Page 21 - iPhone Life Magazine - Spring 2020

PAY MODEL resource-based homestead game Outlanders, the city infra-
structure builder Mini Motorways, the absurdist golf game
What the Golf, and the quirky, thoughtful, and surprisingly
When I signed up for the Apple Arcade service, I assumed expansive stealth game Sneaky Sasquatch. These are all
I would try it out and unsubscribe after a month or two. Apple uniquely standout experiences and any one of them would’ve
currently offers a one-month free trial, so I didn’t feel like I had been worth the subscription cost alone. The great thing about
anything to lose. It’s a Netfl ix-type model: pay monthly for un- this service is if you don’t like a game, you have countless
limited access to a curated list of games. What I didn’t realize more to choose from and you didn’t lose anything—just delete
when I signed up is that Apple Arcade’s model is an elegant the game and try another. It completely removes the risk of
solution to the issues that have plagued mobile games for the wasting time or money on disappointing games.
last several years—microtransactions.

“THE CURATED

SELECTION OF

GAMES THAT

APPLE PROVIDES IS

HIGH IN QUALITY AND

VARIED IN STYLE.”

These days, mobile games are often cheap or free to play
but contain in-app purchases that are manipulative and tend to
create pay-to-win scenarios for people willing to shell out ex-
tra money. Developers have shifted their focus from creating a
worthwhile experience for players to pursuing long-term mon-
etization strategies. When companies use these techniques, it
tells us they no longer care about making something fun and
unique; they care about extracting the maximum amount of
money from their player base. Far and away the best aspect
of Apple Arcade is that there are zero microtransactions. You
pay for the service and get access to a growing list of com-
plete games that aren’t trying to get more money out of you.
It’s incredibly refreshing.

GAME SELECTION

Apple Arcade also emphasizes single-player experiences.
This fl ies in the face of current gaming trends, as single-player
games are more labor-intensive to build and offer less poten-
tial for microtransactions. It’s been diffi cult in recent years to
fi nd any decent iOS games that are playable offl ine, but Apple
Arcade is changing that. Almost every title is playable offl ine,
and there are zero ads in any of the games. There are multi-
player games, but the vast majority are fully realized single-
player stories. Apple Arcade is a graceful pivot away from the While it’s not clear how much Apple will prioritize adding
unfortunate mobile gaming trends that pushed casual users games moving forward, in the months since the Apple Arcade
like me away. launch there’s been a steady trickle of quality releases, and
The curated selection of games that Apple provides is dozens more unreleased titles have been announced. Inter-
high in quality and varied in style. The curation is an essen- estingly, there aren’t any massive AAA titles included in the
tial part of the service, and the standards are high. There subscription. While it’s landed a few well-known intellectual
is a wide variety of experiences, from the stylized musical properties (Sonic, Lego, and Frogger come to mind), Apple
runner Sayonara Wild Hearts to the meditative abstract col- has focused more on games you’ll actually want to play rather
or-blending game Tint. My current favorites are the mellow than household names.

iPhone Life Spring 2020 19