There’s mobile gaming, and then there’s Apple Arcade

Estimated reading time: 9 minutes

The Path To Freemium

Handheld gaming has had a colorful history, navigating through highs, lows, trenches, peaks, troughs and multiple times even hairpin U-turns. Even with such massive changes, the handheld gaming industry is yet to pivot to a formula that can generally be accepted and embraced by all.

It seems that now the world have moved on from dedicated handheld gaming consoles. PS Vita has been discontinued and Sony isn’t interested in reviving it again. Nintendo is surviving on a thin thread, one that might just snap anytime. Devices like ASUS ROG Ally and Steam Deck are yet to hit significant numbers.

It’s the 2020s and mobile-phone gaming is the default assumption of what handheld gaming should be. But really, how far is mobile gaming from handheld gaming as we knew it, before the advent of freemium games? The answer to that question is: VERY, VERY FAR.

Mobile gaming now means being forced to watch minute long advertisement videos just to respawn or move to the next level. Handheld gaming now means installing the game for free but dishing out 100x the money in your quest to progress in the game. Handheld gaming now means grinding away for weeks just for that extra attribute to upgrade your character so that you can complete that level to whose progression is locked until you upgrade your character either by grinding away for weeks or paying real money.

Just recently a Catholic priest in Pottstown, Pennsylvania had been accused by police of dropping over $40,000 of the Church’s money on mobile games. Namely, Candy Crush, Mario Kart Tour, Pokémon Go, various slot machine and hidden object games, and Cash Frenzy. We’ve heard countless stories of kids spending thousands on their parent’s credit card on freemium games. And the poor parents being caught by surprise, with no clue whatsoever what got them in this so called position.

Is This Really Gaming?

Apart from the issue of spending countless money, there’s the issue of addiction. If one refuses to dish out money, one has the option of grinding for hundreds of hours just to progress. I have been guilty of it too. I’m sure many of you have been there too.

The point being made here is: freemium games aka pay-to-win games destroy the fundamentals of what makes games fun, and what makes a game, a game. They destroy the meaning of skill, have no value for the time you spend on the game and have no regard for your hard-earned money.

This brings rise to another seething issue: loss of creativity and uniqueness in games by game developers. There are literally millions of “match-3” and “endless runner” games like Candy Crush Saga and Temple Run on Google Play Store and Apple App Store. Yet, when a developer takes a risk and makes a ground breaking game, it barely gets visibility on the app stores. The Freemium model only works out for those developers and publishers who can dish out millions in marketing to increase visibility and attract advertisers. The rich get richer, the poor get poorer. Meanwhile the 3-man army building a groundbreaking game in their basement gets no visibility whatsoever.

I am no where saying that all developers, or games, are alike. Being a gamer myself, there are many freemium games I genuinely enjoy, games that don’t exploit my tendency to skill-up, progress and win. Mighty DOOM is a recent one that I’ve been into. But I am just a needle in a haystack. Tennis Clash is another one I’ve been consistently giving away previous hours since years.

I have to say it: the freemium gaming model is cancer, especially to the non-assuming gamer like the priest mentioned above, or like a housewife, a 6 year old child or even an unsophisticated construction worker. Gone are the days where you pay a fixed amount to purchase a full game with all of its features unlocked.

Apple Arcade – The Robinhood for Mobile Games?

Which is why gaming subscription services like Apple Arcade are poised to make a positive change in the way mobile gaming content is consumed and interacted with. Apple Arcade, launched in 2019 and available to Apple device users (iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, Apple TV) for a monthly subscription fee like Netflix, while offering a collection of 100+ curated game. Free for the first three months of signing up, Apple Arcade games have no ad banners, no sixty second video ads for reswapning/progression, no level up locked to microtransactions. Scratch that, Apple Arcade has no microtransactions whatsoever. For a month fee, you get full access to games with all their features unlocked.

And the Apple Arcade store has proper big-dev AAA games, like NBA 2K24, Football Manager 2024, Disney Melee Mania, Sayonara Wild Hearts, Sega titles like Sonic and Virtua Fighter etc. Sega’s Air Twister on Apple Arcade is a must-play, up there with the greats. The game was after all designed by the legend Yu Suzuki, and is considered to be one of his best works. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe on Apple Arcade gives an almost console like experience. Apart from big studio games, Arcade has a neat collection of timeless classic games such as chess and sudoku. Even the massively played Fruit Ninja and Jetpack Joyride get a spot on Apple Arcade.

The service costs less than cup of Starbucks coffee, at just Rs. 99/-, and costs even lesser in the Apple One bundle, where you get Apple TV+, Apple Music and iCloud storage. If you’re on a family plan, that means up to five people can access your Apple Arcade subscription. Apple momentarily keeps adding a handful of games to the store, and promises more are on the way. Once scrutinized for not taking gaming seriously, Apple has funded its own developers to make games for Arcade. The service has taken a while to gain momentum, but is on the right track. “2023 was a banner year for us,” says Alex Rofman, Arcade’s senior director and an Apple veteran since 15 years. “All of our critical metrics reached record highs. Two of the highlights for me were the launch of Hello Kitty Island Adventure – an incredibly popular IP that hadn’t really found its home in the gaming world yet – and What the Car winning mobile game of the year at the Dice awards last month.”

Rofman goes on to explain the intentions behind Arcade.  “It was about games that were designed just to be fun and engaging, not built around a business model, not built around timers or video ads,” he says. “We were not looking to replicate the top genres on mobile necessarily, we weren’t looking to bring a match-three that was better than Candy Crush … we focused on games that wouldn’t have had an opportunity were it not for Arcade.”

Recently Apple Arcade has had a decent implosion of family titles, pointing out to the probable popularity of the service on Apple TV. When Arcade launched, Apple had a decent influx of indie, well reviewed titles but somehow they treaded of that path. Rofman digresses, claiming the corporation’s focus on interesting game. “We fund the development of new games so that developers can build them without risk. What the Car is a perfect example of that. Another one is Sneaky Sasquatch: its developer RAC7 is two guys who have been making games together since they were in high school. They don’t want to run a studio. To see the success and the growth of that game has really been amazing. It’s very aligned with Apple’s values: it’s an incredibly deep, challenging game, but there’s no violence. There’s nothing offensive. So we do think that Arcade is an outlet for indie studios with creative, innovative ideas. That is still important to us and always will be.”

ALWAYS Online, Why?

One plague that has crawled its way into both mobile and console gaming alike, is the need to be always online in order to play a game, even if its a single player game. This so-called “feature” serves no one except the data companies. Don’t you just boil up when you’re vacationing in a remote spot with no internet, you pop out your phone to enjoy a short session of your favorite and game and voila, the game won’t load? Always Online is a cancer and will always be.

Apple Arcade does away with Always Online, meaning you can enjoy gaming on your phone in Airplane mode, or in the scenario mentioned in the previous paragraph.

So these are the benefits of mobile game subscription services. Even Netflix has added games to its subscription plans. The legendary game Hades is now available on Netflix games, and has been a great activator for the service. Game subscription plans are thriving and here-to-stay, and its a winning scenario for gamers who have coming out of post-freemium-depression.

Stay tuned to iLLGaming for more such editorials, recommendations and reviews.