Details of Apple Arcade, the gaming analogue of Netflix from the “apple” company, have become known.
There were no surprises. Almost all the information published today about the service was known either from the drains, or Apple itself had previously spoken about it.
Now in order.
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The next version of iOS — the thirteenth in a row — will be available for download on September 19. One of its key innovations is the Apple Arcade subscription service.
Apple Arcade has many partners
A subscription to Apple Arcade will give you access to a library of premium games.
These are mobile exclusives of the site. Some of them were created with Apple’s money.
At the time of the launch of the service, there will be 100 projects in the library. However, over time there will be more of them. Apple says that new games will appear in the catalog every month.
There will be no place for micropayments or advertising in all Apple Arcade projects. In all cases, we are talking about full and full—fledged versions of games. Also, the service’s projects will be available for offline play after downloading.
Apple Arcade in the near future will be not only on “Apple” smartphones. All games of the service will also be available on tablets, set-top boxes and Apple desktop devices (but not immediately).
A multiplatform service within the Apple ecosystem
Some games of the service will support third-party controllers.
It will be possible to connect gamepads from Xbox One and PlayStation 4 via Bluetooth. Apple games will also connect with MFi gadgets.
The first month of using the service is free. Then users will be charged $4.99 for every 30 days.
Yes, the Apple Arcade button will appear in the bottom menu of the App Store. In other words, now two out of five store buttons will lead to game content.
Users will now have a choice between frituplay and premium, fixed in the menu***
Not all the games that will be available at the start are called yet. As part of the presentation of the service in Cupertino, emphasis was placed on three projects.
Konami at the presentation showed the next version of Frogger (the first version appeared in 1981). This is a simple arcade game about a frog who must continue on his way, dodging obstacles.
Another Frogger
Capcom demonstrated a platformer survival
Shinsekai: Into the Depths. In the game, the user must explore the seabed and fight monsters.
Shinsekai: Into the Depths
Annapurna Interactive has launched Sayonara Wild Heart gameplay.
Visually, the game resembles a neon music runner.
Sayonara Wild Heart
Also, as part of the press release about the service, Apple mentioned 15 more projects that will appear on the site.
- role-playing Various Daylife (Square Enix). They say the same people do it as Octopath Traveler;
- platformer Shantae and the Seven Sirens (WayForward). Continuation of the cult niche series;
- tactical long – term construction Overland (Finji). In short, this is XCOM on small maps. The project has been in development since 2015.
Prior to that, Apple also announced the appearance of:
Oceanhorn 2: Knights of the Lost Realm — Finnish “zelda” from Cornfox & Bros.
Oceanhorn 2: Knights of the Lost Realm
Beyond a Steel Sky is a sequel to the cult quest of the same name from Charles Cecil, lost in style, but acquired in the schedule.
Beyond a Steel SkyAnd a number of other projects, with a smaller rank.
By the way, the last two are not Apple Arcade exclusives. They will also appear on Steam.
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There are two main concerns about the content so far.
First. It is noticeable that Apple is trying to offer the most diverse content. It’s good. However, the family orientation of the service, as well as its mobile nature, leaves an imprint. Therefore, most likely, there is no place for “adult” games that dominate the premium market.
Second. Most games are interesting. But so far there are no expected big exclusive blockbusters among them. Recall that it is for the sake of such projects that people subscribe to such services (for example, HBO had a similar hit “Game of Thrones”).
Otherwise, the price pleases (in Russia it will be about 199 rubles per month), and Apple’s desire to offer players the widest possible range of products.
Now we are waiting for information about how developers will be able to earn money within the framework of the service.