Google Launches New $4.99 'Play Pass' Service on Android Devices to Compete with Apple Arcade

[Lalatoon]

Well, I think Google has an edge over Apple on this one considering that Apple is heavily curating developers content.

I know a lot has been said about quality over quantity, but that is actually just fanboys reasoning the truth is quality a SUBJECTIVE matter, what might be a good quality for one person is not for another. When it comes to contents like this (art and entertainment) for me it should be the user who will have the say what is quality for him/her not some company (Apple or Google) which has its own standard which is of course not in line with the rest of us.

Its not Apple or Google that will decide what games will entertain us. I think there job is to give us access to contents created by developers. I like Googles way in a sense that it provides a lot of games to play with and since they are more friendly to developers I think they will attract a lot of developers small or big, newbies or seasoned, startup or established and hopefully one of those games will entertain us.

 

[toph2toast]

I’d rather wait with a bag of popcorn.

Hope it's a big bag, cause you'll be waiting a while.

 

[cmaier]

Well, I think Google has an edge over Apple on this one considering that Apple is heavily curating developers content.

Yes. This is exactly why the Guggenheim is so overrated. All that goshdarned curation getting in the way of everything.

That’s also why I prefer getting my news from 8chan instead of the New York Times. They call them editors, but we all know they are really curators.

 

[Arndroid]

"Google has been working on the Play Pass service since 2018". Who copied who?

If google spent more than three months on what they are offering it is a disaster. They literally just created a subscription to remove ads from old apps.

 

[mixel]

Well, I think Google has an edge over Apple on this one considering that Apple is heavily curating developers content.

I know a lot has been said about quality over quantity, but that is actually just fanboys reasoning the truth is quality a SUBJECTIVE matter, what might be a good quality for one person is not for another. When it comes to contents like this (art and entertainment) for me it should be the user who will have the say what is quality for him/her not some company (Apple or Google) which has its own standard which is of course not in line with the rest of us.

Its not Apple or Google that will decide what games will entertain us. I think there job is to give us access to contents created by developers. I like Googles way in a sense that it provides a lot of games to play with and since they are more friendly to developers I think they will attract a lot of developers small or big, newbies or seasoned, startup or established and hopefully one of those games will entertain us.

Every one of the games they highlighted is positively ancient.

So far Apple Arcade is valuable for anyone interested in games. Google’s service so far looks to be for people who don’t care about games enough to have played any of these games somewhere else already, which is very odd for a new service. They clearly shopped it around to devs who’s games have run their commercial course already. Either Google suck at advertising their service or it has very little to offer so far.

It’s not just about subjective quality. Terraria? Limbo? These are (indie) classics from a hardware generation ago.

 

[Arndroid]

Casual gamers yes, but serious ones with an Xbox or PS4 or who play on their computer won't be moving. There is just no way to compete with dedicated systems for the hardcore people.

They will capture a lot of casual gamers.

Check back on this in five years.

 

[BvizioN]

"Google has been working on the Play Pass service since 2018". Who copied who?

Wow!!! A whole year? Holly Molly!!

 

[ryanmillercg]

Really unhappy with Google Play Pass's revenue model here. Developers are being paid per time spent (Spotify-style model), which means short experiences will make disproportionately less money than long ones. Apple, on the other hand is taking more of a Netflix approach; funding the games themselves, or (I'm guessing) paying licensing fees for existing content.

"Google has been working on the Play Pass service since 2018". Who copied who?

In 2018 Apple was already working with indie developers to fund their games and build a solid launch lineup. Google, on the other hand, has only pre-existing games in it's lineup.

 

[everythingapplerainbow]

only in US + catalog is nowhere to be found

 

[wigby]

more competitive how? The games are pretty good and the price is very good already.

Ongoing competition matters too. If Google bails on this Play Pass (which they've been known to do) Apple will be free to raise their rates or change their policy with no competition from Google. Most users won't leave Apple ecosystem for just one service, game, show, app, feature, etc. but when you add them all up on both sides, the competition adds and ensures future value for all consumers.

 

[cmaier]

Ongoing competition matters too. If Google bails on this Play Pass (which they've been known to do) Apple will be free to raise their rates or change their policy with no competition from Google. Most users won't leave Apple ecosystem for just one service, game, show, app, feature, etc. but when you add them all up on both sides, the competition adds and ensures future value for all consumers.

I don’t see how play pass is a competitor to Apple Arcade. It’s not like I can say “hey, Apple Arcade isn’t as good as play pass. I shall switch! First, let me replace all my Apple TV’s, iPads and iPhones with android devices!”

 

[wigby]

I don’t see how play pass is a competitor to Apple Arcade. It’s not like I can say “hey, Apple Arcade isn’t as good as play pass. I shall switch! First, let me replace all my Apple TV’s, iPads and iPhones with android devices!”

There are millions of consumers that are on the fence. They might only own one Apple or Android device. They might have a household that is half Apple and half Android. These consumers are looking for both big and small reasons to allocate more money to one of the platforms. Most people don't want to start two new subscriptions that essentially overlap each other so they will pick the better one.

 

[Amazing Iceman]

How does this "compete"? IOS users can't choose Google's service and Google/Android users can't choose Apple Arcade.

And I know of NOBODY who would choose their phone based on which game service is available.

These beings you call NOBODY are actually called teenagers. There are lots of them roaming around, but it’s not just them.

 

[gkarris]

That wasn't the intent of my post... The point was, how many people play VR and Halo in the entire gaming community? Guaranteed <25%. It's a small section of the gaming market. Apple's going after the masses, casual gamers of which an iPad, with the right games, and interface (controllers) will suffice.

When I was young kid into Sci-Fi, if my parents told me here's our old iPhone, play games on that, then at my friend's house, they're playing Halo and DOOM on a big screen, I'd be like, NO, NO WAY...

(or heck, even if I'm playing Frogger on an old iPhone, and they're playing DOOM on a Switch Lite - no f'n way...)

 

[TheSapient]

Yes. This is exactly why the Guggenheim is so overrated. All that goshdarned curation getting in the way of everything.

That’s also why I prefer getting my news from 8chan instead of the New York Times. They call them editors, but we all know they are really curators.

Then again, I just use Google to find news sources, like the NYT, that I want to read. I don't need AOL or someone to ignore 8chan for me. I can do that on my own. Surely people have been able to find good apps in the App store without someone hand-picking a small number of great ones for them.

Google’s service so far looks to be for people who don’t care about games enough to have played any of these games somewhere else already, which is very odd for a new service.

Well, that would be someone like me. I've no idea how old the games I buy are. I just look for something fun. That said, I doubt I'm the core audience for a service like this. But at $2/month for my whole family, Play Pass is a no-brainer. If just one of us finds some app, game or otherwise, we want once per month, it will have been a good purchase.

 

[Lalatoon]

Every one of the games they highlighted is positively ancient.

So far Apple Arcade is valuable for anyone interested in games. Google’s service so far looks to be for people who don’t care about games enough to have played any of these games somewhere else already, which is very odd for a new service. They clearly shopped it around to devs who’s games have run their commercial course already. Either Google suck at advertising their service or it has very little to offer so far.

It’s not just about subjective quality. Terraria? Limbo? These are (indie) classics from a hardware generation ago.

I have 32GB ram and a full RTX 2070 gpu in my laptop and I still play games created decades ago like for example Diablo 2 and Warcraft 3 Frozen throne and I am even thinking of installing a NES emulator on my phone so that I can play Mario Bros, Lode Runner and Battle City which was popular around 1995. People still play Dungeons and Dragons, a lot of people still play chess even if its an ancient game. My point is its not about hardware or graphics, its about entertaining yourself.

My observation is, a lot of people here and I guess including you, are talking from an Apple fan perspective not from a person who play games a lot.

 

[mixel]

My observation is, a lot of people here and I guess including you, are talking from an Apple fan perspective not from a person who play games a lot.

Ummm.. Well you guess very wrong. 😉 Until Apple Arcade happened I was notably not an Apple fan in regards to gaming. Now I am.

I have Launchbox/RetroArch set up with thousands of roms. I have hundreds of console games. My amiga game collection alone is in the hundreds. I play old titles a lot. 😂 My steam library counts over 600 titles. (Damned humble bundles)

People who play games a lot have many if not all these games already on other platforms so they don’t represent much added value.

I’m specifically talking as a game enthusiast when I say I’d much prefer a service that has new games and supports devs making new games than a service that offers me things I already have.

 

[mixel]

Well, that would be someone like me. I've no idea how old the games I buy are. I just look for something fun. That said, I doubt I'm the core audience for a service like this. But at $2/month for my whole family, Play Pass is a no-brainer. If just one of us finds some app, game or otherwise, we want once per month, it will have been a good purchase.

That’s great I hope you enjoy it. There are a bunch of old-ish classics there if you missed them on the first run. But it is a very different animal to what Apple’s currently offering.

$2/month is definitely a bargain if you’re getting stuff that’s new to you.

 

[Stevie jobz 2.0]

google copys apple shock

So you think they have designed and released a new platform in 2 weeks flat!! Really?

 

[gatorguy2]

Google announced this before Apple. Maybe Apple copying Google?