Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Apple Arcade
- Thread starter Avenger
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Oceanhorn 2 looks to be a launch game. If you like Zelda that should be pretty good; the first game was a lot of fun.
If they get Apple Arcade right it could blow the Nintendo Switch out of the water. That’s a pretty big if, but with games like Dead Cells now coming out in iOS and with better controller support I think the sky is the limit.
If they get Apple Arcade right it could blow the Nintendo Switch out of the water. That’s a pretty big if, but with games like Dead Cells now coming out in iOS and with better controller support I think the sky is the limit.
Last edited:
Yes ios 13 supports ps4 and xbox one s controllers I believe. We just need some hardcore games and not frogger and rhythm games and the like.
Looking forward to arcade. I’m old enough to remember the original games that came out in the late 80’s and 90’s for Macintosh. Feels like old time apple again. 4.99 for my three kids and I whats not to like?
I’ve been waiting for Apple Arcade for months. Yes there will be good quality console like games. Not to mention, the $5.99 monthly cause will fund the path of future game, and constant new game development.
I guess it‘s simply two words: Nintendo exclusives. They are arguably among the best video games available which is why nothing will just kill the Switch. If it were only about raw power, PS4 and Xbox would have killed the Switch by now as well.
I will agree that Nintendo first-party games are fab: I bought both the N64 and the Switch primarily to play Zelda. But I’m talking about the home / mobile aspect of the switch, which was the other big reason I bought one.
I travel a lot for work and being able go play great games on a boring evening in my hotel is fantastic. The Switch promised that, but in my experience playing the games I enjoy on its on-board screen isn’t very satisfying. They tend to be games with more going on onscreen so the very small size is a big limitation. It would be much better to be able to just stand up my iPad and then play with a Bluetooth controller. Occasionally when I am out during the day I might want to play something truly handheld, but I don’t tend to carry my Switch out-and-about.
Being able to play on my ATV at home, play the same game with iCloud saves on my iPad for hotel evenings and also play a bit whilst on a long train or tube journey would be awesome. That is how I think Apple Arcade could seriously challenge the Switch.
I travel a lot for work and being able go play great games on a boring evening in my hotel is fantastic. The Switch promised that, but in my experience playing the games I enjoy on its on-board screen isn’t very satisfying. They tend to be games with more going on onscreen so the very small size is a big limitation. It would be much better to be able to just stand up my iPad and then play with a Bluetooth controller. Occasionally when I am out during the day I might want to play something truly handheld, but I don’t tend to carry my Switch out-and-about.
Being able to play on my ATV at home, play the same game with iCloud saves on my iPad for hotel evenings and also play a bit whilst on a long train or tube journey would be awesome. That is how I think Apple Arcade could seriously challenge the Switch.
I will definitely be giving it a try (1 free month; why not?), but from what I have seen so far, Apple Arcade seems to be aimed at families (more specifically, families with young children). You have games that are pretty safe and are free of IAPs and ads, so parents should feel safe handing an iPad over with Apple Arcade loaded to their children for a while.
Part of me wonders if this isn’t so much about winning over the current generation of gamers, but rather, trying to lock in the next generation of gamers. Kinda like what Nintendo has done with today’s adults.
I'm looking forward to trying it as well. I used to be a diehard gamer but these days I usually don't have time for anything but a simple but well designed mobile game now and then. And it'd really help me if I can get a good selection of such games kind of served up on a platter, because it's the sifting through thousands of crap games on the App Store which usually prevents me from bothering at all. It's just so damn draining. I think Arcade is aimed at gamers in my kind of situation too.
I'm hoping for a good serving of simple but great looking games like that underwater one by Capcom that they demoed at the Keynote, with the occasional high quality/greater depth titel like the upcoming Beyond A Steel Sky which I'm really looking forward to. I'm also hoping for some great point-and-click titles that work well on Apple TV without having to buy expensive controllers that won't see any other use, stuff like the Samorost games which were great fun to play with my girlfriend (who hates games in general).
At $5 a month, I think they could have a winner on their hands here if they can nail the right target audience with their selection. I see a lot of dedicated gamers whining but Arcade probably isn't meant to be for them, and it's never going to threaten the Switch or any other full blood gaming device or service.
The problem with Apple Arcade, and why it will never compete with the Nintendo Switch, is compatibility.
You can imagine some amazing game played with a bluetooth controller on a powerful new A13 chip. But that game must also be fully functional for someone tapping on the screen of an A10 iPad.
Game developers always aim for the lowest common denominator, and in the case of Apple that bar is very low.
Apple Arcade will just be an above average selection of typical iOS games.
You can imagine some amazing game played with a bluetooth controller on a powerful new A13 chip. But that game must also be fully functional for someone tapping on the screen of an A10 iPad.
Game developers always aim for the lowest common denominator, and in the case of Apple that bar is very low.
Apple Arcade will just be an above average selection of typical iOS games.
Oh wow. A sequel to Beyond a Steel Sky? Damn. Got all kinds of nostalgia bombs exploding in my head.
Except that isn't a problem at all, precisely because they're not aiming to compete with the Switch. Nor any other gaming platform on that level.
Which is exactly what they intend for it to be, I think. An above average selection of typical iOS games, hand picked with some measure of quality standards so one doesn't have to spend $20 and three hours to find one good game that costs $1. That's all I'm asking for that price anyway.
It's a problem for the guy who thinks Arcade will blow the Switch out of the water
Ah sorry, if you meant it like that then yes definitely.
[doublepost=1568635882][/doublepost]
Yeah same here. I had a nostalgia-gasm already when replaying the original on...I think it was the iPhone 3GS?? Such a well made port, and worked beautifully even on that early iPhone. The new one looks promising.....trying to keep my expectations at bay but the teaser is beautiful!
Apple dropped the requirement for ATV games to support touch controls a while back, now. Add to this native support for Xbox and PS4 controllers in iOS 13 and it’s all about install base and barriers to entry. There is little point in creating a complex, controller based game when almost no one has MFi controller. But once you can pick up a decent controller cheaply there will be a huge install base to go after.
Apple Arcade may not in itself make iOS a competitor to the Switch. But once you have millions of people already playing controller-based iOS games the market for high quality games in addition to Apple Arcade will become very attractive to games developers.
That is when Apple will be a contender.
Do you know what the requirement for the size of the game is? Modern console games can be ~50GB. Switch games are only up to ~15GB with their lower resolution.