Coinciding with the release of iOS 13, 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Apple Arcade released last Friday with the seemingly impossible goal of digging the mobile gaming industry out of the abꦡyssal hole for which it had dug itself. Though we’re not quite a week removed from the launch, reactions to the subscription serജvice seem to be fairly positive, but we have yet to see how Arcade will impact what has essentially become a freemium wasteland full of incestuous, money-siphoning garbage.
It’s been at least two decades since Apple products could consistently be used as gaming machines; while quite a few modern releases still support Macbook architecture, the brand’s lack of hardware customization options and extreme retail markups have steered hardcore gamers away beginning with the end of the iMac G3 era. Very few who opt to game on desktops dare risk the price points and compatibility issues of Apple, and, for a time, the same was the case for mobile, as the company’s flashy thousand-dollar offerings didn’t particularly appeal to those looking to play simple games like Candy Crush on the go.
With all that said, it’s almost strange to see Apple offer such a co꧑mpetitively-priced, fully-featured service. For no more than five dollars a month, subscribers will have access to somewhere around fifty games (though Apple claims they’ll double that by year’s end), all of🌼 which are complete packages entirely devoid of ads or microtransactions.
That’s a breath of fresh air once thought to be impossible, but what will this n𒊎ew subscription service era bring upon the rest of the market? With major industry leaders like Google, Microsoft, and Sony offering their own flat-fee monthly gaming options, some are concerned that those who can’t join this exclusive club will be left behind.
For instance, though Apple seems to have pulled out all the stops 🍌and picked up some major totally new titles for Arcade, most of th꧟ese are exclusive to the service, meaning that other platforms, including their own app store, have been robbed of another quality experience. If enough games are gobbled up by subscription services of this nature, places like the App Store or Google Play may become even more barren and horrid than they already are.
This is something we’re currently seeing with video streaming at the moment. With every major studio and network tripping over themselves to draw consumers to their bundles and steaming packages, the market has become so segmented and devoid of non-paywalled content that those looking for a one-stop movie and show shop are essentially out of luck. The same could soon be true of mobile gaming, and eventually, gaming as a whole; it won’t be enough to simply be an Apple Arcade member, you’ll also have to buy into Google Play Pass, Microsoft Game Pass, EA Access, and who knows what els𝓰e.
That’s not to say that this exclusivity won’t have some positive side effects. As previously mentioned, Apple has ensured that these games have been stripped of any of the widely-derided freemium features which have plagued gaming for far too long. If that’s the standard to which everyone else will be held, this could theoretically put a major damper on the hoards of scummy Clash of Clans clones out there… but it could also ensure that those without at least one subscription will be stuck with nothing but scummy Clash of Clans clones. So, rather than buying Monument Valley for $1.99 💮and being done with i𒆙t, you’ll have to pony up at least a fiver a month whenever you want to play it.
This also brings up the ever-controversial topic of game ownership. As games con🅷tinue to devolve into digital-only affairs tied to DRM launchers like Steam or Origin, some have become more wary of purchasinꦛg full-priced releases which could theoretically be taken away from them someday. What’s more, much like Nintendo’s Switch Online service, we have to question exactly what happens to our games and saves once we cancel our subscriptions on Apple Arcade. Will we lose everything and be forced to start fresh?
Still, we can’t deny the convenience offered by services like these, and they ensure mobile games will no longer be able to get away wit꧂h what they’ve been getting away with for the past decade or so. If this is the magic bullet capable of killing off predatory microtransactions, then it may well be worth the consequences.
Obviously, as with anything, there are positives and negatives🐎 to this whole affair. Yet, while Apple Arcade seems poised to do a lot of good on the surface, it also has the potential to segment the market and leave non-subscribers totally out in the cold. We’ll have to see how this plays out, but, while we’re excited to see how awesome having Apple Arcade can be, we aren’t excited to see how roug♐h things become if we don’t buy in.