Apple launches early access program for Apple Arcade

Posted:
in General Discussion edited December 2019
Apple has started an internal employee-only testing round of Apple Arcade, giving them a chance to check out and stress-test the highly anticipated game streaming service.

Image Credit: 9to5mac
Image Credit: 9to5 Mac


Employees at Apple are getting a sneak peek at the games available at Apple Arcade while Apple runs a limited internal "carry test." For $0.49 a month with a one-month free trial, Apple Employees are getting the chance to play early builds of games such as Way of the Turtle, Down in Bermuda, Hot Lava, Sneaky Sasquatch, Frogger in Toy Town, and many more.

Apple has invested more than $500 million dollars on Apple Arcade so far, and is set to showcase over 100 titles at the mid-September launch. This internal carry test likely gives Apple valuable feedback about how well Apple Arcade will perform, as well as alert them to any pre-release bugs.

The internal carry test program will draw to a close with the launch of iOS 13, according a report by 9to5 Mac on Saturday morning. Apple's pricing for Apple Arcade for consumers is not yet known.

Image Credit: 9to5mac
Image Credit: 9to5 Mac


All of the games are all still in development builds, as indicated in their descriptions. By opening Apple Arcade to testing, it is likely that game developers such as Konami, SEGA, and LEGO will receive valuable information about how their games will play pre-release, giving them a chance to perform bug fixes as needed.

There will also be no advertisements or in-app purchases in any game offered on this service. All downloadable content will also be included within the flat subscription fee as well.





There are a few downsides to this model, though these primarily fall on the developers. Larger developers are sure to see a larger cut of the revenue, while smaller developers may find it hard to cover their cost of development. This is essentially the same problem musicians face when releasing their music to websites such as Spotify.

Still, many smaller developers are likely to see a boost in their studio's over-all visibility, which could lead to a net benefit.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 25
    Surprised employees are being charged .49. They were given first crack at testing the Apple Card for nothing. 
    williamlondon
  • Reply 2 of 25
    So your alpha testers are being charged .49 / month?

    This must be a way to not pay your employees overtime, and avoid labor lawsuits...

    Company memo:
    Wink. Wink. “You don’t have to play and give us feedback if you don’t want to.”
    Also, “Please don’t print out your resume on company printers”.

    Apple sometimes does the strangest things.  It’s like the bean counters are in open warfare with who ever is in charge of “don’t be evil”.



    edited August 2019 williamlondonmuthuk_vanalingam
  • Reply 3 of 25
    chaickachaicka Posts: 257member
    Still much better than enterprises who force employees to use soft-phones yet not willing to pay for a wired headset.

    Make a guess what’s the response when request for the rationale behind not issuing a wired headset?

    ”Most of you have a smart phone right. You can use the earphone that comes with it.”
  • Reply 4 of 25
    One reason to charge a nominal fee for the beta is to weed out anyone who doesn’t care enough to use it, but just wants to see what it looks like.
    williamlondonGeorgeBMac
  • Reply 5 of 25
    Apple’s charging employees because it’s the only way to truly test the SUBSCRIPTION service. You need to run the test with a paid (nominal) test. It’s not a requirements for employees to test, but if they want early access then they are getting to play for very little, while helping to find and report any bugs. This isn’t the QA team doing testing.... 
    edited August 2019 williamlondonretrogustoslprescottn2itivguySpamSandwichlolliverwatto_cobra
  • Reply 6 of 25
    Apple’s charging employees because it’s the only way to truly test the SUBSCRIPTION service. You need to run the test with a paid (nominal) test. It’s not a requirements for employees to test, but if they want early access then they are getting to play for very little, while helping to find and report any bugs. This isn’t the QA team doing testing.... 
    Just like they did with the free trial of Apple Music? Oh wait.....
    williamlondonAppleExposedmuthuk_vanalingam
  • Reply 7 of 25
    Apple’s charging employees because it’s the only way to truly test the SUBSCRIPTION service. You need to run the test with a paid (nominal) test. It’s not a requirements for employees to test, but if they want early access then they are getting to play for very little, while helping to find and report any bugs. This isn’t the QA team doing testing.... 
    Just like they did with the free trial of Apple Music? Oh wait.....
    Hmm, I didn’t realize Apple Arcade was under the same development and services team as Apple Music. Good to know. 
    williamlondon
  • Reply 8 of 25
    So your alpha testers are being charged .49 / month?

    This must be a way to not pay your employees overtime, and avoid labor lawsuits...

    Company memo:
    Wink. Wink. “You don’t have to play and give us feedback if you don’t want to.”
    Also, “Please don’t print out your resume on company printers”.

    Apple sometimes does the strangest things.  It’s like the bean counters are in open warfare with who ever is in charge of “don’t be evil”.



    “Don’t be evil” is Google’s motto. Apple’s not stupid enough to limit themselves with such a statement even though Google openly ignores it.
    williamlondonSpamSandwichlolliverwatto_cobra
  • Reply 9 of 25
    macplusplusmacplusplus Posts: 2,112member
    So your alpha testers are being charged .49 / month?
    That is news. As in a man bites a dog. >:)
  • Reply 10 of 25
    Rayz2016Rayz2016 Posts: 6,957member
    Apple’s charging employees because it’s the only way to truly test the SUBSCRIPTION service. You need to run the test with a paid (nominal) test. It’s not a requirements for employees to test, but if they want early access then they are getting to play for very little, while helping to find and report any bugs. This isn’t the QA team doing testing.... 
    I’ve worked for several companies that have done the same thing. What this usually means is that they’re testing a connection to a third-party resource required for the subscription process. 
    n2itivguywatto_cobra
  • Reply 11 of 25
    Apple’s charging employees because it’s the only way to truly test the SUBSCRIPTION service. You need to run the test with a paid (nominal) test. It’s not a requirements for employees to test, but if they want early access then they are getting to play for very little, while helping to find and report any bugs. This isn’t the QA team doing testing.... 
    Just like they did with the free trial of Apple Music? Oh wait.....
    I don’t remember reading any news about beta testing of Apple Music. Do you have a link to by any chance? Or you just don’t know the difference between beta and trial period? (hint: trial period has nothing to do with beta testing the system)
    edited August 2019 lolliverwatto_cobra
  • Reply 12 of 25
    AppleExposedAppleExposed Posts: 1,805unconfirmed, member
    matrix077 said:
    Apple’s charging employees because it’s the only way to truly test the SUBSCRIPTION service. You need to run the test with a paid (nominal) test. It’s not a requirements for employees to test, but if they want early access then they are getting to play for very little, while helping to find and report any bugs. This isn’t the QA team doing testing.... 
    Just like they did with the free trial of Apple Music? Oh wait.....
    I don’t remember reading any news about beta testing of Apple Music. Do you have a link to by any chance? Or you just don’t know the difference between beta and trial period? (hint: trial period has nothing to do with beta testing the system)

    He's way off and he knows it. Just reaching for an excuse to bi*** at Apple.
    lolliverwatto_cobra
  • Reply 13 of 25
    Those games look worthless.  Apple will sanitize the games just like they are sanitizing all the video content they’ll offer on their TV service.  
  • Reply 14 of 25
    Those games look worthless.  Apple will sanitize the games just like they are sanitizing all the video content they’ll offer on their TV service.  
    Not even Disney goes “family only” content.  Apple kind of looks like they’ve gone down that path...

    I haven’t seen anything worth playing yet.  Hopefully they expand their content to adults...
  • Reply 15 of 25
    crowleycrowley Posts: 10,453member
    Those games look worthless.  Apple will sanitize the games just like they are sanitizing all the video content they’ll offer on their TV service.  
    You think they look worthless from a few seconds of pre-rendered footage?  Pretty worthless opinion tbh.

    I'm looking forward to what comes out of Beyond A Steel Sky.
    lolliverwatto_cobra
  • Reply 16 of 25
    robjnrobjn Posts: 282member
    iOS_Guy80 said:
    Surprised employees are being charged .49. They were given first crack at testing the Apple Card for nothing. 
    With Arcade they have to test the payment system for the subscription. They also had to test the free trial period and that the app and backend work correctly when the trial period ends.

    Apple Card does have any fees.


    lolliverwatto_cobra
  • Reply 17 of 25
    robjn said:
    iOS_Guy80 said:
    Surprised employees are being charged .49. They were given first crack at testing the Apple Card for nothing. 
    With Arcade they have to test the payment system for the subscription. They also had to test the free trial period and that the app and backend work correctly when the trial period ends.

    Apple Card does have any fees.


    Thank you, I knew there had to be a reason for a nominal .49 charge. 
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 18 of 25
    GeorgeBMacGeorgeBMac Posts: 11,421member
    Rayz2016 said:
    Apple’s charging employees because it’s the only way to truly test the SUBSCRIPTION service. You need to run the test with a paid (nominal) test. It’s not a requirements for employees to test, but if they want early access then they are getting to play for very little, while helping to find and report any bugs. This isn’t the QA team doing testing.... 
    I’ve worked for several companies that have done the same thing. What this usually means is that they’re testing a connection to a third-party resource required for the subscription process. 
    Any decent computer company with qualified employees doesn't need a public beta to test something so simple.  Obviously that's not why Apple is doing this.
    muthuk_vanalingam
  • Reply 19 of 25
    jcs2305jcs2305 Posts: 1,336member
    So your alpha testers are being charged .49 / month?

    This must be a way to not pay your employees overtime, and avoid labor lawsuits...

    Company memo:
    Wink. Wink. “You don’t have to play and give us feedback if you don’t want to.”
    Also, “Please don’t print out your resume on company printers”.

    Apple sometimes does the strangest things.  It’s like the bean counters are in open warfare with who ever is in charge of “don’t be evil”.



    The way it written is confusing. It’s .49 a month with a free month. In a month the service will be launched with iOS 13. So the testing will have to be completed .. no ?

    “Apple has invested more than $500 million dollarson Apple Arcade so far, and is set to showcase over 100 titles at the mid-September launch.” 

    “The internal carry test program will draw to a close with the launch of iOS 13, according a report by 9to5 Mac on Saturday morning”.

    So employees after release pay .49 a month. As of now there has been no consumer pricing set. 
    lolliver
  • Reply 20 of 25
    So your alpha testers are being charged .49 / month?

    This must be a way to not pay your employees overtime, and avoid labor lawsuits...

    Company memo:
    Wink. Wink. “You don’t have to play and give us feedback if you don’t want to.”
    Also, “Please don’t print out your resume on company printers”.

    Apple sometimes does the strangest things.  It’s like the bean counters are in open warfare with who ever is in charge of “don’t be evil”.



    I couldn’t be more clear that there are extreme internal struggles going on at Apple these days. 
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