Apple has very nearly tripled the Apple Arcade game developer count

AppleInsider

Apple revealed a considerably larger number of developers participating in the soon-to-launch Apple Arcade service, by showing a larger collection of company logos almost triple the size of what was illustrated at its original announcement.

Originally revealed in March's Services-centric event, Apple Arcade was advised during its initial announcement to have more than 100 games when it launches, with the titles exclusive to the subscription and not available on any other "all you can play" service. During yesterday's iPhone 11 launch event, Apple offered a bit more detail about the developers taking part.

During both the original announcement and Tuesday's update, Apple included a slide showing developers signed up to offer games in Apple Arcade. In the original presentation, the slide consisted of 35 developer logos, including major names like Sega, Disney, Devolver Digital, and Gameloft.

The company logo slide for Apple Arcade's announcement in March

For the latest event, the number of logos used were significantly increased, with 92 developer logos presented on stage. Highlight additions for this round include Capcom, Square Enix, Ubisoft, and Bandai Namco. It is unknown how many games each developer is working on for the service, nor how many from each will be available as part of the initial launch wave.

The updated logo collection from September's event

The increase of companies going public with their involvement via the Apple event does not necessarily mean the developers and publishers were not working on the project at an earlier stage. It is likely the developers were more willing to publicize their participation when they were closer to having a release-worthy game that would be available at launch.

It is reported that Apple has spent over $500 million on Apple Arcade alone, securing the development of each launch title and offering incentives to publishers to agree to exclusivity windows.

Arriving on September 19, Apple Arcade will cost $4.99 and will be available to play in 150 countries. For the fee, players will have access to as many of the games as they want to play, without any in-app purchases or in-game advertising, with the games available to play on iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, and macOS.

frantisek

I think Apple is targeting parents heavily and their fear of kids asking for in app purchases or high bill from them. Here you have decent 5 bucks a month and play....

mjtomlin

Instead of outright banning certain titles that do abuse IAP and then having to listen to screams of "monopolistic behavior", this may be a "nicer" attempt to squash those apps out of the store?

foregoneconclusion

You could also see in the presentation from Konami that the versions of the games that were "previewed" in the Apple employee test and by 9-5 Mac were far from finished in terms of the visuals. The Frogger game shown yesterday was much more polished.

foregoneconclusion

frantisek said:

I think Apple is targeting parents heavily and their fear of kids asking for in app purchases or high bill from them. Here you have decent 5 bucks a month and play....

I don't think it's a coincidence that $4.99 a month = $60 a year, or the typical price of a single console game either.

davidmalcolm

I'm wondering how Apple is reimbursing these developers for their games. I'm betting it's based on time spent in the game. A really fair way of doing it would be 5 dollars divided by number of arcade games launched that month, relative to amount of time spent in each game. But then again I thought this would be fair for Apple Music, when it's actually more like one penny for every 50 times you listen to a song... no wonder musicians are starving. Either way, I think Apple Arcade will be a great service. And I really hope that it is some sort of time based pay out scheme. Because if that's the case then I expect tons of companies with old console games to port not terribly enhanced ports, but ports with good control schemes, and then we'll get Square Enix's whole back catalogue real quick (Because those games take forever to finish!) I also suspect we'll see a decent number of time wasting puzzle games. Also just putting it out there one or two games that ape the game play mechanics of some freemium games, but don't have IAPs might topple freemium on iOS!

cloudtalkin

mjtomlin said:

Instead of outright banning certain titles that do abuse IAP and then having to listen to screams of "monopolistic behavior", this may be a "nicer" attempt to squash those apps out of the store?

Aren't you conflating two very separate issues?  IAP has nothing to do with claims of monopolistic behavior.  Also, Apple Arcade has nothing to do with games in the App Store.  As long as IAP continues to be one of the primary revenue generators in the App Store, it will be in the App Store.  Apple Arcade is a chance for IAP detractors (I am one of them) to put their money where their mouth is.  

foregoneconclusion

davidmalcolm said:

I'm wondering how Apple is reimbursing these developers for their games. 

Apple is subsidizing the development of the games, so that's part of the deal. It is an interesting question as to how the rest of the revenue is handled though. My guess would be that it's reasonably attractive given the number of companies participating.

cloudtalkin

foregoneconclusion said:

frantisek said:

I think Apple is targeting parents heavily and their fear of kids asking for in app purchases or high bill from them. Here you have decent 5 bucks a month and play....

I don't think it's a coincidence that $4.99 a month = $60 a year, or the typical price of a single console game either.

Not a coincidence at all.  I can almost hear Tim now channeling his inner "for the price of a cup of coffee..." and coming up with "for the price of a single console game, you can get full year of Apple Arcade with access to hundreds of games.  Never worry about charges for IAP or DLC, just play your favorite games with no worries" ← or something like that.

mjtomlin

CloudTalkin said:

mjtomlin said:

Instead of outright banning certain titles that do abuse IAP and then having to listen to screams of "monopolistic behavior", this may be a "nicer" attempt to squash those apps out of the store?

Aren't you conflating two very separate issues?  IAP has nothing to do with claims of monopolistic behavior.  

But banning apps does.

edited September 2019

cloudtalkin

mjtomlin said:

CloudTalkin said:

mjtomlin said:

Instead of outright banning certain titles that do abuse IAP and then having to listen to screams of "monopolistic behavior", this may be a "nicer" attempt to squash those apps out of the store?

Aren't you conflating two very separate issues?  IAP has nothing to do with claims of monopolistic behavior.  

But banning apps does.

Maybe it's a lack of coffee.  I have no idea what you're trying to convey.  Apologies.

mjtomlin

CloudTalkin said:

mjtomlin said:

CloudTalkin said:

mjtomlin said:

Instead of outright banning certain titles that do abuse IAP and then having to listen to screams of "monopolistic behavior", this may be a "nicer" attempt to squash those apps out of the store?

Aren't you conflating two very separate issues?  IAP has nothing to do with claims of monopolistic behavior.  

But banning apps does.

Maybe it's a lack of coffee.  I have no idea what you're trying to convey.  Apologies.

There are certain games that abuse IAP, specifically targeting children. This is nothing new; there have been many articles written about it.

Apple could ban those developers from the App Store, but if they did, we would hear about how Apple is abusing its "monopoly". A common claim these days - there have been many articles written about it.

By producing an inexpensive subscription gaming service with a family plan, Apple is offering parents a way to steer their kids away from those abusive apps.

This could potentially lead to some of those developers going out of business or no longer having an interest in iOS development. Thus, saving Apple from directly stepping in and "scolding" those developers and getting the normal anti-Apple backlash.

edited September 2019

ireland

For people who like to game on Apple platforms (I’m not a gamer) this €5 per month seems like a no-brainier. This will be hugely successful. The price is fair.

edited September 2019

cloudtalkin

mjtomlin said:

CloudTalkin said:

mjtomlin said:

CloudTalkin said:

mjtomlin said:

Instead of outright banning certain titles that do abuse IAP and then having to listen to screams of "monopolistic behavior", this may be a "nicer" attempt to squash those apps out of the store?

Aren't you conflating two very separate issues?  IAP has nothing to do with claims of monopolistic behavior.  

But banning apps does.

Maybe it's a lack of coffee.  I have no idea what you're trying to convey.  Apologies.

There are certain games that abuse IAP, specifically targeting children. This is nothing new; there have been many articles written about it.

Apple could ban those developers from the App Store, but if they did, we would hear about how Apple is abusing its "monopoly". A common claim these days - there have been many articles written about it.

By producing an inexpensive subscription gaming service with a family plan, Apple is offering parents a way to steer their kids away from those abusive apps.

This could potentially lead to some of those developers going out of business or no longer having an interest in iOS development. Thus, saving Apple from directly stepping in and "scolding" those developers and getting the normal anti-Apple backlash.

Yeah, I was right.  You're conflating.  Making connections where none exist.  Partially referencing topics while using implications from other topics.  It's a literal mess of ideas. I'mma step out of this bud.  I don't even know where to begin.  So I won't.  Thanks anyway. 

mjtomlin

CloudTalkin said:

mjtomlin said:

CloudTalkin said:

mjtomlin said:

CloudTalkin said:

mjtomlin said:

Instead of outright banning certain titles that do abuse IAP and then having to listen to screams of "monopolistic behavior", this may be a "nicer" attempt to squash those apps out of the store?

Aren't you conflating two very separate issues?  IAP has nothing to do with claims of monopolistic behavior.  

But banning apps does.

Maybe it's a lack of coffee.  I have no idea what you're trying to convey.  Apologies.

There are certain games that abuse IAP, specifically targeting children. This is nothing new; there have been many articles written about it.

Apple could ban those developers from the App Store, but if they did, we would hear about how Apple is abusing its "monopoly". A common claim these days - there have been many articles written about it.

By producing an inexpensive subscription gaming service with a family plan, Apple is offering parents a way to steer their kids away from those abusive apps.

This could potentially lead to some of those developers going out of business or no longer having an interest in iOS development. Thus, saving Apple from directly stepping in and "scolding" those developers and getting the normal anti-Apple backlash.

Yeah, I was right.  You're conflating.  Making connections where none exist.  Partially referencing topics while using implications from other topics.  It's a literal mess of ideas. I'mma step out of this bud.  I don't even know where to begin.  So I won't.  Thanks anyway. 

After reading all your posts, we're basically saying the same damned thing (Arcade might alleviate some gaming IAP pains), it's just that you completely misunderstood my original post, and I probably should've just ignored your response. My bad.

edited September 2019

22july2013

davidmalcolm said:

I'm wondering how Apple is reimbursing these developers for their games. I'm betting it's based on time spent in the game. A really fair way of doing it would be 5 dollars divided by number of arcade games launched that month, relative to amount of time spent in each game. 

That's a nice theory. But it doesn't meld well with how Apple compensates news publishers for Apple News. Apple Arcade and Apple News have a lot in common, and Apple made it very clear during its Apple News explanation that it does NOT know which news articles you are reading. So unless Apple has reversed that practice, they won't know what games you are playing.

My prediction is that Apple Arcade's privacy details will work exactly the same way as Apple News's. Because Apple really does care about user privacy. And in this case it's even more important because most Apple News readers are adults and most Apple Arcade users are children. And monitoring children is a real hot button issue. I think Google just paid $150 million penalty this week for tracking children.

edited September 2019

nasserae

foregoneconclusion said:

frantisek said:

I think Apple is targeting parents heavily and their fear of kids asking for in app purchases or high bill from them. Here you have decent 5 bucks a month and play....

I don't think it's a coincidence that $4.99 a month = $60 a year, or the typical price of a single console game either.

Not to mention with console you are paying $60/year for PSN Plus (or Xbox Live) to play online plus few free games a year.

boltsfan17

nasserae said:

foregoneconclusion said:

frantisek said:

I think Apple is targeting parents heavily and their fear of kids asking for in app purchases or high bill from them. Here you have decent 5 bucks a month and play....

I don't think it's a coincidence that $4.99 a month = $60 a year, or the typical price of a single console game either.

Not to mention with console you are paying $60/year for PSN Plus (or Xbox Live) to play online plus few free games a year.

You actually get over 24 free games a year with PSN Plus. The free games aren't crap either, lots of huge titles. I don't think it's a fair comparison between the yearly cost of Apple Arcade and a single $60 console game. That one console game probably costs more to develop than most of the games available on Apple Arcade combined. As an example, Red Dead Redemption 2 was over $200 million to develop. 

edited September 2019

esquirecats

boltsfan17 said:

nasserae said:

foregoneconclusion said:

frantisek said:

I think Apple is targeting parents heavily and their fear of kids asking for in app purchases or high bill from them. Here you have decent 5 bucks a month and play....

I don't think it's a coincidence that $4.99 a month = $60 a year, or the typical price of a single console game either.

Not to mention with console you are paying $60/year for PSN Plus (or Xbox Live) to play online plus few free games a year.

You actually get over 24 free games a year with PSN Plus. The free games aren't crap either, lots of huge titles. I don't think it's a fair comparison between the yearly cost of Apple Arcade and a single $60 console game. That one console game probably costs more to develop than most of the games available on Apple Arcade combined. As an example, Red Dead Redemption 2 was over $200 million to develop. 

I think there is too much comparison going on between single-purchase console games and the Apple Arcade subscription service. At launch, they seem to have quite different gaming audiences. With Arcade appearing to be going for casual gaming and parents.

While a serious gamer may pick up the subscription to satisfy casual free time, this is not going to be a replacement for their $60 highly-involved console games, and typically this market can afford both.

Also these services represent a way for apple to spend some of their massive cash horde to create further stickiness on the platform. Similar to how Nintendo is still able to see mini-NES and mini-SNES consoles. By all assumptions the titles will be mostly new IP and exclusive to the platform.

sarthos

mjtomlin said:

This could potentially lead to some of those developers going out of business or no longer having an interest in iOS development. Thus, saving Apple from directly stepping in and "scolding" those developers and getting the normal anti-Apple backlash.

The 'whales' that support these freemium games are generally not younger children but teenagers and adults with significant disposable income (many in Russia and Asia).  How many parents are going to OK a several hundred dollar purchase of IAP tokens to play a free game?  Small purchases don't amount to anything in these games.

boltsfan17

EsquireCats said:

boltsfan17 said:

nasserae said:

foregoneconclusion said:

frantisek said:

I think Apple is targeting parents heavily and their fear of kids asking for in app purchases or high bill from them. Here you have decent 5 bucks a month and play....

I don't think it's a coincidence that $4.99 a month = $60 a year, or the typical price of a single console game either.

Not to mention with console you are paying $60/year for PSN Plus (or Xbox Live) to play online plus few free games a year.

You actually get over 24 free games a year with PSN Plus. The free games aren't crap either, lots of huge titles. I don't think it's a fair comparison between the yearly cost of Apple Arcade and a single $60 console game. That one console game probably costs more to develop than most of the games available on Apple Arcade combined. As an example, Red Dead Redemption 2 was over $200 million to develop. 

I think there is too much comparison going on between single-purchase console games and the Apple Arcade subscription service. At launch, they seem to have quite different gaming audiences. With Arcade appearing to be going for casual gaming and parents.

While a serious gamer may pick up the subscription to satisfy casual free time, this is not going to be a replacement for their $60 highly-involved console games, and typically this market can afford both.

Also these services represent a way for apple to spend some of their massive cash horde to create further stickiness on the platform. Similar to how Nintendo is still able to see mini-NES and mini-SNES consoles. By all assumptions the titles will be mostly new IP and exclusive to the platform.

I completely agree. For me personally, I have no interest in Apple Arcade since I do all my gaming on a console. Apple Arcade is definitely good for parents and casual gamers. What would interest me are more games for the Apple TV. Since you brought up Nintendo, wouldn't it be pretty cool if they released the old school games you see on the NES Classic and SNES Mini for iOS/Apple TV? Even Sega is releasing a mini Genesis console this month. Unfortunately I doubt we will ever see those games on iOS or the Apple TV.