I'm Not Excited by Apple Arcade, But Maybe You Should Be

On Sept. 19, Apple Arcade is set to arrive on iOS devices, bringing with it a catalog that will, according to Apple, "exceed 100 games in the coming weeks as new titles are introduced." The $4.99-per-month subscription service, which is slated to come to iPadOS and tvOS a bit later, boasts casual-friendly fare, such as ChuChu Rocket! Universe and Sayonara Wild Hearts.

The games look fine. Fun even. That said, they're very much not for me, at least in this early stage. And that's fine.

In terms of video game entertainment, my tastes lean toward fighters and complex action titles (particularly those of the Platinum Games variety), with a sprinkling of arcade sports, racers, and shmups. Though some of those genres—shmups, in particular—have somewhat successfully exchanged traditional physical controls for touch controls on mobile devices, I simply can't play a "hardcore" game on a phone or tablet. There's a lack of premise touch that only a d-pad or arcade stick can deliver. Besides, I have a gaming PC and Nintendo Switch for those types of titles.

Casual Ain't Bad

Although I loathe categorizing segments of the gaming community by the complexity of their favorite titles, using the "casual" and "hardcore" labels in the Apple Arcade context feels apt. After all, many Apple Arcade titles look like simple affairs, but one shouldn't conflate simplicity with a lack of fun. If that was the case, Puyo Puyo Tetris wouldn't rank as one of my all-time favorite video games.

Apple CEO Tim Cook stated that Apple TV will be compatible with PlayStation 4 and Xbox One controllers, so there's a chance that some developers will craft more console-like experiences in their Apple Arcade games. If that were to happen, I suspect it would be in extremely small numbers. A potential AAA-style, open-world Apple Arcade game would work better on a stationary platform like Apple TV as opposed to a mobile platform like iOS, which would demand either less-than-ideal touch controls or carrying a gamepad of some sort. Neither solution sounds attractive.

The Apple Arcade Audience

Still, there is an audience for Apple Arcade, one that Cupertino views as the entire household. Think about it: That $4.99-per-month subscription covers six family members via Family Sharing. So for just five bucks every few weeks, you can download an unlimited amount of Apple Arcade games and play them offline, which is a surprisingly good deal.

In fact, Apple Arcade has the potential to be Cupertino's Xbox Game Pass, a delightful service that's responsible for Xbox revenue growth despite stale hardware sales. I once scoffed at the idea of exchanging ownership for a subscription service, but after watching a good friend gush over Microsoft's $1 Xbox Game Pass deal that let him explore titles that he normally wouldn't, I began to understand the appeal of a video game subscription service.

With Arcade, Apple has the potential to tap a similar game-hungry audience, but one that doesn't particularly care about cinematic cutscenes, hundreds of hours of gameplay, or complex control schemes. I think of someone like my iPhone-toting cousin who loves her mobile games, and would likely play even more of them if they were bundled at an extremely affordable price. Apple Arcade could be her joint. I suspect that there are many other everyday people in the same position.

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Judge Not

If you spend a lot of time avoiding eye contact with fellow subway riders or laundromat users, you understand the value and importance of an easy-to-pick-up smartphone or tablet game. For five bucks per month, Apple Arcade gives you lots of ways to avoid interacting with random humans and pass some time. Me? I'd rather put on some headphones and listen to some tunes and put that $4.99-per-month charge toward something that interests me more, like a YouTube subscription. But if you want Frogger in Toy Town on your phone, as well as dozens of other games, I'd never begrudge that choice.

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