Apple Arcade gains $49.99 annual subscription option

Posted:
in General Discussion edited December 2019
The Apple Arcade subscription is already a good value, but Apple has added an option for subscribers to pay annually instead of per-month, bringing the cost of the plan down to $49.99 per year.




The option lets subscribers change their Apple Arcade subscription from a monthly payment to an annual version. The change brings the subscription in the United States from $4.99 per month to $49.99 per annum, with similar offers provided in other markets.

As spotted by iFun, the cost difference between the monthly and annual Apple Arcade is substantial enough for many users to consider switching over, due to still being an accessible price. At $49.99 per year, this equates to $4.17 per month, while paying $4.99 per month normally would total $59.88 per year, $9.89 more than the annual version.






Changes to the subscription can be made by accessing the App Store on an iOS device, entering the Profile section, selecting Subscriptions then Apple Arcade, and then selecting "Apple Arcade Annual (1 Year)." The change will be made on the next scheduled billing date, visible within the same menu.

Apple Arcade joins Apple TV+ in providing an annual payment option, with the video subscription service offering it since its first day of operation.

Launched in September, Apple Arcade provides access to over 100 games from over 35 gaming studios, including major names in the industry and smaller independents. Games can be played on all compatible platforms -- iOS, iPadOS, tvOS, and Mac -- with support for up to six users on a single subscription via Family Sharing.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 24
    lkrupplkrupp Posts: 10,557member
    Off topic but I purchased a one year subscription to Apple TV+ for $49.99 because I was not intending to buy a qualifying Apple product in the immediate future. Then my wife up and buys me a new iPad7 128GB for Christmas. I started getting the “one year free” notifications. What would happen if I set it up already having a paid subscription? Turns out it automagically extended my subscription by another year so we’re good until Dec 2021. Very nice.
    edited December 2019 canukstormcornchipseanismorrisforegoneconclusionpscooter63curtis hannahlolliverwatto_cobrakevin keeRayz2016
  • Reply 2 of 24
    jd_in_sbjd_in_sb Posts: 1,600member
    I would understand  $49 pricing but $49.99? Seems like a gas station
    cornchippscooter63viclauyycMicDorseyCarnage
  • Reply 3 of 24
    hexclockhexclock Posts: 1,243member
    lkrupp said:
    Off topic but I purchased a one year subscription to Apple TV+ for $49.99 because I was not intending to buy a qualifying Apple product in the immediate future. Then my wife up and buys me a new iPad7 128GB for Christmas. I started getting the “one year free” notifications. What would happen if I set it up already having a paid subscription? Turns out it automagically extended my subscription by another year so we’re good until Dec 2021. Very nice.
    Very cool! I’m in the market for a new Apple TV, so maybe I will proceed as you have. 
    lolliverwatto_cobra
  • Reply 4 of 24
    lkrupplkrupp Posts: 10,557member
    jd_in_sb said:
    I would understand  $49 pricing but $49.99? Seems like a gas station
    It’s called human psychology and EVERYBODY does it because it works. If you put two items next to each other, price one $4.99 and the other $5.00, people will only see the 4 and the 5, not the .99, and think the $4.99 one is a dollar cheaper. Nonsense I know but it works subconsciously. If you really wanted to go full gas station you would price it $4.99 and 9 tenths which is even more strange these days but people still react as if 1 tenth of a cent makes a difference. Companies have entire divisions working on human psychology and pricing strategies. We consumers don’t even notice it when we react to it.
    edited December 2019 seanismorrisStrangeDayspscooter63lolliverwatto_cobraRayz2016razorpit
  • Reply 5 of 24
    There are comments about price (etc), but is anyone a Apple Arcade subscriber here?

    Price isn’t as important as value...
  • Reply 6 of 24
    There are comments about price (etc), but is anyone a Apple Arcade subscriber here?

    Price isn’t as important as value...
    I'm a subscriber and I've played two games to completion (Oceanhorn 2 and Pinball Wizard) and dabbled with some others. For me, the $4.99 per month is a good value and getting $10 off for committing to a full year is better. 
    MacQcseanismorrislolliverwatto_cobraRayz2016chasm
  • Reply 7 of 24
    How about a single annual fee for all Apple services (music, TV, games, cloud storage, ...) like Amazon Prime? $99 a year would be tempting.
    watto_cobrarazorpit
  • Reply 8 of 24
    How about a single annual fee for all Apple services (music, TV, games, cloud storage, ...) like Amazon Prime? $99 a year would be tempting.
    Tempting? Detached from reality is more like it -- Apple Music alone is $99 annually. They aren't going to give you games, TV, and iCloud storage for $0 each. 
    lolliverwatto_cobraRayz2016
  • Reply 9 of 24
    Since we're on the subject, I shifted to a yearly subscription for Apple Music recently.  I purchased $100 worth of Apple gift cards from Costco for $80 to fund it.  ;)
    edited December 2019 seanismorrismacpluspluslolliverwatto_cobra
  • Reply 10 of 24
    YamYam Posts: 6member
    Seems to be dying a slow death. Only 3 news games in over a month. I got the free month, thinking I’d be an avid subscriber, but played only one game right through, tried a couple of dozen more and decided it wasn’t for me. Mostly just seem to be party type games. Not many blockbusters as yet.
    seanismorrischemengin1
  • Reply 11 of 24
    JinTechJinTech Posts: 1,020member
    Yam said:
    Seems to be dying a slow death. Only 3 news games in over a month. I got the free month, thinking I’d be an avid subscriber, but played only one game right through, tried a couple of dozen more and decided it wasn’t for me. Mostly just seem to be party type games. Not many blockbusters as yet.
    Because it takes developers a mere month to develop a game from start to finish! /s

    You do realize these things take time and there are over 100 in the Apple Arcade catalog? Why not play a few more games from start to finish, surely more will be added by that time.
    StrangeDayspscooter63lolliverwatto_cobra
  • Reply 12 of 24
    Yam said:
    Seems to be dying a slow death. Only 3 news games in over a month. I got the free month, thinking I’d be an avid subscriber, but played only one game right through, tried a couple of dozen more and decided it wasn’t for me. Mostly just seem to be party type games. Not many blockbusters as yet.
    I looked up Oceanhorn 2 which the other subscriber mentioned.  It looks interesting but caters to a youngish audience.  It’s highly rated, but only has a few thousand reviews.

    I don’t know about “slow death” but I don’t see any reason to join.  Game devs for Apple Arcade can’t be making what they would in the freemium market.  

    My question is: How long will Apple subsidize Apple Arcade?  

    They may need to resort to bundling with a profitable service to keep it going... to keep investors happy.  

    I’m still waiting to see how Apple addresses News+ (maybe combine it with a Kindle Unlimited like service).  That should tell us a lot about what Apple is thinking.  My bet is Apple is worried about the political environment and antitrust violations accusations that will come with bundling services.  It should be interesting...


  • Reply 13 of 24
    jd_in_sb said:
    I would understand  $49 pricing but $49.99? Seems like a gas station
    Sorry, but the reality is that customers respond to this kind of pricing. It looks gimmicky, but it absolutely works.
    lolliverrazorpit
  • Reply 14 of 24
    Apple Arcade is just a subset of iOS game catalog. There are many console quality or even better games on iOS outside Apple Arcade. Mortal Combat, Call of Duty Mobile, Shadowgun Legends, Dead Trigger 2, Unkilled, Galaxy on Fire 3 to name a few (to my personal taste). Apple Arcade may never offer games of that quality so don’t get disappointed. Music and games are different platforms. Comparing Apple Music to Apple Arcade is pointless. Apple Music is a streaming service, Apple Arcade is just a “wholesale” game bundle.
    edited December 2019
  • Reply 15 of 24
    Yam said:
    Seems to be dying a slow death. Only 3 news games in over a month. I got the free month, thinking I’d be an avid subscriber, but played only one game right through, tried a couple of dozen more and decided it wasn’t for me. Mostly just seem to be party type games. Not many blockbusters as yet.
    Dying a slow death? It just launched man. 
    pscooter63foregoneconclusionJinTechlolliverwatto_cobraRayz2016
  • Reply 16 of 24
    seanismorris said: I looked up Oceanhorn 2 which the other subscriber mentioned.  It looks interesting but caters to a youngish audience.  It’s highly rated, but only has a few thousand reviews.
    The developers of that game are essentially huge Nintendo fans, so it's certainly kid friendly while also appealing to adults who still enjoy Nintendo style games. One of the enjoyable aspects of Oceanhorn 2 is how much fun the developers had with the Unreal Engine providing large scale environments. They really take advantage of that and have some pretty great vistas within the game when you're playing on higher end hardware. My only real criticism of it would be that the overall quality of the cut-scenes is not as good as the rest of the game. Some of them are strangely edited and either seem incomplete or don't add much to the enjoyment of the story. 
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 17 of 24
    Since we're on the subject, I shifted to a yearly subscription for Apple Music recently.  I purchased $100 worth of Apple gift cards from Costco for $80 to fund it.  ;)
    This is what I do with everything on the iTunes/App Store. I get Apple Music for about $85/year. Usually cards are at least 15% off and when you add in the yearly discount, you get pretty reasonable discounts.
    edited December 2019 lolliverwatto_cobrapscooter63
  • Reply 18 of 24
    jdb8167 said:
    Since we're on the subject, I shifted to a yearly subscription for Apple Music recently.  I purchased $100 worth of Apple gift cards from Costco for $80 to fund it.  ;)
    This is what I do with everything on the iTunes/App Store. I get Apple Music for about $85/year. Usually cards are at least 15% off and when you add in the yearly discount, you get pretty reasonable discounts.
    Yep. I read the headline as, "Apple Arcade gains $42.50 annual subscription option"
    lolliverwatto_cobrapscooter63
  • Reply 19 of 24
    jbdragonjbdragon Posts: 2,305member
    I was signed up, but I just hadn't had a chance to play much, and so I canceled it and subscribed to Apple TV+ instead. This is really the price they need for Apple Music. I think it's way to much for what little I use it. How about a lower price for limited amount of hours per month? If they can do half price for students who actually tune into the most music, about about others that may only tune in a couple hours a month .
  • Reply 20 of 24

    I just switched to the annual subscription. I love some of the games on it and am looking forward to the new ones. 

    I wasn't planning on quitting anytime soon anyway, so this is a welcome option.

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