General Apple Arcade Discussion

Discussion in 'Apple Arcade' started by Boardumb, Sep 18, 2019.

  1. Draven2222

    Draven2222 Well-Known Member

    Dec 16, 2013
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    You already have wrote something offensive macplash, not sure u are aware of this.
    I myself think it's also a great deal! , $4.99 can't go wrong, tons of games.
    Let's see if they can keep the release momentum going, i'm hoping releases pick up again, a steady 3-4 a week would be good goin. i'd be happy with that.
    On another note, i'm hearing rumblings from several iOS devs that their premium iOS game sales have dropped off DRAMATICALLY since the launch of Apple Arcade, not sure howmuch truth there is to this, anyone else hear this?
     
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  2. Roger the Alien

    Roger the Alien Well-Known Member

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    I think 5$ a month isn‘t a big deal but I was just interested in Cardpocalypse and King‘s League II so far which I also finished.
    I also tried some other games but I wasn‘t really interested to play them.
     
  3. FiloMJ

    FiloMJ Well-Known Member

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    right now GameClub is far more interesting than AA
     
  4. Boardumb

    Boardumb Administrator
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    @macplash Take a chill pill, he's just voicing his opinion. You act like he ran over your dog with his car or something.
     
  5. macplash

    macplash Well-Known Member

    Apr 17, 2014
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    @Boardumb yeah Jared, I took one. It wasn't the best day. I guess I could've found a better place to vent. Still, I'm getting sick and tired of these neverending complaints about Apple Arcade. But yeah, I'll deal with it.
     
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  6. psj3809

    psj3809 Moderator

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    I’m happy paying for it. Cheap as chips. If we all stopped paying there won’t be any new games whatever. More people who subscribe I’m sure we’ll get better games
     
  7. macplash

    macplash Well-Known Member

    Apr 17, 2014
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    THIS! Exactly. Finally someone who gets it. Thank you!
     
  8. metalcasket

    metalcasket Moderator
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    As someone who's subscribed to at least half a dozen services (movies, music, wrestling, games) I feel I need to chime in. If you're not feeling Apple Arcade, by all means cancel your subscription.

    I've been on TA for close to a decade and everyone here knows mobile gaming is my life, but I ultimately wasn't feeling Apple Arcade for the longest blasted time. Fight me for what I'm about to say as much as you want, but between the handful of simply incredible games are so many titles that you could do without. Even at $4.99 a month, the huge file sizes, filler titles, battery draining and device overheating had me literally (and this is incredibly tough for me to admit) heading into my account and cancelling my subscription time and time again, but every week with the popping up of new titles I'd come around and go back on my decision to not be charged automatically again.

    I kept doing this until my subscription finally died on the 17th of this month, but 2 days later I bought another month of Arcade (despite the abysmal release week) and won't be changing my mind for the foreseeable future.

    Why? Because the App Store is pure shit. Put games aside for a second. Even premium apps that I've paid upwards of $10 on are switching to subscription models, and not every developer is as amazing as the developers of Enpass, for example, and is kind enough to offer lifetime access to previous customers or give you a discount on a lifetime subscription like with Infuse. What does this have to do with Apple Arcade? It's just the fact that despite my qualm with it, it's the only thing clean, pure and (un)holy on the App Store and I'll gladly pay $5 a month to be able to go to bed at night without having to worry about who's going to try and screw me over the next morning. I'm SO sick of the state of the App Store and wish there were concrete policies in place that make sure consumers aren't getting ****ed left and right. Alas, it's clear that will never happen and developers will always be given the freedom to change business models as they see fit.

    With all that said, my advice is...if you're not feeling Apple Arcade, **** it sideways. Unsubscribe and go to bed knowing you did what you felt was best regardless of what ANYONE thinks. The people who defend Apple Arcade are equally as bad as those who put it down. Yes, it's dirt cheap, but at the end of the day, if you're not getting your money's worth out of it, forget it and come back whenever you feel like there's something you'd like to play. You'll never be punished for it.

    Just my two cents.
     
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  9. stubbieoz

    stubbieoz Well-Known Member

    Jun 23, 2015
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    While I haven’t heard anything offical I wouldn’t be at all surprised.
    We all here probably know that developers struggle with premium games on iOS being financially successful.
    AppleArcade is such a good deal that it sadly must be taking sales away from them.
    For my part though I am still happily buying premium games when I see them.

    In fact I will be suspending my AA subscription simply because I have so many unfinished games. Yes I know it’s only $8AUD a month but I have to be realistic. My iOS library contains hundreds of games, at least half are premium and I have only managed to finish a handful.
    I just went through my purchase history and there are games there I did not realise I even had, and they are games that I really want to play. And with iOS, being the way it is, I need to play them before some iOS update breaks them (if they aren’t already broken that is).
    Oh and not to mention that Game Club is re-releasing a heap of my old purchased games that I no longer could play on the latest iOS.
    Mage Gauntlet, Pocket RPG, Fargoal, King Cashing 2, Breach and Clear, the list goes on and on and on.
    ......... far too many games to play in the limited lifetime that I have.

    Oh, a couple of AA questions;
    Does anyone here know how developers are paid for their AA games? Do they get a one off payment or are they paid perhaps according to some sort of number of downloads system?
    And any news if games on AA might one day be sold as a seperate purchase?
     
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  10. drpalland

    drpalland Active Member

    Nov 9, 2019
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    Thanks man! I really appreciate it. Apologies for the delayed reply. Been crazy this side.
     
  11. drpalland

    drpalland Active Member

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    The devs are allegedly paid on a “Time Played + Downloads = %”. I would assume they are using the same model as Scribd, Kindle etc. My novels receive a percentage of the time someone read or listened to the audio edition of my books.

    Example: (Scribd) 1 download of audiobook + total time spent listening = percentage of circulation.

    I know the larger devs, which were basically contracted by Apple, receive the “Advance or Royalties” method. So they’d choose between either higher royalties, or in this case downloads etc., or they’d choose to receive an advance. The latter option is risky, because they won’t recoup their money until a certain threshold is reached.

    Re: the last question - Unequivocally no. Apple merged the once-off songs from iTunes Store into a monthly Apple Music Membership for like a day, but people lost their insides, so they reverted to the current model. I know this not only from a reliable and credible source, but also from witnessing, as well as attending the production of one of the anticlimactic Apple TV+ shows.

    Apple contracted the Executive Producers and their shows exclusively. One of the actors is a good friend of mine, and this individual had to sign an exclusivity clause. Or a non-compete in other terms.

    Therefore, selling the shows/movies separately would harken back to the pre-Netflx-streaming days, when one could still rent DVD’s from them.

    Arcade would have a similar deal in place.
     
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  12. drpalland

    drpalland Active Member

    Nov 9, 2019
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    Also, I wonder what we’re in store for today... Thanksgiving sales and freebies are already littered throughout the App Store, so hopefully Apple released Rosie’s Reality (it wasn’t so much fun in reality) in order to meet the demands of a huge release schedule today.
     
  13. macplash

    macplash Well-Known Member

    Apr 17, 2014
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    Very nice article about (not only) Apple Arcade with Ustwo, creator of Monument Valley and AA’s Assemble with care. My personal favorite part concerning length of the AA’s games is:

    “Apple Arcade is also another viable outlet for developers making shorter experiences. Assemble With Care can be polished off in less than two hours, but that doesn't make it a less worthy addition to the service -- as Gray says: "You don't watch a six-episode series on Netflix and think that it's worse because there are 24-episode series out there."
     
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  14. drpalland

    drpalland Active Member

    Nov 9, 2019
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    Thanks for that. It’s interesting, because as I’ve mentioned above, I think they have several methods in place, e.g. “Total downloads + time played = percentage”.

    My interest is piqued. If one applies that wonderful game to the aforementioned, I assume it will be something along the lines of “Total downloads + time spent x X = percentage”? “X = total time to finish game / time spent > or < average time of similar titles”.

    I’m not a math expert, but it makes sense that they would then reach a total of an average perhaps?

    Also, it just popped into my head now, perhaps there are very different sales models, uniquely tailored to certain types of games plus the rights to distribute those games.

    I shall have to dig further. Thank you. Thank you for tossing me down the rabbit hole without a rope.

    ;)

    EDIT:

    Quality vs Quantity! “Black Mirror vs 24”.
     
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  15. ROGER-NL

    ROGER-NL Well-Known Member

    May 21, 2012
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    No new games just yet, wonder if something comes out uberhaupt, talking a bit german here ha ha.
     
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  16. drpalland

    drpalland Active Member

    Nov 9, 2019
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    Apple Arcade just tweeted a “celebratory” thingamajig. So... Hmmm.

    Vielleicht, mein Freund. Vielleicht.
     
  17. Maslan266

    Maslan266 Well-Known Member

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    So there are no new games dropping today?!
     
  18. macplash

    macplash Well-Known Member

    Apr 17, 2014
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    Let’s be realistic. Apple couldn’t possibly keep the given trend from last weeks indefinitely. They delivered what they promised in the beginning, at least amount-wise. There are still big-ish titles expected, to the end of the year hopefully. But as I wrote earlier in this thread, I personally welcome decreased influx of new games so I can fully focus on what was given to us already.

    Not to mention, it’s holiday season ahead of us. Thanksgiving, Black Friday, Cyber Monday. Sales already began with more to come in the coming days. My wishlist is quite extensive. To complete certain collections or to grab something I missed in the past. It won’t get any better than now. So, yeah.:)
     
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  19. macplash

    macplash Well-Known Member

    Apr 17, 2014
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    @MetaGonzo I don’t wanna go too much off topic here, but can you shed some light on this Playond thing? I was just in a mood for some Crashlands just to realize it’s under Playond service. Now, I checked the FAQ, terms of use, subscription policy and once I bought the game in the past, I can restore my purchase and play the game “for free”. Although, I have no idea how yet, but that’s irrelevant ATM. This sounds pretty much the same as GameClub. After a brief look at offered games I’m quite intrigued to subscribe as well. Along with Apple Arcade and GameClub. Especially for current 80% discount price $0.99/month as an early bird (or whatever it’s called). Although who knows how long is this price gonna last. Nevertheless, what I’m asking here is, why such negative attitude against this specific subscription service? Is it any different from others? Is there any hidden agenda? Should I avoid it for any reason? Thanks in advance for clarifying.
     
  20. MetaGonzo

    MetaGonzo Well-Known Member

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    When Playond kicked off, some premium titles disappeared and reappeared behind Playonds subscription paywall.

    There was some wailing and gnashing of teeth and Playond then said that if you’d previously owned them then you’d still be able to access them. This was apparently not the case for all titles.

    Then titles were listed in both Playond subscription and premium subscription free form which was also apparently the plan all along. (This certainly is now true for at least Morphite and Barbearian I believe).

    In fairness a few participating devs gave chimed in to say they give the service their full support (obviously) but it’s not what I’d call smooth sailing on calm seas.
     
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