Taking a bigger bite into gaming
Today at its Apple Event, Apple announced a new game-streaming service aptly titled Apple Arcade. Boasting a curated library of full games, Apple Arcade will not just be for games that came out on the App Store in the past, but new games from famous designers such as Will Wright (Sim City), Ken Wong (Monument Valley), and Hironobu Sakaguchi (Final Fantasy) will also be coming to the platform.
Not content to simply be a publisher, Apple is also looking to help fund games that are released through its service. Phil Schiller, Apple’s senior VP of worldwide marketing, claims that they are “working with some of the most innovative game developers in the world to create over 100 new and exclusive games to play across iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple TV.” It has been confirmed that Apple Arcade will stay exclusive to Apple products which really cements this as Apple’s entry to try and stave off Google’s Stadia that was recently announced.
Some of the games that are planned for the service are Enter the Construct, LEGO Brawls, Projection: First Light, Sonic Racing, and Beyond a Steel Sky, a sequel to the famous point-and-click adventure game Beneath a Steel Sky. You can peep a few of the games that are coming to the platform in the following video.
Planned to launch in the fall of 2019, no price point has been given yet. I wouldn’t be surprised to see a showdown take place between Apple and Google where they try and wait out each other’s price announcement like a duel at high noon in the old west.
It’s amazing to think how much the scope of the industry has changed over this past week. Two juggernauts of the tech industry who have previously been standing on the sidelines are clearly making their way onto the field and it will be interesting to see how the medium adjusts.
