Because Jobs was so much more serious than Cook about games! /s
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Game Developers Describe 'Smell of Death' Around Apple Arcade
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A little beter than Jobs. Steve hated the gaming industry after his time at Atari. Not sure why or how there were so many games for Apple in II, Classic Mac or Road Apple days. I allege that Steve and Woz had some really embarassing pictures that they used as leverage.
I'll date myself. Karateka and Prince of Persia on the Apple II. Dark Castle on the Mac/Mac Classic. Escape Velocity and the daddyMac games...Marathon, Doom and Wolfenstein 3D on LC/Quadra/Performa 636.
I've got older Macs I keep around because old games were just plain better. Until maybe 6 months ago, my primary laptop was a 2012 15" MBP running 10.14. I still use it regularly, because 32-bit software, it's sitting about 2 feet away from me and on right now.
But software compiled 20+ years ago is less of a problem. Emulation works, I can play Zaxxon or kill the hostages in Choplifter on a new Mac today. I played Swarms just a few days ago, it works just as well now as it did on the CompuColor II in 1980 - better, really, because load time is instant.
The gap is infuriating. There was ZERO reason for Apple to break 32-bit software. There was ZERO reason for Apple to break PowerPC software. I'd rather play Age of Empires III on Mac, but it's just easier to use one of the Windoze machines for it because I don't feel like hooking up a G5.
I don't want to play anything online. I don't want to play anything multiplayer, let alone massively multiplayer. I don't want DLC. And I definitely don't want a subscription to anything. Gaming for me is an escape from people, the thought of putting on a headset and talking to people as being fun... no.
Apple brought back the wrong Steve. Woz was the brains behind Apple, Jobs was always just the salesdroid.
I still say they made the right call firing Jobs in '85, and they should have fired him again when they bought NeXT, or at the very most kept him as a marketing VP.
Smell of Death, the new fragrance from Apple.
As much as subscriptions are everywhere, Arcade wasn’t a bad idea. For 50-60 a year, the cost of one AAA launch title, it was a decent selection to start with. The problem might be that Apple needs a “face” for their platform, like Master Chief, Mario/Zelda, or Sonic was for their respective platforms. A face gives people something easy to associate with the platform, and it also shows the company is truly investing in it for the long haul.
Thankfully they released a VR headset in a market where VR headsets main killer apps are games... oh wait they don't support SteamVR, haven't announced any games outside of a few Apple Arcade ones, and their VR headset doesn't play nice with non Apple devices. Although with that said the market for non hardcore, play anywhere moblie games like Candy Crush seems to be much larger so I can see what they are thinking with Apple Arcade.
I don't know who they have running Apple Arcade but the biggest problem I see with all of Apple's corporate team is that they are too old and out of touch. Love them all and they certainly deserve their accolades but the time is right to bring in some young fresh blood.
I remember when Microsoft started xBox. The guy they brought in was a young 30 something guy who clearly LOVED gaming and wanted to create the gaming experience of his dreams for MS. He was wildly successful and the xBox is a product that is arguably the #1 gaming device in the world now.
Apple needs someone young like this to head their gaming effort. I dont care what claims are made during their conference events I just dont see Tim Cook going on Apple Arcade. He is not the target audience. They need someone to head the group that is at least within 20 years of who their intended customer is for this service! And someone who is passionate about the gaming experience and is willing to die on that hill.
I remember when Microsoft started xBox. The guy they brought in was a young 30 something guy who clearly LOVED gaming and wanted to create the gaming experience of his dreams for MS. He was wildly successful and the xBox is a product that is arguably the #1 gaming device in the world now.
Apple needs someone young like this to head their gaming effort. I dont care what claims are made during their conference events I just dont see Tim Cook going on Apple Arcade. He is not the target audience. They need someone to head the group that is at least within 20 years of who their intended customer is for this service! And someone who is passionate about the gaming experience and is willing to die on that hill.
Apple arcade. I like apple products, but apple arcade is just a bunch, a sh*tload, of junk. Nothing which could compare to the worst « fat » gameboy’s game.
Some game developers are dissatisfied with Apple Arcade amid concerns about the subscription service's future, a new report claims.
Sources speaking to mobilegamer.biz described a "smell of death" around Apple's games subscription service and noted the difference between the company's investment in TV and music, and its interest in games. "At the very top of the company there needs to be a passion and respect for games, and there just isn't," one developer said. "It all depends on how much buy-in there is from those guys at the top, and I don't think they really value Arcade or invest in it the same way you see them invest in music or TV."
The service initially touted generous upfront payments to developers. Most games released on Apple Arcade in the service's first few years were apparently profitable, providing a lifeline for studios. "Despite its imperfections, we're very very happy Arcade exists. It has made premium games viable on mobile," one games studio executive said, explaining that their company would not exist without Apple's support.
The report claims that Apple Arcade's payouts to developers have been falling for several years, noticeably starting in October 2020. Both upfront payments and the per-play "bonus pool" have shrunk, and Apple is said to be evasive about how these sums are calculated. "They have this opaque metric that they call a qualifying session, and bonus pool payments are made based on that," one source said. "But no-one knows what a qualifying session actually is – it has something to do with if the game was launched, how long the player played for and how often they return. But it's a black box, really."
"App Store Greats" are not eligible for upfront payments, receiving bonus pool contributions only. As a result, games with shorter narratives and premium indie titles earn less than games with longer-term retention. This apparently explains the slow loss of certain types of games on the service. Moreover, there has apparently been a strong shift toward prominent family-friendly IP in Apple's commissioning decisions, with one or two new "App Store Greats" per month. Very few original games are greenlit for the service unless they meet these requirements.
While some developers spoke about their relationship positively, others described the company as "vindictive" or "spiteful" in its dealings. Some developers claim that the Apple Arcade team has not made its strategy shift and overall direction clear, and often simply stops replying to emails. "I got the sense they didn't really know where they were going with it all – almost like they weren't sure if they'd have jobs at the end of it," one studio representative said.
Developers similarly spoke about their difficulties getting marketing support or obtaining features on the App Store, even when their games are struggling to get traction on Apple Arcade. "We have to basically beg for featuring from Apple. Getting that banner featuring at the top is like squeezing blood from a stone," one developer added.
Apple "rebooted" the subscription service in April 2021, cancelling a large number of projects. Some developers believe that Netflix's competitive move into gaming subscriptions has prompted Apple to consider another Apple Arcade reboot, but the long-term future of the service is unclear.
Article Link: Game Developers Describe 'Smell of Death' Around Apple Arcade
If I was running Apple, Apple Arcade would be central in my immediate plan to fix developer relations and ease the threat of regulation.
Step 1 take all the games out of the App Store and stick them in a dedicated app. You could resurrect Game Center or you could just call it Apple Arcade with the subscription service becoming Arcade Plus.
Step 2 with games no longer in the App Store I would make different rules for the game store and the App Store. I would lower the 70/30 split on apps to win back the hearts of developers. For games, I feel the developers who sell ******** loot boxes are less likely complain since they are robbing people. I would also introduce paid app updates because not everything needs to be a damn subscription.
Step 3 Make peace with Spotify, stick an NDA in front of them and let them use their own payment processor or give them an exemption on the split. Their growth story is over anyhow.
Step 1 take all the games out of the App Store and stick them in a dedicated app. You could resurrect Game Center or you could just call it Apple Arcade with the subscription service becoming Arcade Plus.
Step 2 with games no longer in the App Store I would make different rules for the game store and the App Store. I would lower the 70/30 split on apps to win back the hearts of developers. For games, I feel the developers who sell ******** loot boxes are less likely complain since they are robbing people. I would also introduce paid app updates because not everything needs to be a damn subscription.
Step 3 Make peace with Spotify, stick an NDA in front of them and let them use their own payment processor or give them an exemption on the split. Their growth story is over anyhow.
The reason Apple has been able to make bigger moves in the Entertainment industry is because they've had a legacy presence there for a long time, iTunes and all that gives them a deeper network and access to much more resources than in the gaming industry where they are basically a no body since Apple has had a lacklustre game library on all of its platforms for as long as they have existed.
Ahem...
"10% of US consumers use Apple Arcade weekly (MIDiA Research consumer survey Q4 2023). For context, this nearly matches that of Nintendo Switch Online or Steam (both at 11% in the US) and double Ubisoft+ (5%) or Nvidia’s GeForce Now (4%). Apple also has a number of Arcade originals."
www.midiaresearch.com
How can Apple Arcade have the "smell of death" when its user base is only 1% lower than Steam?
"10% of US consumers use Apple Arcade weekly (MIDiA Research consumer survey Q4 2023). For context, this nearly matches that of Nintendo Switch Online or Steam (both at 11% in the US) and double Ubisoft+ (5%) or Nvidia’s GeForce Now (4%). Apple also has a number of Arcade originals."
For years, we said to take games efforts of these companies seriously – now they are serious players
MIDiA has always been bullish about traditionally non-gaming tech companies’ opportunity in games. The first time we wrote about Netflix’s opportunity in games was in 2017. We also wrote about the significance of Apple Arcade early on ( here , here , and reiterated reasons for the games industry...
www.midiaresearch.com
How can Apple Arcade have the "smell of death" when its user base is only 1% lower than Steam?
So either that survey of AA engagement (which had no input from Apple) overstates the real success of Apple Arcade, or all the developers who are complaining about AA are lying. All of them, in a massive coordinated effort.
Even the regulars of MacRumors are above that level of conspiracy theory. I think.
Blame the developers.
All they want to do is push out FarmVille, and those ultimate survival/clash of clan games with new skins.
One of the most anticipated games out recently was the oil game (Turmoil+) and it had a very brief tutorial on how to play the game, and you could tell that the developers made it with the intent of having long wait periods where you could buy freemium money to speed the game up. A total lackluster attempt.
The best game out on Apple Arcade is Football Manager Touch, and that in itself is just a very slimmed down version of the full game that anyone with a bit more time, and a PC/Mac at hand would play over it.
All they want to do is push out FarmVille, and those ultimate survival/clash of clan games with new skins.
One of the most anticipated games out recently was the oil game (Turmoil+) and it had a very brief tutorial on how to play the game, and you could tell that the developers made it with the intent of having long wait periods where you could buy freemium money to speed the game up. A total lackluster attempt.
The best game out on Apple Arcade is Football Manager Touch, and that in itself is just a very slimmed down version of the full game that anyone with a bit more time, and a PC/Mac at hand would play over it.
As someone who actually games as opposed to being an ersatz "Apple enthusiast gamer" I can tell you it's an embarrassment and never had a chance.
Karateka!! The countless hours my friends and I spent playing that one! I was obsessed with all of the Space Quest games back in the day. King's Quest too. Black Cauldron. Loved Bard's Tale and Ultima. Wolfenstein!! So many great memories of growing up with those games and trading pirated floppies with my friends in middle school.
The mobilegamer.biz article uses the term "multiple" when describing the sources that are negative about Apple Arcade. They also mention that not all of the sources they talked to were negative. So I don't think you can really use the term "massive" when it comes to the number of developers interviewed for the story.