Apple Arcade Is a New Game Subscription Service For iOS, Mac, and Apple TV (theverge.com)

Apple has unveiled a few different subscription services today at its "show time" event, including a new Apple Arcade game subscription service for titles that can be installed from the App Store. The company is aiming to curate some of the 300,000 games currently available from the App Store into this new ad-free subscription service. "There will be 100 new and exclusive games available on Apple Arcade, which will launch on the iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple TV," reports The Verge. From the report: These games won't be available on any other mobile platform or any subscription service other than Apple Arcade. Games will be downloaded and played straight from the App Store, and subscribers will be able to try games whenever they want and resume them across devices. All of the game features, content, and future updates will be included, and there will be no ads shown within the games.

SimCity creator Will Wright is also making a game for the service. Apple is promising games from Annapurna Interactive, Bossa Studios, Cartoon Network, Finji, Giant Squid, Klei Entertainment, Konami, Lego, Mistwalker Corporation, SEGA, Snowman, ustwo games, and more. Apple isn't just curating the games for Apple Arcade; it's actually planning to contribute to the development costs of creating them. Apple might not have announced its own game studio today, but it's certainly a big step toward that. Apple Arcade is launching this fall in more than 150 countries, but Apple is not yet revealing pricing for this subscription service. Apple does say that "access for up to six family members," will be available, suggesting you'll be able to share the subscription. While the full list of games isn't available yet, some of the titles revealed on Apple Arcade's website include: LEGO Brawls, HitchHiker, Kings of the Castle, Where Cards Fall, and Frogger in Toy Town. If you're a game developer, you can sign up for more information about the service here.

Comments

So like Stadia but worse

[Anonymous Coward]

So basically this is what Google just announced in Stadia, but worse, because it will only run on Apple hardware. And apparently require touch screen controls because it doesn't come with a controller.

All the downsides of Stadia but with none of the upsides. Yay.

Re: So like Stadia but worse

[Anonymous Coward]

No. The only similarity is 'games'.

Re:So like Stadia but worse

[Anubis IV]

So basically this is what Google just announced in Stadia

Not even close. Other than being about gaming, the two are basically nothing alike, regardless of whether you think one is better or worse. These are two VERY different approaches to gaming, each of which makes different compromises and plays to different strengths of their respective companies.

it will only run on Apple hardware.

At least so far, yup. And just a subset of it at that! That said, with Apple just announcing that they're bringing their TV app to other platforms like Roku, Amazon Fire, and smart TVs from various manufacturers (e.g. Samsung, LG, Vizio), it's entirely possible that Apple may revisit that decision in the future. Likewise, with rumors of ARM-based Macs on the horizon, it wouldn't be surprising if it expands to the Mac as well in the near future. In the meantime, however, this is clearly Stadia's greatest strength: the ability to run AAA titles at the highest quality on any screen, without the need to shell out for AAA hardware.

And apparently require touch screen controls because it doesn't come with a controller.

First off, this is a software subscription service, so it doesn't come with any hardware. Instead, it's designed to run on a variety of hardware, some of which—such as the Apple TV—lack a touchscreen, so your assumption is incorrect. You also seem to be unaware that there are a huge number of games for iOS/tvOS that are designed to work without a touchscreen (Apple even features games intended for controllers in a section of the App Store). There are probably a dozen gaming companies already making "MFi" (Made for iPhone/iPod/iPad) controllers that are compatible with iOS/tvOS. If Arcade ever makes its way to Mac the situation is even better because—as is the case on Windows or Linux—any HID-compliant peripherals (e.g. DualShocks, Xbox, etc.) will work just fine, so long as you have a way to connect it (e.g. Bluetooth, wireless adapter, USB, etc.).

All the downsides of Stadia but with none of the upsides.

Quite the contrary, it actually addresses nearly every downside of Stadia:
- Stadia won't work if you lack home broadband/have an outdated router or AP/your Internet goes down, but Arcade will
- Stadia won't work well when you're in a car, flying, taking public transit, etc., but Arcade will
- Stadia won't work if you share a connection with a network hog, but Arcade will
- Stadia collects data on your use and allows games to do so too, but Arcade doesn't do that or allow that
- Stadia has one controller shape/size, but Arcade has a huge number of options

That said, Arcade comes with its own set of compromises, most of which are things that Stadia excels at:
- Arcade's quality is limited to the hardware it's running on, but Stadia can run at full quality on virtually anything
- Arcade only runs on a subset of Apple hardware, but Stadia runs on practically any screen
- Arcade requires on-device storage, but Stadia requires no storage
- Arcade ONLY has highly curated exclusives, but Stadia is an open platform

Or, as I said at the top, they're two wholly different approaches, each with advantages and disadvantages.

Between the two, I'm probably more excited about Stadia, though I honestly doubt I'll sign up for either, given that I'm the sort of gamer who waits for games to hit the bargain bin before picking them up (I have a backlog of over 200 games I already own that I haven't played but want to play, so why pay a monthly fee for "maybe" entertainment when I already paid for sure entertainment?). Not only do I think that Stadia's drawbacks (which already don't really affect me much) are likely to decrease in severity with time, I also expect it to have a more compelling library of games, given that Apple has yet to demonstrate that they get gamers, despite numerous false starts at getting ser

Re:So like Stadia but worse

[Applehu Akbar]

So basically this is what Google just announced in Stadia, but worse, because it will only run on Apple hardware.

But unlike a new Google product, it will still be available a year from now.

Re:So like Stadia but worse

[guruevi]

Stadia was (you might as well say it will be cancelled) an online game streaming service (the game is executed "in the cloud"). This is an 'app subscription' service where you actually get the app downloaded to your device.

Two different things completely. And yes, you can has a controller (Bluetooth) to iOS.

Re:So like Stadia but worse

[Anonymous Coward]

At least the assets/code can be 'captured', even if it's at the router level, and if/when this goes belly up, there is a chance to 'rescue' the games. Sort ,of like what they did with many of Nintendo's BS-X exclusive games. Of course, there is the encryption and other protections to deal with, but enterprising hackers will overcome this.

  With 'Stadia', you just get pretty video and nothing more, and it eats limited cell data plans like candy.

Re:So like Stadia but worse

[Anonymous Coward]

So basically this is what Google just announced in Stadia, but worse, because it will only run on Apple hardware.

But unlike a new Google product, it will still be available a year from now.

And it won't suck up all your information. Don't forget that.

Four out of the last five articles are about apple

[Anonymous Coward]

Either Slashdot is doing poorly and they're looking for ways to get people to post inane bullshit about products they need not buy or the editors are staying away from politics because they know Trump ain't going to jail after all.

Either way it's hilarious. Slashdot must be suffering.

Slashvertisement

[Anonymous Coward]

Today's /. brought to you by Apple, and the word "payola."

Seriously, we don't need 3 separate Apple stories on the front page. We don't need a blow-by-blow. Just summarize the damn press conference when it's over.

Re:Slashvertisement

[The Grim Reefer]

Seriously, we don't need 3 separate Apple stories on the front page.

Actually four out of the last five stores have been about Apple. I guess this just proves that dentists prefer Apple. Or was it Trident?

Re:Slashvertisement

[Anonymous Coward]

Seriously, we don't need 3 separate Apple stories on the front page. We don't need a blow-by-blow. Just summarize the damn press conference when it's over.

Especially when the summary is simple: "Apple announced a bunch of services that will be released at some later date, providing no details about how they work or how much they cost."

Apple Arcade and Apple TV+ were the worst examples. What are they? How do they work? How much do they cost? What do they include? Who knows. They didn't say.

Re:Slashvertisement

[KreAture]

And msmash is responsible for 3 of them.
Show us your bank records! How much are they paying you!
Also: Stop it!

Re:Four out of the last five articles are about ap

[cheesybagel]

Apple seems to be desperate. Launching so many services with either paid subscriptions or captive market models in an attempt to gain revenue.

People typically don't like shit like this though.

Re:DO NNOT WANT

[DickBreath]

You want what Apple tells you to want.

Think Different.

The Apple Is Your Friend. Trust The Apple.

[x] YES! I want the next great Apple thing!

Dear Apple, enclosed is a blank check. Please fill in the amount for me. I'll be happily waiting for however long it takes for this to become a real product! Your loyal Apple fanboy.

Re: Four out of the last five articles are about a

[Anonymous Coward]

People just repost macrumors articles. Usually a few days later.

No, Ant-Stadia and better

[SuperKendall]

So basically this is what Google just announced in Stadia

Actually it's the opposite.

Not just because it's IOS only (though Apple TV is included). No, because these games are all playable offline (in fact they even through a little shade at Google during this segment by saying unlike streaming games you could play these with no network connection).

It also means a much more stable experience though, that is truly portable - Stadia doesn't seem like a thing that would work well outside a really strong wifi connection and would eat your mobile plan for lunch.

Re:No, Ant-Stadia and better

[Anonymous Coward]

Not just because it's IOS only (though Apple TV is included). No, because these games are all playable offline (in fact they even through a little shade at Google during this segment by saying unlike streaming games you could play these with no network connection).

In a word, bullshit.

They show the exact same game running on an iPad, iPhone, TV, and MacBook. And you're supposed to be able to seamlessly switch between each platform, moving the same game between them, just like Stadia does.

And the only way you can pull that off is with streaming.

It might be local streaming (presumably from the MacBook) but it's still streaming.

Re:No, Ant-Stadia and better

[guruevi]

You have obviously no clue how software works. You can transfer state between multiple devices and applications. It's basically like Steam, where you can have your 'save game' in the cloud and it syncs to all your devices, except you load directly into the saved game instead of going through the menus.

It's a very efficient way of transferring state. Apple also does the same for Safari (web browser) where you can have your tabs synced across browsers, messages and phone where you can hand off your cell phone call to your computer and vice versa and similar integrations exists within other apps and devices within the Apple universe.

Keynote currently has the closest model for these games your presentation seamlessly syncs to the big screen or even to remote viewers without ever breaking the presentation flow or showing your controls/notes - try that with PowerPoint and Windows.

curate

[Anonymous Coward]

I stopped reading at 'curate.'

Re:curate

[Anonymous Coward]

I stopped at ''apple''

Re:DO NNOT WANT

[Anonymous Coward]

Then DO NNOT SUBSCRIBE. It's as simple as that, and we don't care.

WTF why?

[AndyKron]

Woo hoo! Another game subscription I can ignore!

This was the service that really excited me

[SuperKendall]

If you watch this part of the announcement video, I thought that almost all of the games they were hinting at (not enough to call a preview) looks really interesting. I love the idea of a service that helps support alternative game ideas that simply cannot make money from in-app purchases or subscriptions on their own, to me having a field of potential games all with very unique gameplay is really exciting.

An interesting side note is they mentioned all of these games would work on an AppleTV as well, so I assume that means they will all mandate controller support to make that really possible.

My only gripe is we have to wait until fall to see the service arrive, it will mean a pretty good selection at launch though as I'm sure they'll be promoting this to game developers at WWDC this year to produce more content for.

I wasn't expecting an announcement like this about games but I was really happy to see it.

Re:This was the service that really excited me

[Anonymous Coward]

CAN'T WAIT TO BE HALFWAY THROUGH A GAME WHEN THEY DROP IT FROM THE SERVICE!

How could you possibly be happy about this? It's one of the dumber moves in a series of dumb moves Apple's made this year thus far. Really, this is something you're genuinely excited about? A chance to get games that are so shitty they couldn't possibly make money on their own getting a chance to shine on a for pay monthly service? Wow.

Re:This was the service that really excited me

[fustakrakich]

My only gripe is we have to wait until fall to see the service arrive

Gives everybody six more months of nauseating hype before the disappointment. Call it the Apple *Mueller Report*.

Re:This was the service that really excited me

[bug_hunter]

I strongly agree.

I know everybody is all about permanent ownership, but short phone games lead themselves to small unique experiences where I'd really love to play some, cycle through to the next and experience new stuff.
Long lived phone games live off by providing an addictive experience, not necessarily a fun one, and by having games that don't do In App Purchases we can avoid them.

Quite frankly, any revenue stream for game developers that don't rely on disposable IAP is good in my books.

Re: This was the service that really excited me

[Anonymous Coward]

This.

These games are free for a reason. No one wants to pay money for them.

Re:Four out of the last five articles are about ap

[Anonymous Coward]

Yeah, that's why streaming is beating the shit out of sales.... because people typically don't like shit like this.

True, the gaming sector suffers so far but eventually someone will get it right. Aside from that Apple seems to be knee deep (and getting deeper) in the biggest growth market in the entertainment industry.

You're the one who seems to be desperate... or at least insanely ignorant of market trends. I've said it before and I'll say it again; don't go to Slashdot for business insight. You people don't know your ass from a hole in the ground when it comes right down to it even as the trends are unfolding before your very eyes.

Re:Four out of the last five articles are about ap

[Anonymous Coward]

I think they realized they missed the boat on several subscription models and decided to just announce they're going to do them all without any real plan in place as to how to accomplish it. Should be a hoot watching this plan come back to bite them. If they don't start concentrating on building up their hardware base to something credible again, or at the very least come up with something truly fresh and exciting, they're going to start losing value. Nobody can coast on reputation forever. Especially somebody that seems hell-bent on destroying whatever good will their customers have left.

Kids console subscription as my model

[Anonymous Coward]

Kids got a console for Christmas 1 year ago plus 10 games since them.
Kids got a $60 game which had a decent 1 player scenario.
Kids ask to enable the online part of the game
Parent looks into it and finds a $10 per month subscription
Parent decides that getting 2 new games or 3 used games in the next year is a better option than paying $120 a year for the required online subscription.

>> Parent decides that the next console will likely not be bought due to trend of less and less games having single player campaign modes or local multiplayer of any quality.

Fuck apple

[Anonymous Coward]

That is all

Re:Four out of the last five articles are about ap

[cheesybagel]

Last Apple product I bought was the iPhone 3GS. Went to Android and never looked back.
I still remember the last time Apple wanted to make a business out of selling "digital" newspapers. Fact is paid print media is mostly dead.
So do tell me about market trends then.

One headline for all of this! Or are you bought?

[Anonymous Coward]

Ever get the feeling that Apple may be subsidising /. today?

Re:Four out of the last five articles are about ap

[cheesybagel]

I think someone saw the recent success of the Epic Game store recently and wanted to make a buck replicating it. I mean the business model with game "exclusives". Since we already had online game stores before. I agree that this mainly seems like an attempt to copy the people who are making money on services. Without even thinking if the product provides anything people want.

Re:Four out of the last five articles are about ap

[cheesybagel]

i.e. it's the anti-Steve Jobs model. He tried to make something he would like to use himself and then sold it. Quite often before most of the market catched up.

slashdot.org becomes slashdot.apple.shill

[Anonymous Coward]

Come on slashdot, four of the last five articles are Apple shill pieces...

If you were even somewhat ethical, one article that would have just had short summaries of what was shown at the 'show time' event would have been sufficient.

Sort of an inverse Moore's Law, slashdot's S/N ratio halves every few months ;(.

Re: slashdot.org becomes slashdot.apple.shill

[Anonymous Coward]

It's almost as if Apple had a keynote recently.

You are an idiot.

I wouldn't categorize it like that at all

[SuperKendall]

Apple seems to be desperate. Launching so many services with either paid subscriptions or captive market models in an attempt to gain revenue.

Although I agree it's an attempt to gain revenue, to me it makes sense to launch these all together since they are in a way competing for the same space.

This is just like how Netflix was saying the real competition they had was simply for attention. Apple is launching News+, TV+, and Arcade all together because they are all facets of ways people spend time, Apple is trying to do what they do best in any space - offer a really premium experience. If you like to read news, how about a way to do that with no ads? If you like TV, here's.... well an HBO clone (was going to say Netflix but after some thought the efforts Apple has are not broad enough to compete with Netflix properly) with a bunch of big Hollywood names who have not been arrested yet to hopefully lure you in.

You like to spend time on games? How about a bunch of really unique games you can throw time in on whenever, on whatever Apple device you have handy.

To me it's a simple extension of what they already do with hardware and other things like photography. It makes a ton of sense to launch them all together - the only one that was kind of strange to include was the Apple Card, probably would have been better to wait until it was ready to go. But I guess there they want to phase people in via mailing list.

mediocre.

[Thud457]

to recap:
Netflix - but from Apple
Steam - but from Apple
Visa - but from Apple
News - but from Apple

The only innovation I see here is the attempt to direct other peoples' revenue streams into Apple's coffers.

Re:mediocre.

[Anonymous Coward]

"ipod - a creative nomad but from Apple. hurr durr Apple has no innovation."
"iphone - a lg prada but from Apple, hurr durr Apple has no innovation."

Re:mediocre.

[Anonymous Coward]

The ipod didn't save apple, iTunes Store did. Taking a percentage of sales. Exactly what the post you replied to says.

Re:mediocre.

[Anonymous Coward]

Correct! :)

Re:mediocre.

[Anonymous Coward]

Steam - but from Apple

Nah, that's the App Store, they already had that. This is Xbox Game Pass, but from Apple, and with shitty games no one wants to play. Although it's pretty clearly a response to Google's Stadia announcement that they hastily threw together at the last minute.

Louis Rossman

[Anonymous Coward]

Wow,

Slashdot needs a double dose of Louis Rossman today! Too much crApple stuff. They were a computer company that used to make damn fine UNIX workstations. Now they are a media company that makes a terrible mobile phone. Who cares what services they put on their crappy entertainment gadgets.

"News for Nerds" should not be "Entertainment Weekly." How about something in Physics or Engineering? You know, stuff that nerds actually care about.

Appledot. News for iSheep. Stuff that "matters."

[Anonymous Coward]

The shilling...it burns.

Not a great name

[SuperKendall]

Gives everybody six more months of nauseating hype before the disappointment. Call it the Apple *Mueller Report*.

Hey now, at least Apple will deliver something people can use.

Re:Not a great name

[Anonymous Coward]

Apple will deliver something people can use.

Why would they want to?? Fucking stupid trinkets to waste one's time. Garbage... Scary!

New Product Announcement

[fustakrakich]

The Apple T.V.O.D.

lawsuit from King.com in 3...2...1...

[Thud457]

wait, wait, here me out...

Cookie Clicker, but every time you click, it sends a penny to Apple!
Oh, and makes some sort of bullshit boop noise. Every once in a while throw in a different kind of boop to keep the player engaged.

They pull it off today

[SuperKendall]

They show the exact same game running on an iPad, iPhone, TV, and MacBook. And you're supposed to be able to seamlessly switch between each platform, moving the same game between them, just like Stadia does.

So what's the problem believing that? They already do this today, really well, with iCloud syncing of save game content between an iPad and iPhone for example.

Apple gets flak for some services being unreliable but iCloud sync has been really reliable, and fast, for me.

It's only a tiny bit more work for games to able to run on AppleTV from other iOS devices, it's still IOS - since they don't really use UIKit at all. Moving to the Mac is similarly very easy as well, with a compatibility layer - all the real work is done by the GPU of any given system, and Metal is much the same across all those platforms (or at least most of it is).

And the only way you can pull that off is with streaming.

Simply not true, syncing game state in save files is a totally legit way to do it. I wouldn't say it would be AS seamless as streaming, but for most games very close and really more than close enough.

Re:They pull it off today

[Anonymous Coward]

> Simply not true, syncing game state in save files is a totally legit way to do it.

I'm fairly sure Stadia is doing using Windows virtual machines. Those would be quite a bit bigger than save game files (and why the game can be started at any point instead of just save points/slots).

What this "Ant Stadia" is (Stadia for ants?), it's probably just dealing with typical iOS games.

Re:They pull it off today

[Red_Forman]

all the real work is done by the GPU of any given system, and Metal is much the same across all those platforms (or at least most of it is).

I'm pretty sure the GPU of an iPad Pro or Apple TV is better than the integrated intel crap of, say, even the new Mac mini and MacBook Air.

Re:Four out of the last five articles are about ap

[Anonymous Coward]

About the time you went Android I went Apple and also never looked back. There's a lot of that kind of thing going on. Your story isn't a revelation of a general trend, it's a common story with not much gained by anyone.

I know you like to think you're helping to lead a revolution but most people simply don't give a shit. Get over it, fanboy. There's legions of fanboys playing tug of war and no one is winning.

Only subscription services want content exclusives

[darronb]

NOBODY wants exclusive content except the subscription services themselves. Now that there's a ridiculous number of subscription services, and all the exclusive content is fragmenting what is available to the average consumer.

Screw this trend. I hate it. Especially screw Apple, who are doubling down on exclusivity. (our service & our hardware)

We don't appreciate your new offerings... we think you're all assholes. We might grudgingly subscribe to some things (well, not Apple anyway), but we hate you for playing these stupid games and hurting your customers in the process.

So still no mainstream games on Apple

[Anonymous Coward]

I am still hoping one day to play D&D Shadow over Mystara on a Mac (emulators are shit to use). Looks like I need to go back to Windows.

Re:So still no mainstream games on Apple

[Anonymous Coward]

Says there are no mainstream games on Mac. Uses 6 year old 2.5D throwback windows exclusive steam title as example.

(Ignores Fortnight, Dewstar Valley, DOTA2, and hundreds of mainstream titles over the last decade )

Re: So still no mainstream games on Apple

[Anonymous Coward]

Fornite LUL.

Exclusives will ensure everything blows

[GoRK]

Game makers can't afford lock-in. If Apple wants everything to be exclusive this thing is dead in the water before it starts.

Re: Exclusives will ensure everything blows

[Anonymous Coward]

Does porting to Android even pay for itself? Apple practically cornered the "people that buy stuff on mobile" market without a monopoly on the mobile market. They have exclusivity for many things already without contracts, in the same manner Windows has technical exclusivity on many things.

Re:Exclusives will ensure everything blows

[Anonymous Coward]

Yeah, I hope Beyond a Steel Sky developers only have a timed exclusive. That would probably be more popular on a bunch of different platforms.

Re: Exclusives will ensure everything blows

[bug_hunter]

I *think* now Android and iOS/Android users will both pay for In App Purchases, but iOS users are more likely to pay for an app that costs more than $0 to download.

Still, when I read that it might just be whale vs whale for In App Purchases rather than representative of regular users.

Re: Exclusives will ensure everything blows

[Anonymous Coward]

We're talking about games. Mobile is hardly the biggest market here. Losing PC and Consoles is 90% of the market. And even in Mobile, Android users will pay for games. Apple never understood games, and are going to get smacked again - hopefully after the inevitable antitrust case.

Re: Exclusives will ensure everything blows

[Anonymous Coward]

Android users will pay time, in prison, when they are caught stealing games.

Re:Four out of the last five articles are about ap

[Anonymous Coward]

Apple seems to be desperate. Launching so many services with either paid subscriptions or captive market models in an attempt to gain revenue.

How dare a private company try to make money! And off of us, the consumer! Where we freely given them our dollars in exchange for useful services. A company motivated by profit? Now I've seen everything!

Why, the unmitigated gall!! Quadruple harrumph to Apple!

Re:DO NNOT WANT

[Anonymous Coward]

Nobody cares faggot.

The question is one of risk

[SuperKendall]

Between the two, I'm probably more excited about Stadia, though I honestly doubt I'll sign up for either,

I would as well...

An interesting point of difference as well - for Stadia the developer assumes all of the risk of converting a game to run under Stadia. I assume it has a PC base but even so that is not zero effort.

Meanwhile Apple is paying all of these game developers to make the games for Apple's service. I'm sure they also get a cut of service revenue depending on how many people play, but they have much less downside than a developer moving to support Stadia...

One more quibble, is that Stadia can't really display at full quality on everything, because it's limited by the display and network connection you are playing with. Even if the back-end is always running at full quality, you yourself may not be seeing the full effect of that. I wonder if that will cause some issues given some games optimize particular resolutions, whereas a 4K display just scaled down to a 1080p display would look different and maybe lose some detail they could have protected with a real 1080p rendering from the game.

Re: The question is one of risk

[Anonymous Coward]

Get lost you stupid crapple n1gger. Not interested in your butt sex with Tim Cocksucker introspection.

Re:The question is one of risk

[Camembert]

I don’t get why your reasonable posts are literally always followed up by unimaginative insults by anonymous trolls. Pathetic really.

Re:The question is one of risk

[Anonymous Coward]

He still is on apple payroll.

Re:The question is one of risk

[Anonymous Coward]

I don’t get why your reasonable posts are literally always followed up by unimaginative insults by anonymous trolls. Pathetic really.

Yes, it is; but unfortunately, all too typical for this site and its hordes of card-carrying, basement-dwelling Apple Haters.

How long have you been on Slashdot? I ask that in all honesty.

Re: The question is one of risk

[Anonymous Coward]

You must be new here.

He's a crapflooding troll. That's why. He deserves it.

Sounds good until this-

[Anonymous Coward]

"These games won't be available on any other mobile platform or any subscription service other than Apple Arcade"

  So does this mean that developers will be forced to only release to iOS?

  Granted most 'mobile' games are pure crap, such as match-3 shovelware, but if the next Minecraft/killer app is made iOS exclusive, this would be a problem.

  I'm also seeing a very big potential anti-trust case here.

Re:Sounds good until this-

[Anonymous Coward]

How on earth is this antitrust/anticompetitive? You can still sell your game in the apple store. Think through your "outrage" before you post, man. You're embarrassing yourself.

All made with Unity?

[Anonymous Coward]

Every one of the games they're showcases has the "Unity-look" to them. Were they all built with Unity?

Anti-competitive

[Anonymous Coward]

How convenient, given that Steam can't release a competitor for IOS.

How long is it before Apple is cracked down on, for being a monopoly. Hell, even Microsoft got in trouble for bundling their own browser with Windows. Surely physically blocking competitors should be considered worse.

Re:Anti-competitive

[Anonymous Coward]

As soon as apple stops paying bribe money the crack downs will begin.

not impressed

[sad_]

seems like a collection of casual games, which is OK i guess for that lost minute every now and then.
but not for a serious, engaging gaming experience.

Will Go the Way of eWorld Goldman will own Apple

[Chissblue]

Anyone recall Apple's answer to AOL. A tiny little community called eWorld? This is history repeating itself all over but what Tim doesn't know is that Goldman Sachs will own Apple at the end of this new flop.

I'm burned out on subscriptions

[lusid1]

All these subscription service offering are exhausting, and in aggregate, incredibly expensive. Given how much iOS games outright suck this is probably a service I can just ignore.

Why no +?

[Daralantan]

Everything else is Apple ____+. With all of them being announced at the same time I'm surprised to not see this called Apple Arcade+.

Re:Four out of the last five articles are about ap

[Anonymous Coward]

Either Slashdot is doing poorly and they're looking for ways to get people to post inane bullshit about products they need not buy or the editors are staying away from politics because they know Trump ain't going to jail after all.

Either way it's hilarious. Slashdot must be suffering.

Stupid fuck.

Apple had a big Press Event yesterday, including a two-hour Presentation.

The Presentation had 4 distinct parts (Services) that it talked about. Those Services were pretty non-overlapping in their focus and scope. Slashdot therefore rightfully published a single Article on each of those Services.

BTW, that's pretty much the way every tech-site covered the event.

Now you may resume your Hating, Slashtard.

Re:Only subscription services want content exclusi

[Anonymous Coward]

Screw this trend. I hate it. Especially screw Apple, who are doubling down on exclusivity. (our service & our hardware)

Right.

That's why Apple Music is also available on Amazon (Echo?) and Android Devices.

That's why the Apple "TV" App is also available (or soon will be) on Roku and Amazon Fire Stick (IIRC).

But keep on with that burnin' Apple Hate. You'll be right someday. I'm sure you will...

Re:Four out of the last five articles are about ap

[Anonymous Coward]

OMG?!?! A company? Trying to gain revenue? Stop the presses! Every company that has ever done that has burnt to the ground within days!

new games?

[korio499]

I don't see the point in such selections. If I want light games, then it's much easier to play ethereum lottery Relaxing games, a responsive website that I can access from the phone is all I need to relax after work. I like it a lot more than this hypothetically free subscription. I have nothing against Apple but why reinvent the wheel for the thousandth time.