It's been barely a week since Google announced its video game streaming service that we have another tech giant making the leap into gaming and it comes at no surprise that this company is none other than Apple.

During its Apple Event today, the multi-billion dollar company announced its take on video game subscription service, the Apple Arcade. Touted as "the world’s first game subscription service for mobile, desktop and the living room", this service will offer over 100 new and exclusive games to subscribers, with titles coming from game creators like Hironobu Sakaguchi (Final Fantasy) and Will Wright (SimCity) that will be playable across Apple devices.

Apple also announced that the service will feature games from Annapurna Interactive, Bossa Studios, Cartoon Network, Finji, Giant Squid, Klei Entertainment, Konami, LEGO, Mistwalker Corporation, SEGA, Snowman, ustwo games and dozens more. Some games that have already been announced include Sonic Racing, LEGO Brawls and Oceanhorn 2: Knights of the Lost Realm.

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Unlike streaming services like the recently unveiled Google Stadia, the Apple Arcade will be playable offline, and the games will be ad-free and without in-app purchases. For a monthly subscription fee (of an unspecified amount at the time of writing), players will have the opportunity to try any game in the service with all game features, content and future updates included right off their iPhone, iPad, Mac and/or Apple TV. Moreover, given that the service is accessible across Apple devices, subscribers can pick up where they left off in a game, even if they switch devices. Apple also mentions that "many games will offer support for game controllers".

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Apple Arcade will launch in fall 2019 in more than 150 countries from a new tab on the App Store across iOS, macOS and tvOS.

What do you think of Apple's move into the video game industry? Do you look forward to the Apple Arcade-exclusives?

SOURCE

 

[Kubas_inko]

Graphics, Controllers, and VR aside, what can the future of video games bring that the past has not?

Whatever will it be, I hope that it won't be cloud gaming.

 

[Zense]

I don't get it?

Steve Jobs is resting in peace.

 

[Bladexdsl]

and the shit just keeps spewing out of crapple

 

[KingVamp]

I know they tend to hyperbole, but that video was just dumb. Like it almost felt like a parody.

 

[Ericthegreat]

apple wins again baby!

Is this a joke?

 

[anhminh]

It's Apple so I would expect 99.99$/month for one game.

 

[duwen]

Do you look forward to the Apple Arcade-exclusives?

LOL

 

[the_randomizer]

Steve Jobs is resting in peace.

Okay what you said before made no sense

LOL

Wow, I can't wait to see what kind of hot garbage that'll be deemed "exclusive"

 

[Kioku]

Noooo, you must be confusing that with Apple.

Apple isn't a gaming company. Even if they desperately want to be.

 

[the_randomizer]

Apple isn't a gaming company. Even if they desperately want to be.

Thank goodness for that, who knows what kind of garbage games they'd spew out onto market.

 

[Pleng]

Graphics, Controllers, and VR aside, what can the future of video games bring that the past has not? Isn't everything just a rip off of what was? Pretty much feels that way to me. Millions more games per year, but still only a handful will be worth playing, same as always.

Seems like a strange comment from somebody who's life project is bringing an old game (one of the all time greats, no less, but definitely from 'the past') up to date.

 

[the_randomizer]

Seems like a strange comment from somebody who's life project is bringing an old game (one of the all time greats, no less, but definitely from 'the past') up to date.

Sounds like someone is defending Apple and other lame-ass companies who keep recycling the same BS every year.

 

[Zense]

Okay what you said before made no sense

Apple was a completely different company back before Jobs returned. Which is why they almost went bankrupt, until he came back and scrapped all of the stupid shit they were doing — including the Pippin.

I hope he returns this time too.

That would be an achievement

If apple ends up in deep enough shit after this fails then maybe?

Hmm, that'd be a real shame, huh?

If he does, ask him to get Iwata to come back with him.

Here you go

Actually, why would it be a shame if he returns? Or did you mean sarcastically it would be a shame if Apple Arcade fails?

 

[the_randomizer]

Here you go

Actually, why would it be a shame if he returns? Or did you mean sarcastically it would be a shame if Apple Arcade fails?

Yes, I hope it fails, Apple has a big enough share as it is, we don't need its influence spreading like a virulent disease.

 

[Zense]

Yes, I hope it fails, Apple has a big enough share as it is, we don't need its influence spreading like a virulent disease.

I'm more concerned about google's influence, especially how they say you can be viewing a stream of a game and be "a button press away from joining the game": this is BS. If everything goes according to their plan there will definetely be a button that says "Pay 4,99$ now and join this stream right now! Also, enable one-click payment to join immediately in the future..."

If games really do get monetized in this way it would be a nightmare tbh.

In addition, I feel this service is aimed at people who don't have good enough rigs to play the newest games and instead tend to watch streams of those games. However, these people are so far into watching other people stream the games that they couldn't care less about paying in order to play themselves, not to mention paying for a laggy experience since right now 90% of the people they're targeting don't have good enough internet. Like right now I had problems watching youtube in 720p 60fps cus someone else was also using the wifi. Go figure if this thing will work with the current state of internett infrastructure in the world.

I can only imagine this being feasible in Japan, even Nintendo has realised this with their streamed games on Switch over there and not here. I do not know how big google and apple are over there but I know Japan has it's own streaming services for gaming and social stuff.

Who are these services aimed at?

 

[the_randomizer]

I'm more concerned about google's influence, especially how they say you can be viewing a stream of a game and be "a button press away from joining the game": this is BS. If everything goes according to their plan there will definetely be a button that says "Pay 4,99$ now and join this stream right now! Also, enable one-click payment to join immediately in the future..."

If games really do get monetized in this way it would be a nightmare tbh.

In addition, I feel this service is aimed at people who don't have good enough rigs to play the newest games and instead tend to watch streams of those games. However, these people are so far into watching other people stream the games that they couldn't care less about paying in order to play themselves, not to mention paying for a laggy experience since right now 90% of the people they're targeting don't have good enough internet. Like right now I had problems watching youtube in 720p 60fps cus someone else was also using the wifi. Go figure if this thing will work with the current state of internett infrastructure in the world.

I can only imagine this being feasible in Japan, even Nintendo has realised this with their streamed games on Switch over there and not here. I do not know how big google and apple are over there but I know Japan has it's own streaming services for gaming and social stuff.

Who are these services aimed at?

Clearly for more casual gamers, hardcore gamers would never want this crap.

 

[BlastedGuy9905]

no

 

[duwen]

Who are these services aimed at?

In this instance, it's certainly being aimed at the morons who haven't realized that the "perceived premium products" Apple sell are overpriced garbage.

...and I've had to endure using Apple products for my job for more than 2 decades (somehow, Apple equipment is still 'industry standard' in the print and design world), during which time they've gone from clearly being the best choice to being no choice at all.
Honest opinion; Steve Jobs irrevocably fucked that company up, but created a userbase that believes the figurative and literal BS they're selling.

 

[grey72]

This is the future, we are supposed to believe
That's one depressing future, primarily because kids will eat it up

 

[Zense]

This is the future, we are supposed to believe
That's one depressing future, primarily because kids will eat it up

Personally I (regretfully) think it might be the future. Since it DOES offer average people access to higher end graphics etc... at the cost of input lag.

To me it slightly resemble the change that happened from cartridge-based systems of the 90s to the disc-based PS1 and Saturn (Vs. the N64), which had the disadvantage of added load time or "loading screens", that for all intents and purposes were non-existent on consoles. I'm sure many people were advocating against it, also because they knew it was a more fragile medium. Ultimately the pros of more STORAGE, cheaper PRICE, and the fact that the industry didn't give them a choice until N64 that came later than the rest.

Comparing to today we have:
Streaming system VS. Non-streaming consoles of this gen
Graphics: Streaming (for most people)
Storage: Streaming
Price: Streaming
Input-lag:Non-streaming
Accessibility: Equal imo

Personally, I think what will decide is what is gonna be available from the industry. If Sony and Microsoft join this bandwagon with their next consoles then we're once again stuck with only Nintendo being the one using last gen's medium.

If not, we might get a situation were all gaming companies' try at this form of distribution utterly fail and they have to hurridly get out systems that take physical media.