With the right blend of curation and exclusivity, Apple could elevate the perception of mobile gaming.
Apple’s new gaming service is called Apple Arcade, which you, O loyal Macworld reader, may recognize as the name I use for my column on Mac and iOS gaming. I suppose we can effectively declare the column dead.
It’s a cool name, though, and what Apple showed us on stage at its “Show time” event looks like a cool service. Beginning sometime in the fall, you’ll be able to pay Apple an unspecified subscription fee that grants access to around 100 “new and exclusive” games. None of the games will have in-app purchases, and they will only be playable on iOS devices and Macs. All of the games will be accessible offline.
This is all smart stuff as games have been among the primary drivers of revenue for the App Store for years now. Apple Arcade could be a sign that Apple is finally taking games seriously, and here’s why I’m looking forward to that.
According to Apple, you’ll be able to stop playing a game on an iPhone and then pick up where you left off on iPad. You can already do this with iOS games, but Apple casually dropped that we’d be able to do this with Macs as well. That’s right, you can stop playing a game on a Mac and then pick up where you left off on your iPhone.
Apple Arcade will have its own tab in the iOS App Store. It’s probably safe to assume the Mac App Store will have one, too.
