Games

This saves about $10 a year. No brainer if you like games.

Does make me wonder if we’ll eventually see a services bundle from Apple, as rumored.

[VIDEO] Apple:

Apple today revealed “Ultimate Rivals” from Bit Fry Game Studios, Inc., a new sports game franchise that brings together athletes across hockey, basketball, football, baseball and soccer into a single officially licensed video game, a first in sports and gaming.

And:

In “Ultimate Rivals: The Rink,” the first title in the franchise, players choose from more than 50 superstar athletes to compete in exciting two-on-two hockey matches. Players can combine, for instance, Alex Ovechkin and Alex Morgan against De’Aaron Fox and Jose Altuve or Skylar Diggins-Smith and Wayne Gretzky.

This is a pretty big step for Apple Arcade, supporting a complex, cross-sports, licensing deal with some of the most prominent athletes in the world.

Watch the video embedded in the main Loop post to get a sense of the action.

Amanda Farough, GameDaily:

As it turns out, Apple is fronting development costs. This makes the relationship closer to a traditional publisher/developer deal. And Apple stepping in means these weird, interesting, oddball mobile games that might not have had a chance anywhere else have been given a platform that has the potential to house almost half of the world’s mobile market.

And:

We’ve surmised that a game like Simogo’s Sayonara Wild Hearts, which will simultaneously launch on Apple Arcade and Nintendo Switch on September 19, may be considered an exclusive for mobile devices. Based on what we’ve learned about Arcade’s exclusivity, other games fall into total exclusivity (they may only ever exist on Apple Arcade) and subscription exclusivity (where the game may also be included in other subscription services).

And:

The submission process for Apple Arcade isn’t relegated to someone scouting for the shiniest new game. In fact, there have been a few developers that Apple’s worked with for Arcade that came to them with nothing more than a concept and some wireframes.

This is a fantastic article (note that it came out last week, but I came across it last night). If you have any interest in the business side of Apple Arcade, do take a look.

Great food for thought from The Verge’s Dieter Bohn. Read it, it’s well written, not too long.

Bottom line, it does not seem an unreasonable conclusion that Apple Arcade will impact the App Store, at least in the Games section. The question is, will that impact be seismic?

Will Apple Arcade have a similar impact to music streaming, where all-you-can-eat replaced one-at-a-time song sales?

Will the Apple Arcade grow into the thousands, even tens of thousands? Or will Apple limit the number of games in the catalog?

One thing that is clear to me: For the consumer, Apple Arcade is a big win. Not only for value, but for the ability to live in a world free of scams and the pressure to make in-app purchases.

Interesting.

You might want to clear the decks around 10a PT, 1p ET, 6p London time. There’re a lot of games to be played.

As we shared yesterday, here’s a nice list of games to get you started, and a growing list of all the games on Apple Arcade so far.

While you wait, now might be a good time to dig out your Xbox One, PS4, or MFi game controllers and charge ’em up.

Once you dig in, ping me with your absolute favorite games.

Great job. 62 games in the list so far. Trying them out, feels like infinity.

Of all the services, Apple Arcade feels like the most no-brainer of no-brainers.

Apple:

Apple today announced that 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 $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.

Follow the link for a partial list of games and descriptions. The games I’ve seen so far look phenomenal. I’m definitely in.

[VIDEO] This is a great walkthrough from 9to5Mac’s Jeff Benjamin. The games I’m seeing so far really click for me, look like my kind of games.

From the video, Jeff seems to agree. If the price is, as rumored, $4.99 a month for 100+ games, seems a no-brainer to me.

Watch the video (embedded in the main Loop post), judge for yourself.

Guilherme Rambo, 9to5Mac:

Apple is currently running an internal early access program for its employees, charging a small subscription of $0.49/mo, with one month free trial. It says the testing program ends with the launch of iOS 13.

Today, 9to5Mac was able to gain access to this Apple Arcade early testing program on the Mac App Store.

The $0.49 a month thing is interesting. I’m guessing they needed to test the billing mechanism as well as the games themselves, and the price worked for some reason. I don’t recall anything Apple ever shipped for less than $0.99. No matter, I can’t imagine that price won’t increase at least 10-fold.

[VIDEO] This is a bit of a quirky rabbit hole, one I found quite fun. Watch the video embedded in the main Loop post, visit the web page (tap the headline link), check out the app on the iOS App Store.

Way back in the day, there was a Mac game called The Fools Errand. Incredibly fun to play, with just the right level of difficulty and reward. This reminds me, just a bit, of that.

Fun.

The Verge:

Apple is bringing Xbox and PlayStation 4 controller support to the iPhone, iPad, and Apple TV this fall. It’s a big change from the select MFi Bluetooth controllers that were supported before, and it means you can now easily connect any PS4 or Xbox One controller to your device to play games on the go.

Big fan of this move by Apple.

I’ve been trying out an Xbox One S controller (with Bluetooth support) on my iPad Pro running the new public beta, and I’m convinced this is a big step toward using an iPad as a portable game console.

A step, because you are still depending on the console. Read the article for all the details on playing console games on your iPad, with the controller connected via Bluetooth.

All good. But makes me wonder, will Apple ship Apple Arcade games compatible with the PS4 and Xbox One controllers? If so, I think that would help make Apple a very important player in this space. Grab your iPad and favorite controller and play, with consoles or without.

Malcolm Owen, AppleInsider:

In its Global Games Market Report, Newzoo outlined the top 35 public companies connected with gaming, with Apple firmly seated in the top five firms, beaten only by Tencent, Sony, and Microsoft and just ahead of Activision Blizzard.

That puts Apple ahead of Nintendo. And Apple Arcade is coming, with entry level iPod touch devices priced to fuel game growth.

A common conversational gambit is to suggest that Apple will become a major force in gaming. If that day is not already here, it certainly seems to be coming.

Leif Johnson, Macworld:

Almost out of nowhere, Apple is poised to be a major force in mainstream gaming. It’s doing it in its own Apple way, too—not by chasing down the graphics-intensive blockbusters so popular on devices like the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 (or even the PC), but instead by positioning its upcoming Apple Arcade service as a hub for remarkable and tightly focused games that often get mentioned in discussions of whether games are art.

And:

It’s partly funding some of the games in Apple Arcade. It officially announced Project Catalyst, which will allow the same apps to work across the iPhone, the iPad, the Mac, and possibly Apple TV. It’s lifted most of the restrictions that kept games out of Apple’s walled garden for years, most notably by announcing support for wireless Xbox One controllers and Sony’s Dual Shock 4 for the PlayStation 4.

This is not simply about Apple Arcade. Sure, Apple Arcade is an important pillar in Apple’s modern gaming strategy, but the idea of running a game on my Mac, handing it off to my big screen Apple TV, then grabbing my iPad or iPhone to continue playing on the road is a second major pillar. And doing it all using top notch pro controllers like the Sony Dual Shock 4? That’s another big deal.

It would not surprise me to learn about Apple negotiating behind the scenes with major gaming franchises to bring a new generation of console level games, beyond Apple Arcade’s “art house” games, to the new Catalyst-fueled Apple platforms. This could be a new golden age for Apple and gaming.

We posted a raft of Apple releases yesterday. One item that might have gotten lost in the shuffle, but that I believe has incredible importance, is this, from Apple’s tvOS 13 press release:

tvOS 13 adds support for the best and most popular game controllers in the world, Xbox One S and PlayStation DualShock 4, making it even easier for gamers to take advantage of Apple Arcade and other great games on the App Store.

And this tied footnote:

tvOS 13 supports the Xbox Wireless Controller with Bluetooth.

In order for Apple to climb into the tier of a first class gaming machine, they need first class game controllers, like the PlayStation DualShock 4 and Xbox One S. Such a smart move leveraging these two controllers, controllers most gamers are already familiar with, controllers that benefit from generations of refinement.

This announcement, combined with the release of the new iPod touch (a relatively inexpensive entree device for Apple Arcade), show a real vision to expand Apple’s gaming presence beyond the casual gamer.

Looking forward to seeing Apple Arcade’s official rollout later this year.