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APPLE ARCADE: A BETTER IDEA THAN YOU'D THINK?

26/3/2019

19 Comments

 
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Another week, and another technology giant has announced its plans to construct an enormous, impossible-to-avoid, pipeline, that's going to pump raw gaming slurry direct into our unwitting, slack-jawed faces.

This time it's Apple - a behemoth of unprecedented girth - whose traditional hardware-based origins are showing the first indications of decrepitude.

Thus, it is taking a sideways step away from hardware, and backing original, exclusive, content, announcing Apple TV+ (a content repackaging thing driven by human curators and algorithms, that's more Amazon Prime than Netflix), Apple News+ (doesn't matter what it is; everyone was too distracted by the man in the Clockwork Orange jumpsuit), and Apple Arcade (an ad-free, subscription service, that'll boast 100 exclusive games at launch). 

Apple has been rumoured to be launching all of these things for a while, but the timing of Apple Arcade - a week after the unnecessarily controversial reveal of Google's Stadia - makes it significant.

Unlike Stadia, Apple's service will require you to download the games, and both are launching this autumn, albeit aimed seemingly at very different audiences. 
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NO COMPETITION
It needs no pointing out, but Apple Arcade is not a competitor to Stadia. Nor is it a competitor to existing PCs and consoles. This isn't so much a new format, as Apple finding a new way to squeeze more from the colossal user base of its existing platforms. 

​Furthermore, given that the games on offer will be playable across the entire family of Apple products (and, indeed, with up to six family members for a single subscription fee), there will be a limit to the scale of these games. While there are plenty of great, and gorgeous, titles already available on the App Store - far too many of them buried beneath the utter lack of quality control on there, unfortunately - don't expect Assassin's Creed Jamboree or Red Dead 3. 

However, Apple is making some insanely big claims for Apple Arcade; "Games that redefine games" no less, "Where storytelling and design are pushed further than ever before"...

Heck, Apple has even unveiled some of the games that are going to appear when the service launches, including Where The Cards Fall ("A captivating narrative puzzle that’s also a compelling coming-of-age story..."), The Pathless (a "surreal and mythic adventure, a hunter and an eagle explore a vast forested island to dispel a curse that grips the world"), Lego Brawls (a Lego spin on Super Smash Bros, seemingly), Beyond A Steel Sky (a sequel to the classic 1994 point and click adventure), and Sonic Racing (needs no explanation). 

In short: a mix of games from well-regarded indie developers (Monument Valley's Ken Wong), larger studios (Konami, Sega, Bossa Studios), and total randos (Hironobu Sakaguchi, creator of Final Fantasy, Sim City's Will Wright...).

Regrettably, it's hard to buy into Apple's claim that it'll make iOS "the premier gaming platform for players of all ages", given that most people play App Store games while on the train, ignoring their spouse (hello, dear; I know you're reading), or having a poo.
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IMMERSIVE
What is interesting to me, is that Apple Arcade is going big on gameplay and "immersive stories", and -wisely - not trying to sell the raw, graphical power, of the games it intends to offer. Which, in some respects, is the antithesis of what most big, console/PC, triple-A games do. 

This is, to a degree, music to my ears. Nonetheless, just as how its Apple TV+ unveiling - and its well-paid celebrity spokespeople - all reeked of trying to provoke an emotional response, without wishing to default to knee-jerk cynicism I'm not sure that I want to hear this from a corporate whale that pays less tax than I do. Even if their message is wrapped up in a load of touchy-feely language.

It's marketing, ultimately, and marketing that is pretending not to be marketing, by contemptuously attempting to do a number on our feelings. Most of us know you want to make loads of money; stop handing it to us bound in the skin of a Hallmark greetings card.

Nevertheless, Apple has already declared iOS the world's most successful gaming platform, and - indeed - it's the only way my wife and most of my kids ever play games (their current addictions include Mahjong City Tours and Helix Jump - the latter of which is also my go-to on-the-way-to-a-meeting game... though the in-game ads are getting a bit much).   

The games available on iOS are limited by the hardware - and that's unlikely to change with Apple Arcade - but I like that some iOS games make a virtue of this. To my jaded eyes, something like Monument Valley is every bit as stunning as a graphically-rich console game. For many players, the lack of bells and whistles is irrelevant; it was Fortnite's release on mobile devices which really drove the game's ubiquity, with over 100 million iOS downloads in its first five months. 

As rare as that sort of success is, if a few more games can get close to that sort of breakthrough, Apple Arcade really could be a contender, and finally be a gaming platform that isn't just for your mum and the village dunce.
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PAUSE 
The thing which really gives me pause about Apple Arcade is that it's launching with 100 exclusive games. For me, that devalues everything across the board, and presents those who sign up with a bewildering array of choice. There's a reason why the best restaurants limit the options on their menu, and why Hungry Horse is never going to win any Michelin stars (not helped by its name suggesting that you're going to be eating a load of reeking mulch out of a trough).

Sure, build that catalogue over time, but to launch with 100 games is just insane to me. Why would you do that? More to the point... why would you agree to put your games on it?

Admittedly, Apple is offering to help develop and fund creators' projects - essentially a step towards Apple becoming its own games studio - which is something, and I guess there's a certain argument to be had that there's no real viable alternative. I mean, at least this offers the backing of a major entity, and I guess if Apple can wave enough money at Oprah and Spielberg to sway them into posing as a corporate shill, then Little Johnny Indie developer would need far less convincing.

Ultimately, I cautiously welcome Apple's move, but it also highlights that there's just so much content available now. Frankly, unless you get very, very lucky, the game you've invested so much time, money, and love into is just going to disappear into the ether.

If Apple can make it financially worthwhile that'll take the edge off, to a degree, but most indie creators, I would assume, are making their games from a place of passion, and want them to be played by as many people as possible. 

Is launching on a platform with 99 other games the best way of achieving that? Dunno. But is punting them out onto Steam any better? We shall see.

One way or another, with Apple, Google, and - let's face it - Amazon poised to invest in gaming, Sony and Microsoft are facing the first real challenge to their dominance of the industry. The next few years are going to see the sort of shake-up we've not witnessed since the original PlayStation.
19 Comments
Pete Davison link
26/3/2019 10:39:24 am

I'm a lot more open to this than Stadia, but I still don't like the inherent "impermanence" of it. How will these games be archived for the future if and when Apple Arcade ceases to be a thing? At least with them being downloadable, some clever hacker will undoubtedly find a way to reverse-engineer and back them up, likely within two hours of the service launching.

Archival may not be important to everyone, but it's of increasing concern to a number of people across the whole industry at the moment, particularly those interested in the history of this young medium. And with some really interesting sounding games supposedly coming exclusively to Apple Arcade, it'd be a shame for them to have an "expiry date" on them.

To get a bit more specific, Apple seems to be going all-in on the "games as art" angle which a lot of indie developers favour. Perhaps there's some sort of message in there about the impermanence of art in the digital age, but still. It'd be a shame for creative works to feel "disposable" -- and, as you say, the fact the service is supposedly launching with 100 games won't help with this!

I'll be very surprised if any of these services replace the traditional "I bought a game, now I'm going to play it" experience, but I can see them coexisting. The question is, for how long?

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MENTALIST
26/3/2019 11:10:57 am

It's just Xbox Game Pass for iOS.

The key difference is that it's intended to counterbalance the current business model for mobile games that is dominated by freemium shite, in order to encourage more "proper" games on the system. Mobile gaming needs a "Netflix for games" more than traditional consoles do.

If I had an iPhone, I might consider it.

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Craig Grannell link
26/3/2019 12:36:51 pm

Anyone who knows me will know I’ve long been a big advocate of iOS gaming. I think it’s opened up all kinds of things that for me were a natural successor to the DS. Touchscreen interfaces forced creators to do new things. But Apple itself has never really understood gaming, and so although there was for a long time great interest and excitement among developers, that has largely fallen away.

This announcement caught me by surprise. I thought it would be a forever rumour, rather than an actual thing. My take is cautious optimism, with a worst-case scenario being access to a bunch of great-looking games on day one.

On Biffo’s writing, I did tweet a few of things that came to mind. First, iOS games are limited by the hardware, but not to the degree they’re like the Spectrum or something. It’s more like the Switch. After all, you’re not going to get things like Grid Autosport running perfectly fine on a system that can’t hack it.

On the number of games, I reckon this is marketing-led. You need to start with a fairly big number, to draw more people in. (With 100 games, there’s “something for everyone”.) Head to the other extreme, and everyone would be dismissing Apple Arcade as a flop from day one.

Also, Apple is part-funding these games, which is a new thing. The last time I was aware of Apple having that much direct input into gaming was way back in the 1990s, pre-Jobs.

Still, I’m broadly happy with what I’m hearing right now, although I will echo Pete’s comment that we’re heading into archival hell. That’s not just iOS, though, but the ephemeral nature of digital media across all platforms. I’m not sure Apple really cares (after all, look at the 32-bit thing), but I did bring it up during a recent journo thing I was invited to. I’ve no idea how far up the chain such comments travel, mind, nor if they have any impact!

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Spiney O'Sullivan
26/3/2019 02:17:22 pm

Much as I hate to admit it, despite the limitations posed by largely useless touch-screen controls I still find myself playing more games on my iPhone (mainly point-and-clicks on public transport and the odd match-3 thing played while watching TV) more than my under-loved Switch and my still-preferred-to-the-Switch 3DS just due to the phone's sheer convenience. So I kind of yearn for the iOS store's heyday of being stuffed with slightly-too-ambitious Gameloft knock-offs of popular console games, which the return of Oceanhorn in its more modern Zelda knock-off form vaguely hints at.

That said, I feel like a Google Stadia-type deal would make far more sense for Apple, considering that if any systems could benefit from outsourced processing power to make up for their shameful lack of it, it's Apple products. But again, I could be wrong: the Switch's success continues to suggest that you can be massively popular by just being really easily accessible, even if you are horrendously underpowered compared to gaming's big boys.

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Craig Grannell
26/3/2019 03:04:06 pm

I dunno. I guess it depends what you're after. For me, the early days of the App Store were all about new ideas and innovation, more than knock-offs. That's still often the case now, alongside entertaining diversions that echo other fare (Maginary's oddball adventure game novel; Yeah Bunny 2's stripped-back platforming).

I don't get complains about power though. You can do full 4K video editing on an iPad Pro, scrubbing through the footage. Grid Autosport runs happily on my iPhone. It's not like these devices lack power. Maybe compared to an Xbox, but they're not trying to be an Xbox.

Neptunium
26/3/2019 12:59:23 pm

I think it's meh. Without a standard controller and a method of making that controller ergonomic to use when using an idevice, Apple arcade is a service which won't actually let you play arcade games properly.

If you could match up the stadia wifi controller to this service there'd be something there.

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Craig Grannell link
26/3/2019 01:35:42 pm

So you'd have alternate control systems on the go, and a traditional controller for Apple TV/Mac. (You can of course get MFi controllers for iPhone if you want to, such as Gamevice, or just use a Nimbus with your iPhone or iPad. The MFi standard is, well, a standard. It's a bit different from traditional console controller set-ups, but not that far off.)

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Geebs
26/3/2019 01:41:39 pm

You know what’s really annoying about MFi? Chinese iOS devices can use any bluetooth controller you like. MFi really does serve no useful purpose whatsoever, and in fact just makes gaming via Apple devices worse and more expensive. Gaahhh.

Spiney O'Sullivan
26/3/2019 07:54:35 pm

Is the Nimbus better than the Stratus XL? I've found mine to be a bit stiff, overly springy and a little unresponsive to button presses without a bit of force.

Craig Grannell
27/3/2019 08:39:46 pm

Not sure if replying to myself will work, but here goes. Spiney: yes, the Nimbus is better than the older Stratus. IIRC, the D-pad in particular is better, as are the triggers. However, I long ago offloaded my Stratus and so cannot directly compare.

Meatballs-me-branch-me-do
27/3/2019 12:52:44 am

I read Hardcore Gaming 101 and am staggered by the number of classic games which have seen their first remake/reissue in decades on iOS. Do that many people really, *really* have Bluetooth controllers? Because I know for sure the number of people who are able and willing to fumble through any reasonably challenging classic game (myself, I gave up on the otherwise good Loderunner port because the controls were complete garbage) must be a fraction of a percentage.

If you actually do go ahead and get a controller, haven’t you just lost the whole point of phone gaming? You should just buy a Switch or 3DS or whatever and have a proper handheld with proper games on it, then.

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Craig Grannell
27/3/2019 08:41:26 pm

Depends on the game. Lode Runner was indeed shit on iOS. Some platformers work fine though (Oddmar, e.g.) Ports handled well also work (Grid Autosport). As for controllers, I don't use one often, but it's a requirement for Apple TV, because the Siri Remote is an abomination.

RG
26/3/2019 02:28:35 pm

I've never owned an Apple device and likely never will, so these will be games that I never get play...

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MENTALIST
26/3/2019 04:28:08 pm

I expect that in terms of exclusivity, these games will be as "exclusive" as any third-party title is, where the platform-holder does not own the IP. If they're good, or popular enough , they'll do the rounds eventually.

Interestingly, it seems like there might only be a "mobile exclusive" clause, as seems to be the case with this Shantae games that's announced it's coming to all 3 consoles, PC and Apple Arcade.

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Craig Grannell
26/3/2019 05:07:21 pm

Reading between the lines, it feels like there are various 'levels' of game here. There are ports from other systems to mobile, which will therefore not rock up on Android for some time (if at all). But also, Apple is funding some of this stuff. I wouldn't be surprised if they stay exclusive in the same way as TV shows don't venture from specific streaming services to those run by rivals.

Biscuits
26/3/2019 04:28:06 pm

It is my view that 'we love gameplay and accessibility!' is an entirely hollow, corporate, and unprovable subjective-worm-on-a-hook. It's the equivalent of a uke and a xylophone on some tweetronising TV ad attempting to sell me insurance

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ChorltonWheelie
26/3/2019 08:30:23 pm

Apple preys on idiots.

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Meatballs-me-branch-me-do
26/3/2019 10:20:58 pm

All of this business reminds me of the rise of CD-ROM and multimedia, when all these big non-gaming companies had great ideas for their new boardroom-driven systems. Panasonic/Goldstar/Sanyo, Philips, Sony. Only Sony managed to pull it off.

Microsoft surprised us a generation later, though they are also awfully fond of abruptly pulling plugs on things (1vs100, MS Flight, MS Train Sim, Windows Phone, Kinect) that they invested small fortunes in, mismanaged, and realized they’d fucked and couldn’t be bothered to fix.

I watch these experiments with a cynical eye for similar fuckery. Whoever succeeds will succeed resoundingly, but the failures will be unprecedentedly expensive.

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Craig Grannell
27/3/2019 08:44:34 pm

Apple has billions in the bank. If Apple Arcade doesn't take off, it won't hurt the company. It'll just go back to not really giving a shit about games, despite raking in billions every year from games on the platform.

Plus it's not like Apple's reinventing the wheel. It's basically putting 100+ games behind a subs paywall, and giving you cross-device progress sync. Assuming the sub is a tenner or thereabouts, you'd be nuts to NOT try it if you already have an iOS device. Whether it'll tempt anyone else across is another matter.

(However, comparisons with Panasonic or something are odd. The App Store has hundreds of thousands of games. It might not be the home of AAA titles, but aligning it with companies that don't do gaming at all is an odd stance.)

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