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I still can’t believe on the first thread people were defending Apple and acting non-chalant.

“Oh well, contracts end…”

Would you guys have the same attitude if For all Mankind, Servant and a few movies left Apple TV+ because of “contracts”??
If no one was watching the shows, they would not be renewed.

That’s not the same as removing the older shows that have aired, but that happens all the time (like The Office removed from Netflix).
 
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But they ironically make more money from it than all of the so called real gaming companies combined. Casual gaming is far more profitable because there are billions more of accessible potential players. They chose not to focus on a gaming model that after 20 years Microsoft claims they have yet to break a profit when Apple could be profitable in 5 years or less.
If your only goal is to make as much money as possible off gambling mechanics, then sure, Apple's gaming ambitions are absolute gangbusters. Creatively bankrupt, but hey! Who cares what we get as long as Apple gets a ton of money. That's always the goal, right, no matter what?

Microsoft gives you a lot more time in advance when a game is leaving Xbox Game Pass, and here's the real kicker: GAMES AREN'T DELISTED since Xbox Game Pass is just a rental service. All the games on Game Pass are available to purchase on the Xbox Live store, and Game Pass subs get discounts on buying games so if they're not renewing or their the game they like is leaving the service they can buy it to keep playing.
I was about to post the same, but I'm glad you took the time to. The most irritating thing about the Mobile Gaming Defense Force is how little they seem to know about the vast universe of gaming outside of their little bubble and how consumer-friendly most of it is. Apple's offerings are uniquely set up to maximize both their control and their profits at the expense of end-user flexibility.
 
This isn't a guarantee either. You could purchase an app, and then Apple could remove the app from the App Store. Meaning if you ever deleted it from your phone, you couldn't get it back.
This is why I stopped buying apps like I used to, one of my favorite apps that I paid for was removed and since we no longer have iTunes to back apps up, I had no way to reload it after upgrading all my devices.
 
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Similar to if you're 67% of the way through a series and Netflix removes the series. Now you have to go buy the DVD of it or a find a digital copy to buy somewhere.

This isn't new or weird for a subscription service.
True, but Netflix doesn't get the money for the DVD, Apple gets money if you buy the game.
 
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The danger I see is that especially the most popular games are in danger of disappearing, as developers might make more money with them if they sell them on their own via the App Store. Imagine a game has tens of millions of players. Will Apple the pay the developers a very huge amount of money to keep the game in Arcade or will the developers sell their game for a one time fee of $10 to millions of its users?
 
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I can see the appeal of Apple Arcade to new developers. They'll start by publishing their game to Apple Arcade. This way any subscribers can play their game at no extra charge (and Apple will promote it in the relatedly small section of Apple Arcade games). Once the game has a decent following, they'll end their contract on Apple Arcade causing the game to be removed. They'll then tweak and re-post the game as a regular app, but this time, full of in app purchases. The following of users will then install and play this version, making IAPs along the way, and making way more profit for the game developer than the Apple Arcade contract could make them.

Really, this capability ends poorly for the user.

Edit: Ah, the user just before me posted the same idea.
 
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If no one was watching the shows, they would not be renewed.

That’s not the same as removing the older shows that have aired, but that happens all the time (like The Office removed from Netflix).

Not renewed shows is equivalent to the game no longer having new DLC.

NOT the same as removing the whole game from the service.

Not renewing For All Mankind is not the same as completely removing the show from the servers. These services are suppose to have “Apple exclusives” but as usual Apple gets gaming wrong. How they got it so wrong compared to Apple TV+ baffles me.

Apple truly treats gaming like a dirty step child to everything else.
 
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Most people just don’t know what they want on Apple Arcade.

As long as they're paying, I guess it doesn't matter, does it? It won't be the successful service Apple could have but you don't have to pay for AA (unless you have Apple One, but then you just need to do the math if you want it or not).

AA is $4.99 which is 1/3 of the other game services I've seen it compared to, so I wouldn't necessarily expect it to have everything those services have. Plus it's Apple, regardless of price, they're not going to do it the same. The same for Apple TV+, they're not necessarily doing it the same as all the other services out there.

I feel like they get criticized if they do it the same AND they get criticized if they don't do it the same.

I'd love to know how many of the commentators are actually paying full price for Apple Arcade (and have a complaint about their hard-earned $4.99) and of course who's complaining like this is hurting them and isn't a subscriber (Of course there is Apple One, but people make a choice if that's a deal for them, if they're not going to play AA, Watch AppleTV+, or use the News app, then it's not necessarily a good deal for them).
 
Shocking news: subscription services means you don't own a product or the provider obliged to keep it in the lineup!

The "new' world: you own nothing.
 
True, but Netflix doesn't get the money for the DVD, Apple gets money if you buy the game.
That's a good point. At least for the iOS/tvOS versions. They can sell the macOS version somewhere else, but if you're going to keep the iOS/tvOS versions, you might as well as at least sell a macOS version to transfer game data, but you can still sell it on Steam/Epic/itch.io/etc.

I wonder how many of these developers are leaving AA, or is AA letting them go (they don't have a choice).
 
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Apple today removed 15 games from Apple Arcade, just over two weeks after it listed the first batch of titles set to leave the subscription service due to developer contract expirations.

apple-arcade-games-leaving-soon.jpg

On July 18, Apple added a section to the Arcade area of the App Store titled "Leaving Arcade Soon" and listed the games that would be removed, but it did not specify when they would be gone.

That section of the App Store has now been taken down, and the titles that were included in the first batch no longer show up in a casual search of the Store. Games that have gone from ‌Apple Arcade‌ include Spelldrifter, Projection: First Light, Lifeslide, EarthNight, Cardpocalypse, Dead End Job, and more.

Apple says in a support document that users who downloaded a game before it was removed from Apple Arcade can continue to play the game for "at least two weeks after," suggesting the titles will remain playable until at least August 16 and possibly beyond then.

After such a time, users who launch an Apple Arcade game that is no longer playable will receive a "No Longer Available" message.

Apple says that after a game has been removed from Apple Arcade, the developer might choose to make their game available on the App Store for all users, although the game may differ from the version offered on Apple Arcade.

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.

A source informed MacRumors that when ‌Apple Arcade‌ first launched, Apple signed three-year deals with a number of developers, and some of these contracts are apparently nearing expiry and not being renewed, which is why the games have been removed.

Article Link: First Batch of Apple Arcade Games Removed as Developer Contracts End


THE MOST important yet forgot about part of all this:

Allow users to provide feedback - by text or by selection list -
Please add to regular app store !
 
Than either you missed out on great games or that all games just do not appeal to you to play on ATV or iPhone/iPad.

either way that's ok.
Honestly, there are some good games on there. Once again, I’m getting older and gaming has kinda fizzled for me. I was getting into LEGO SW Castaways but didn’t stick with it. Only time I find games useful (for me) is at the airport or maybe a doctors office. 🤪
 
What I appreciate about Apple Arcade is that it's perfect for some light casual gaming without having to shell out a lot of money for a console or gaming laptop /desktop with insanely priced graphics cards.

Sure the games are not AAA but there are some fun gems in there, and for $5 a month it doesn't break the bank. It also contains a good amount of games for kids I think. And you don't have to worry about loot box / microtransactions / pay to win stuff (ahum Diablo).
 
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As much as I'd like to see Arcade succeed, as an One member, Arcade is the least used. Wait - News is actually least used. My youngest still plays Sasquatch. But otherwise, that service goes completely untouched. One game. When it is pulled, there will be none games.

As others have said, Arcade never landed that big ticket item. Maybe in part due to the coding requirements for games in arcade. Once you've tried 3-4 games, you hit the limit of possibilities of any Arcade game. There are only a handful of mechanics devs can tap. And to be clear, some have been very creative with how they leverage those mechanics. But overall, the platform feels pretty entry-level. And I say that as a non-gamer that would likely be more interested if there was something more to Arcade. Not quite sure why Apple doesn't dig into their pockets, out out some lent and put that towards creating a more significant scenario. And while I'm likely not the target for Arcade, I can't imagine the target finds these games compelling. I could be wrong. Apple seems to be doing pretty good regardless of wether I use Arcade or not. 🤪

So this had me curious to review the full list of One offerings and rank them in order of most used:
1. iCloud - while I don't actively use it, its' kind of the heart of the whole ecosystem. So by default, it's a daily driver - even if in the background.
2. Music - daily! Easily my fav of the group, has broadened my already broad music appreciation.
3. TV - weekly? While content has been thin, it's been pretty high-caliber. I'd take that approach over the inverse.
4. Fitness - weekly-ish? Needs to be more. ;)
5. Arcade - one game. On occasion.
6. News - never. Mainly because I can no longer stomach the catastrophic sea of awful that is considered "news." After four long years of reading nothing but the most psychotic tweets, from the most self-centered people, exhibiting the worst behavior and with absolutely zero accountability, I realized that I actually had a choice to not consume their garbage (yeah, sometimes I'm a slow learner). So I stopped. Now, I'm much more intentional about when and from where I get my news. They say you are what you eat - and I wholeheartedly agree. But many tend to stop at the food with which we choose to nourish our bodies. In actuality, it's also the social media, books, music, movies, art, humans, ideas, perspective you choose to consume. Thus, it goes without saying, choose wisely. 😉
 
I just play the puzzle ones on public transport. At home I am playing Death Stranding which will no doubt take me 1 year to finish because literally have to make this guy walk 5 miles of countryside every gaming session.
I’m also playing the director’s cut of Death Stranding and at first all of that walking (or driving if I’m lucky) was annoying at first, but now in a way it feels therapeutic every time I go out. I’m also no longer as worried as I was before with encountering BTs now that I have my cord cutter. I began playing about two weeks ago and just completed the Mama orders yesterday. It’s still a love it or hate it game depending on the player’s skills and more importantly, patience. This will probably be a game that I remember long after some games I considered to be better. I read that there’s a sequel planned/in development.
 
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