Apple 'Netflix for Games' Subscription Service May Be Shown Monday

[JagdTiger]

There are very, very few engaging games on iOS and yet it could be such a wonderful platform, and this is entirely due to Apple (the only one that comes to my mind is Inside by Playdead which just happened to work really well with touch).

If they launch a gaming service they better had been working very hard on it for very long in secret otherwise it is going to be a little embarrassing, kind of like seeing the same app or game feature again on the 'today' section of the App Store.

There is a lot of great software (same type of strategy games on steam) which would run on iPhone/iPad, a lot of 3D games too just needs a controller and software to utilize it...even a Bethesda Skyrim game is coming for iOs soon.

https://gamevice.com/

 

[smulji]

I think Steam works this way now. Buy a game, and if Mac or Linux versions of the same title are also on Steam you can run it there. Steam can’t operate on iOS, though. Anti-trust?

Google has their gaming streaming service. MS is probably doing one.

I’m thinking of mobile games because I don’t see what else Apple can offer that’s unique in content or business model. Apple’s biggest installed base uses touch input, meanwhile consoles ship with physical controllers.

I think this short blog post sums up perfectly how Apple can offer a unique gaming experience

https://daringfireball.net/2019/03/apple_games

 

[fairuz]

I remember when OnLive first came out. I saw it at E3 and was thinking who would use this? I think most gamers who want to play AAA titles will build a machine to handle this as oppose to streaming it. With the advent of streamers on Twitch promoting computer parts and what not, I just don’t see how this will ever take off

Paying like $50 instead of $1200-$2000 + 5-10 hours to play a game requiring beefy PC hardware is how it'll take off. Maybe more people will buy Macs since they'll be capable of streaming all the same games as Windows PCs.

 

[Naaaaak]

I think this short blog post sums up perfectly how Apple can offer a unique gaming experience

https://daringfireball.net/2019/03/apple_games

I see it as a value-add they’ll use to boost the subscription price.

In-app purchases are so scummy that a subscription looks less scummy.

 

[Jimmy James]

If they do that then they really should build their own game console.

They did. Apple TV. Except until now they’ve virtually abandoned it.

 

[rubaxter]

They did, it's called the Apple TV. Turns out nobody really wants to play games on it, though.

Got one, got a controller, and the youngsters don't bother, what with REAL consoles available, even if people haul them over to play.

As to an Apple subscription service, I now have Prime that I can watch on any of my devices, including a Shield, and that offers me convenient add-ons to media I really watch that is essentially BBC Hulu.

I don't need Apple, with it's normally proprietary setups and overcharging for mediocrity and fenced-in sandboxes.
[doublepost=1553456237][/doublepost]

Paying like $50 instead of $1200-$2000 + 5-10 hours to play a game requiring beefy PC hardware is how it'll take off. Maybe more people will buy Macs since they'll be capable of streaming all the same games as Windows PCs.

Yeah, cuz cross-platform is a hallmark of Apple, as is great gaming graphics and the like ..., if you like laptop gaming cards in a desktop without having to spring for $$$$$$s on an expansion chassis.

 

[ghanwani]

The pic looks like it's making a hint at an iPhone SE 2.

 

[alexhardaker]

I’m sure it’s a great “mobile” game to pass the time and kill a few minutes here and there.

And as far as I’m concerned that’s all mobile games should be and strive to be.

They should be quick to start playing, fun and cheap... no big developer is going to spend their money coding an epic sized game for touch device..

It just simply isn’t worth it. iOS and gaming shouldn’t even be in the same sentence.

Take a look at it.

 

[_Refurbished_]

Have you used any of the 2019 game-streaming services? The two I know of are Nvidia's and Google's. I don't know what serious shortcomings there are.

As for local storage, the problem is every game is like 40GiB plus several installments of 30GiB patches now for some reason, and people don't want to wait for downloads. And there's lots of wasted money and effort dealing with gaming PC hardware if you want non-console games.

I’ve used PlayStation Now for a few months. It’s not bad, but it’s not my future of gaming. I’d much rather stick a 4TB drive in there (which I did) and go from there. I don’t have storage issues on my PS4.

I use GameFly, which I love. I’d much prefer a digital delivery system, though. That is my Holy Grail.

 

[ChrisMoBro]

[QUOTE="ChrisMoBro, post: 27209691, member: 1055273" subscription for music, TV, dog

Oddity of formatting made me wonder about this new subscription service for dog[/QUOTE]
Not sure what the format issue was (I used a comma) but you get subscription services for dog food now.

 

[mozumder]

Tried and failed.
Apple Bandai Pippin, look it up.

Yah I know. Glad they gave up on tablets after they made the Newton, and glad they stopped selling computers after the failure of the Apple III.

 

[fairuz]

Yeah, cuz cross-platform is a hallmark of Apple, as is great gaming graphics and the like ..., if you like laptop gaming cards in a desktop without having to spring for $$$$$$s on an expansion chassis.

Doesn't matter, the game is rendered on a computer in some datacenter. You can play any game on any Mac with a service like that. I also don't know what you're talking about with cross-platform. Apple doesn't do anything to stop software from being distributed for macOS.

 

[Frank Dalton]

I guess on one hand, a subscription based model would let consumers be more open to trying out different games, since there is now no downside to doing so. Might not be a bad thing in the long run.

This was solved in the 1980s. They called them "demo," "trial," or "shareware." Of course, Apple continues to refuse to support trial versions in a first class manner in the app store.
[doublepost=1553473904][/doublepost]

Subscription: games, news, series/movies, music, apps, programs.

What’s next? Subscription iOS? Mac OS?

Fine then. But in that case... Give away iPhones and Macs for free.

But you can’t have it both ways and charge for the hardware and for the privilege of making it work.

The authoritarian control Apple exercises over what you can install on iOS hardware you supposedly "own" effectively already makes it a rental anyway.

 

[fairuz]

I’ve used PlayStation Now for a few months. It’s not bad, but it’s not my future of gaming. I’d much rather stick a 4TB drive in there (which I did) and go from there. I don’t have storage issues on my PS4.

I use GameFly, which I love. I’d much prefer a digital delivery system, though. That is my Holy Grail.

I may be misunderstanding what the PS4 service does. They say streaming, so idk if they just mean it downloads the game and runs it locally. Nvidia and Google have released services that not only let you rent the game but play it on their servers rather than a local machine. This doesn't help if you have a PS4 anyway, but it's for playing high-graphics games on cheap laptops, tablets, phones, etc.

 

[MacCheetah3]

I wonder what GameFly thinks of this innovative ‘Netflix for games’ idea Apple has come up with.

I was going to point out, "Netflix for games" is GameFly. It's not a new concept. Not that it needs to be for Apple to try to innovate. However -- and the lack of public info could make me quite mistaken here -- even if Apple has what it takes to start competing in the streaming video sector (beyond the iTunes Store), which is an argument in itself, Apple's attempts at grabbing chunks of the gaming industry have been extremely hit and miss.

 

[abrantes09]

Yah I know. Glad they gave up on tablets after they made the Newton, and glad they stopped selling computers after the failure of the Apple III.

But those products were new and revolutionary. The Newton was something never seen before in such a small form factor and the Apple III was an all-in-one the world wasn’t ready for yet. The market is saturated with dozens of great consoles that are not in need of revolutionizing. We’ve seen plenty of gaming consoles, good and bad. Not even a tech giant like Apple could even shake the industry in its current position without making a dumb and “harmful” move.

 

[Bark]

Oddity of formatting made me wonder about this new subscription service for dog

Not sure what the format issue was (I used a comma) but you get subscription services for dog food now.[/QUOTE]
It cleared when I scrolled down then back up but it originally showed as a subscription for dog. I am not sure I want a subscription pet.

 

[ipponrg]

Paying like $50 instead of $1200-$2000 + 5-10 hours to play a game requiring beefy PC hardware is how it'll take off. Maybe more people will buy Macs since they'll be capable of streaming all the same games as Windows PCs.

That's what they said when OnLive came out. It still hasn't (yet?). Maybe they have figured out the challenges here.

 

[_Refurbished_]

I may be misunderstanding what the PS4 service does. They say streaming, so idk if they just mean it downloads the game and runs it locally. Nvidia and Google have released services that not only let you rent the game but play it on their servers rather than a local machine. This doesn't help if you have a PS4 anyway, but it's for playing high-graphics games on cheap laptops, tablets, phones, etc.

https://www.playstation.com/en-us/explore/playstation-now/

100% streaming

EDIT: looks like you can download games now. The service has been updated.

 

[iBreatheApple]

Nothing in your post has anything to do with the imaginary problems I originally responded to.

Nobody knows if Apple even has a gaming subscription in the works or if they have a way to transition from current models to the subscription model. So your claim that they can't make a successful subscription business is just a wild guess.

Apps/games being neglected with regard to resolution updates is an imaginary problem?

 

[TheHateMachine]

Is there really a market out there to pay a subscription for mobile games?

 

[cardfan]

Is there really a market out there to pay a subscription for mobile games?

Not really. My day isn’t complete if I don’t buy a bag of coins or watch 10 free pop up ads to get an extra turn.

 

[Khedron]

Paying like $50 instead of $1200-$2000 + 5-10 hours to play a game requiring beefy PC hardware is how it'll take off. Maybe more people will buy Macs since they'll be capable of streaming all the same games as Windows PCs.

You can buy an xbox one or PS4 Pro for about $400 which lasts about 5 years. In the same time you'd spend $3000 on this subscription service.

 

[kurosov]

You can buy an xbox one or PS4 Pro for about $400 which lasts about 5 years. In the same time you'd spend $3000 on this subscription service.

Don’t forget to throw in the £7ish a month fee for playing online with consoles.

Streaming will absolutely replace consoles in the future. They can more easily offer better visuals with incremental upgrades than hat they can offer in a console while also killing the used game market which is a massive profit loss for console. First party titles will probably end up being used as incentives to pick a specific platform by making them free to play for subscribers.

PC will always be there for those who want more control/customisability and local game installs.

 

[cmaier]

They did. Apple TV. Except until now they’ve virtually abandoned it.

Also pippin.