Apple Arcade launches on September 19, 2019, for just a $4.99 monthly fee, support for Apple’s Family Sharing feature, and a global release that will span over 150 countries. Apple Arcade is the company’s answer to gaming subscription services that have started to become more lucrative, or at least appealing, and will actually launch ahead of competitors like Google Stadia.
Apple Arcade’s biggest selling point might be the fact that the company has lured in a huge roster of big-name mobile game developers. Of them, perhaps the one with the broadest appeal is Hironobu Sakaguchi, the famous Final Fantasy creator who has been spending most of his recent years developing out mobile RPGs. SimCity creator Will Wright was also included on the list of developer names during the Apple Arcade reveal back in March of this year, so there’s no shortage of talent hard at work behind the scenes to produce Apple Arcade exclusive titles, which will need to be good to earn people’s interest and, by extension, their support via their wallets.
At the latest iPhone event earlier today, Apple announced its intentions for the Apple Arcade service. Apple Arcade launches on September 19 and will immediately arrive with more than 100 titles on offer, making for an impressive launch library. Apple will also be offering a one-month free trial for Apple Arcade, allowing consumers the chance to see if the service is a good fit for them. It’s a wise decision given that something like a mobile game subscription service hasn’t really been attempted yet, especially not on this scale, despite the fact that mobile gaming makes up such a huge portion of the video game industry’s profits.
The event also introduced a few of the games that will be debuting for Apple Arcade. The event showcased a modernized Frogger game in the form of Frogger in Toy Town from Konami, while a brand-new game called Shinsekai: Into The Depths is coming from Capcom for the service. Snagging a publisher like Capcom in the midst of its massive resurgence is a big get for Apple, but the company announced one that could be even bigger - Annapurna Interactive’s Sayonara Wild Hearts. The game, developed by Simogo, won’t be exclusive to Apple Arcade like the others that were on display, but remains a hotly-anticipated Switch title that could do wonders for the mobile games service should it review as well as it looks like it could.
The biggest question, however, remains the one that many had when Apple announced the Apple Arcade service in March. How will the company draw people away from console gaming, subscription-based services like Xbox Game Pass and Google Stadia, and free-to-play mobile titles with live service elements? There are a lot of competing factors in play, and mobile gaming’s lucrative demographic isn’t necessarily an easy one to appeal broadly to. Will exclusive games and a cheap subscription service be the answer? Consumers will find out - and decide for themselves - when Apple Arcade arrives later this month.
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Source: Apple
