Native. YAY for that! Performance on my Mac Studio Max is great! Love it!
But, 3rd party planes and sceneries or utilities do rely sometimes on making use of "Intel-based" plugins for macOS. If you want to use those... and yeah... you would really... you need to run X-Plane 12 in Rosetta mode. Performance hit is quite large, especially in CPU limited sceneries.

X-Plane 12 "preview" was launched in September 2022. The "final game" launched in December.
In that period the number of Apple Silicon native plugins etc. did rise but kinda stalled for now... so, for me personally, 2 major plugins are still not AS native.

I love my Mac, I even defend gaming on this Mac. I do not want to buy a PC next to my Mac... but I do sometimes envy those simmers who use a fast PC with high-end grfx card... no issues with "non native stuff", and oh yes.... they get VR.

 

[HobeSoundDarryl]

But why buy a PC for that? Games are optimized for consoles most of the time and are then ported to PC which causes performance loss.

There are people with a RTX 4090 that cannot even run the latest Star Wars game properly, but on consoles there is no problem.

Because PC has the games and our wonderful/incredible/super-powered/best-ever Macs don't.

I needed "bootcamp" capability to persist anyway. Windows ARM is not full Windows. In our new Silicon world, the only way to have full Windows too is to go back to also owning a PC. A bonus to getting "old fashioned bootcamp" that way is that I have a machine that can fill that very tangible gap of easy access to what are generally considered the superior pool of games.

Yes, another option was a dedicated console or two. But I just about HAD to have a PC where I have no burning reason to own a console. The PC gives me access to software NOT available on my wonderful, "most powerful ever" Mac Studio Ultra. One way for anyone else interested in AAA games to actually have them in 2023 is to do the same... vs. just post wishes for them on Macs, where they will probably NEVER actually show up.

Consoles have them. PCs have them too, sometimes with some modest tradeoffs. Macs pretty much do NOT have most of them. If you want those kinds of games, buy a console or buy a PC. If the latter, you basically have full bootcamp again. If your work requires full Windows- as mine does- it's the easy option that "just works" for all Windows needs... that can also scratch a "beyond Macs" gaming itch too.

NOTE: this whole post is NOT saying PC is better than Mac. I'm quite happy with my Macs and I'm almost an Apple everything guy. But obviously, Macs come up short in the AAA gaming department. That seems unlikely to change. I've chosen one way I pretty much HAD to go anyway to have my cake and eat it too... somewhat forced there by the deprecation of Intel-based Macs which used to be able to be BOTH in one case. A bonus to "old fashioned bootcamp" is fresh access to the much bigger world of PC gaming.

 

[HobeSoundDarryl]

Yeah.... I a not much of an AAA gamer, but love Flight Simming, whicg requires a lot of CPU / grfx horsepower.

I adore X-Plane 11 and 12, and to be able to play those well, you need a high-end Mac (M1 Max is really required for very good performance) which I have and love it.

But.... but.... bare with me on this: so X-Plane 12 is Apple Silicon Native. YAY for that! Performance on my Mac Studio Max is great! Love it!
But, 3rd party planes and sceneries or utilities do rely sometimes on making use of "Intel-based" plugins for macOS. If you want to use those... and yeah... you would really... you need to run X-Plane 12 in Rosetta mode. Performance hit is quite large, especially in CPU limited sceneries.

X-Plane 12 "preview" was launched in September 2022. The "final game" launched in December.
In that period the number of Apple Silicon native plugins etc. did rise but kinda stalled for now... so, for me personally, 2 major plugins are still not AS native.

I love my Mac, I even defend gaming on this Mac. I do not want to buy a PC next to my Mac... but I do sometimes envy those simmers who use a fast PC with high-end grfx card... no issues with "non native stuff", and oh yes.... they get VR.

I'm right with you. I WISH also owning PC was not basically a requirement. However, the world beyond the walled garden is much larger than our world within, and there is tons of software in that world that up to does not exist in ours (including most of the bigger games). With clients who require me to do some things in Windows and/or Windows apps and ARM Windows not full Windows, I saw no choice in embracing Silicon but to also return to owning a separate PC too.

I didn't really seek out "high end" either. I didn't specifically set out to buy a "gaming PC." What I DID do is apply Apple computer budget to PC shopping. And new Apple computer budget will but a LOT of PC power. So I ended up with one with a pretty good graphics card and fast (but not fastest) CPU, etc. I suspect Mac Studio has many parts that will objectively measure as outperforming the same in this PC. However this PC runs Windows which runs most of the software in the world... including the big games not available on my current Mac... or- probably- some future Mac with an M7 Extreme++ chip in it.

 

[tubular]

Do as this nearly everything Apple guy did and re-embrace PC for purposes like this.

That's what I did. Mac user since 1987, but about around 2016 I threw down $800 on a mid-range gaming tower, just for gaming, and it's still in action, and probably will be until Windows 10 pulls the plug in 2025.

 

[tubular]

Apple doesn't understand gaming. Where is the AAA title?

Once again, gaming ≠ AAA gaming.

 

[falkon-engine]

Do as this nearly everything Apple guy did and re-embrace PC for purposes like this. I bought one for "old fashioned bootcamp" (to pair with a Silicon Mac) and realized typical Apple computer money could buy a fairly loaded PC. It is my first PC in > 10 years but I have full Windows (not Windows ARM), a robust graphics card and access to pretty much all such AAA games instead of wishing they were available for Mac. It's great to have access to any software and the easy ability to pick & choose based on what runs best on which platform... or what is even available on which platform.

This is THE way to the best-rated games in 2023. They won't come to Mac until Apple puts sizable budget towards getting them much as the existing players put sizable budget towards getting AAA games for their own platforms. Gamemakers are motivated by CASH, not hype & spin about Silicon supremacy or even if Apple rolled out a M20 extreme ultra++ super AI hybrid SOC Mach 7. Money talks... LOUDLY.

I have a gaming pc for exactly this reason. KVM switch with a usb hub connected to move usb devices(keyboard, mouse, webcam, stream deck, mic etc) btwn the Mac and the PC.

Apple should embrace the AAA game community just like it embraces other communities.

 

[Havoc035]

Then make it at the pricing level to Xbox game pass and give us more BETTER games.

That would be pretty great. I'd get it if the games were there.

 

[falkon-engine]

Because 90% of the hardware Apple sells won't run it and they are not made for the Metal API. Unless Apple is gonna fork over some serious cash it's never going to happen and Apple Arcade will be stuck with games we could play on Miniclip for free 15 years ago.

Apple has the billions of dollars to build a gaming enterprise and entice studios to develop for Mac. In this day and age of streaming and twitch/YouTube a mac capable of gaming would likely be extremely popular, especially if it had high framerates at relatively low power.

Yet apple pushes these tin can games. SMH. Opportunity lost.

 

[wigby]

Apple today announced that 20 new games are launching on its Apple Arcade gaming subscription service.

The announcement comes alongside a new ad for the subscription service that features some of the new titles and many of the most popular games on the platform. In Apple's press release, Apple Arcade senior director Alex Rofman said:The new games today joining Apple Arcade include:

• TMNT Splintered Fate (Paramount Global)
• Disney SpellStruck (Artist Arcade)
• WHAT THE CAR? (Triband)
• Cityscapes: Sim Builder (Magic Fuel Games)
• Chess Universe+ (Tilting Point)
• Disney Coloring World+ (StoryToys)
• Disney Getaway Blast+ (Gameloft)
• Farming Simulator 20+ (GIANTS Software)
• Getting Over It+ (Bennett Foddy)
• Hill Climb Racing+ (Fingersoft)
• Iron Marines+ (Ironhide Game Studio)
• Kingdom Two Crowns+ (Raw Fury)
• Playdead’s LIMBO+ (Playdead)
• My Town Home - Family Games+ (My Town Games LTD)
• Octodad: Dadliest Catch+ (Young Horses)
• PPKP+ (SHIMADA TOSHIHIRO)
• Snake.io+ (Kooapps)
• Temple Run+ (Imangi Studios)
• Time Locker+ (Sotaro Otsuka)
• Very Little Nightmares+ (Bandai Namco Entertainment)

Games like WHAT THE CAR?, TMNT Splintered Fate, Disney SpellStruck, and Cityscapes: Sim Builder are exclusive to Apple Arcade, while titles like Temple Run+, Playdead's LIMBO+, and PPKP+ bring popular App Store classics to the subscription service for the first time.

Last year, Apple added more than 50 games to the Apple Arcade catalog and over 300 updates were released for games already on the paltform. Later this month, major updates are set to come to Jetpack Joyride 2, Angry Birds Reloaded, SpongeBob: Patty Pursuit, Taiko no Tatsujin Pop Tap Beat, LEGO Star Wars: Castaways, Asphalt 8: Airborne+, Cut the Rope Remastered, My Little Pony: Mane Merge, and more.

Article Link: Apple Launches 20 New Games on Apple Arcade

Apple Arcade games continues to cater to children and family friendly titles. That's fine but I do wonder if they will ever try for AAA titles using the Metal API. Asking Apple to work with Nvidia seems too much at this point but they could still hire top talent to produce games just for Apple hardware. They're spending billions with AppleTV+ to do exactly that and it is slowly working so if they were serious about gaming too, they would follow the same model.

 

[aloysiusfreeman]

I get that the bulk of these games are for the kids that have Apple Arcade set up through the family. But there are some pretty fun games on AA (Samorost 3, Thumper+, Dead Cells+, Fantasian, the Monument games), and Limbo was just added which is a fantastic game. And outside of AA I havea considerable amount of games on my iPad as I do find it fun to play games on (even if there's a console version, helps that its cheaper on App Store).

I know they'll never place too much focus for the "serious gamers", but it would be nice to see an investment towards studios to either create or port quality games.

 

[star-affinity]

Tried a few of the games that was released for Mac. Surprisingly choppy performance and blurry graphics on Cityscapes: Sim Builder. I'm on a M2 Max with 96 GB of RAM(!) so no excuse for that. Felt quite a lot like a mobile game quickly adjusted for Mac.

Iron Marines+ feels right at home on that Mac. Smooth and nice with ProMotion (120 Hz) support. Also like the custom arrow pointer, but noticed that as soon as you go to the top of the screen it changes to the black and white macOS arrow pointer and one has to switch out of the game and then back in to get back the custom arrow pointer.

What the Car? also didn't run as well as expected. Felt a bit slow motion:is and tiny stutter. Also, the macOS arrow pointer is visible when playing which just isn't right in a game like this. It should auto hide after a while I think. Now one has to manually tuck it aside from view.

TMNT Splintered Fate ran very well (smooth and no hiccup) and gameplay was pretty good (despite feeling a little ”mobile:ish”.) Again, the arrow pointer always visible so one has to manually move it away – why?

Those are the ones I've tried so far.

 

[mielie]

I’m still waiting for No Man’s Sky…. It was heralded along with Ventura and the new version of Metal. But at this rate, Mac OS 14 will be out before I can get this game…

I feel Apple Silicon with metal 3 does open the door, from a technical point, for more AAA games. Just look at what you can get for the Nintendo Switch for example. Developers need to know that Apple is serious about gaming and isn’t going to loose interest in a few years time. Come on Apple, if you build it they will come!!!

Apple purchasing a AAA studio would be a good step forward. That way Apple can use some of its own cash to bankroll the initial investment to bring the studio library to Mac.

 

[Saladin12]

I'd really like if Apple had a poker app with Spades or Texas Hold'em where the AI's weren't crap and the live player base was incentivised to actually play and not just do an All-In for the first 20 hands to see if they can get a stack to play with or start a new game.

Have you tried WSOP? It doesn’t quite replicate playing for real money but I find the player base good enough for a casual game

 

[Motawa]

yeah Ill go play mario odyssey on my android phone but thanks apple.

 

[coolfactor]

Not a fan of these overly-psychedelic ad styles. Too much happening too quickly. Does this style really appeal to the younger crowd?

 

[surfzen21]

Have you tried WSOP? It doesn’t quite replicate playing for real money but I find the player base good enough for a casual game

I have and its definitely better than some or even most.

Maybe Im just looking for a real money game feeling and its just not there 🥲

 

[Simmias]

Junk. Utter Junk. Not enough to make me divert 5 min of my time while on the toilet. Apple doesn't understand gaming. Where is the AAA title? Where is the multiplayer sensation? Where is the next Twitch streaming phenomenon? What are your exclusives and franchise tentpoles? What, Angry Birds and temple run again? 2009 wants its apps back.

I don't understand how Apple keeps dropping the ball on gaming.

Agree 100%. Apple Arcade has totally failed to raise the bar on gaming on their platforms. I keep waiting and waiting for quality titles to emerge. Apple has a huge budget to work with developers on envelope-pushing titles. It doesn't even need to be AAA titles. Look, I'm a casual gamer. I played a lot of Nintendo as a kid. I still have a Switch that I play once in a while. Looking for something on par with classic Nintendo games - fun side scrollers, RPGs, adventure games. Just give me something with a little depth and progression.

But no. Instead we get game after game not worth the time of anyone over 5 years old. Baby puzzle games. One finger endless runners. Cutesy indie story time games. It's just really disappointing as I've given Arcade several tries and keep waiting for it to improve and offer something, anything of substance. It's a waste of their hardware - so much advancement in graphics horsepower and nothing to play on it.

 

[Unregistered 4U]

Not a fan of these overly-psychedelic ad styles. Too much happening too quickly. Does this style really appeal to the younger crowd?

Yeah. To them, it’s likely going at a lethargic pace.

 

[JLOAKS]

Another note related to the Apple TV, the newest model, the 2022 ATV4K3 with the A15 chip has been thermal throttling when playing certain games, I wonder if this issue might impact developers and/or Apple on releasing certain games on Apple Arcade.

It is pretty bad, the 2021 ATV4K2 can actually outperform the 2023 model for some games due to having a fan.

I attached a passive heatsink for the top of the ATV4K3, and it helps to a point, then the frame rate drops. I just purchased a heatsink with a fan, and I expect it to be a big improvement. Testing it this weekend.

Yeah I don't get why they removed the fan from even the larger sized model if they want gaming to be taken semi-seriously on this device.

 

[GermanSuplex]

There are some solid titles on Apple Arcade, but mobile games for me have always been time killers. I have yet to encounter a mobile game - of any genre - as engrossing as the home or portable consoles. Which surprises me, because there aren’t any software or hardware limitations for solid games on these devices. Quite the opposite.

I’m surprised that after all these years, mobile doesn’t really have its version of Zelda, Halo, etc. (Not those actual titles, just some sort of flagship mobile game. Angry Birds, Fortnite, etc were successful franchises, but for very different reasons).

 

[whatgift]

Junk. Utter Junk. Not enough to make me divert 5 min of my time while on the toilet. Apple doesn't understand gaming. Where is the AAA title? Where is the multiplayer sensation? Where is the next Twitch streaming phenomenon? What are your exclusives and franchise tentpoles? What, Angry Birds and temple run again? 2009 wants its apps back.

I don't understand how Apple keeps dropping the ball on gaming.

Apple are not trying to appeal to gamers - they are after the casual gamer and family market. For this market, Apple Arcade is achieving that goal.

 

[Juicy Box]

There are some solid titles on Apple Arcade, but mobile games for me have always been time killers. I have yet to encounter a mobile game - of any genre - as engrossing as the home or portable consoles. Which surprises me, because there aren’t any software or hardware limitations for solid games on these devices. Quite the opposite.

I’m surprised that after all these years, mobile doesn’t really have its version of Zelda, Halo, etc. (Not those actual titles, just some sort of flagship mobile game. Angry Birds, Fortnite, etc were successful franchises, but for very different reasons).

There isn’t really many on Apple Arcade, but have you tried Oceanhorn 2?

It is a Zelda-like game, the graphics are great, the game plays pretty good may be a little bit too easy, but it’s got a really good story. it is open world, and the world is pretty big.

 

[riverfreak]

still waiting for Hard Hat Mack

 

[dumastudetto]

The thing people miss with Apple Arcade is the entire library strips away all modern friction from gaming experiences to deliver pure immersion.

 

[Dredd67]

I consider myself as an old (read Amiga 500 era) and skillful player (having beaten Malenia without watching any tutorial).

I will not talk about AAA gaming because mobile devices don't suit these large superproductions, it's not the same usage (use a decent console for that) and you can still spend hours on a good mobile game, like Mario Kart, Marvel Snap, Genshin Impact, you name them.

You want short sessions (at the bus, on the loo, during a break), controls tailored for a touchscreen, and make the game as available and frictionless to get as possible.

I understand the need to pay for quality games but you will never build a community of the game is not available outside of Apple Arcade to start with.
A good strategy would be to sell it in the iOS App Store AND the Android store, and then include it in Arcade. This would add tremendous value to the service.


My worry here is that this new lineup is all over the place. There's no focus, no strategy, no clear identity, they just try to address all the categories without understanding any of them.

Think of what they could do if they handled gaming as seriously as they do with their TV series?
They successfully associate Apple TV+ with quality content.

Apple Arcade makes me think of garbage games made on request and recycled goods nobody wants to play anymore.

Adobe will never get gaming, it is not in their DNA. Well, unless they hire specialists like Jade Raymond or John Carmack, but again this will never happen because they don't get it.