Apple’s groundbreaking new gaming service, Apple Arcade, will be available on the App Store on Thursday, September 19 with iOS 13, offering an all-new way to enjoy games without limits. With a subscription to Apple Arcade for just $4.99 per month, users get unlimited access to the entire catalog of over 100 new, exclusive games, all playable across iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, Mac and Apple TV. Apple Arcade is launching with a one-month free trial, and users will not find the games on any other mobile platform or subscription service. Apple Arcade games can all be played offline, and a single subscription includes access for up to six family members with Family Sharing. The catalog will exceed 100 games in the coming weeks as new titles are introduced, with more games to come every month. Apple Arcade will be available on September 30 on iPadOS and tvOS 13 and in October on macOS Catalina.
Daniel Howley for Yahoo Finance:
I spent time playing some of the launch titles for Apple Arcade, and Apple has managed to put together a compelling list of offerings that are sure to please gamers looking for more from mobile games than having to pay $0.99 to play each level. As for game developers, Arcade could give them the means to reach an audience they may never have been able to before…
Games available for Apple Arcade exist across a spectrum of exclusivity for the service. There are games that are exclusively available on mobile via Apple Arcade, but still available on consoles like the Nintendo Switch, Sony’s PlayStation 4, or Microsoft’s Xbox One, on one end of the spectrum. And then there are those that are only available on Apple Arcade full-stop…
At $4.99, Apple’s offering is certainly more affordable than purchasing several games each month. And with the ability to download as many as you want, it’s almost too hard to pass up.
MacDailyNews Take: Along with Apple TV+ for the same price, $4.99/month for up to six family members is another you’ve-got-to-be-kidding-me-price making an Apple Arcade subscription a no-brainer!
I am sick of games that interrupt game progress with ads as frequently as every 45 seconds to a minute. I’ll be honest: I do not want to pay $4.99 a month for Apple Arcade, but I plan to do so anyway. Anything to put a wooden peg through the heart of the pay-to-play monster that is rising. I will give it 3-6 months anyway. Maybe as much as a year without much judgement. Apple, surprise me with something wonderful, especially in the area of strategy and puzzles, which are my favorite way to spend down time.
Not sure how this revolutionizes the freemium games.
Have you actually played any freemium games? It is a nightmare of poor gameplay combined with psychological triggers targeting frustration and gambling weaknesses in human nature to induce a large series of payments over time. Kids are particularly susceptible to the lure of in-game purchases. You used to be able to buy a computer game for $30 to $50 that was designed by people who love video games for people who love video games. Now the gameplay is crippled to promote in-game purchases using artificially scarce virtual commodity – gems, gold, platinum, whatever… You can pay $99.99 for a chest of 4000 platinum and spend it all in a few hours or less. You will then find that five or six more chests are needed to reach the upper heights of power in that gameworld. Next, a new level and new gear and new luxury items are added to drive you to buy more chests of platinum. It is a scam. Meanwhile, people who refuse to spend as much (or any) real dollars exist as a lower class of player, unable to compete with the big spenders who then dominate the game.
I have never spent a penny on a freemium game and I never will. I refuse to promote that scam.
Hopefully, Apple Arcade will drive developers to focus on gameplay again. That will only work if in-app purchases and ads are prohibited. Please let it be so…
All playable offline. This is big.
Most of my game playing is while flying, and there is practically nothing available.
Are you gonna need a “game controller” to play these arcade games?