It was officially launched in the fall of 2019 and is available for subscription at a price of US$4.99 (NT$170) per month.Apple Arcade, which has accumulated more than 200 games, allowing iPhone, iPad, Mac and Apple TV users to play a variety of game content created by first-line brand game developers and famous producers through this service.
In addition to subscribing for a fixed monthly price, Apple has also merged the Apple Arcade service with its integrated subscription plan Apple One, allowing users to use many Apple services through a fixed-price subscription. It even offers new subscribers a free one-month trial, or offers users who have newly purchased Apple devices a free three-month trial, in order to attract more people to join.
As Microsoft continues to promoteXbox Game Pass monthly subscription serviceApple also hopes to attract more people to use the Apple Arcade service through a monthly subscription method, which will not only allow users to play all game content for a fixed fee, but also give players more opportunities to download and play game content.
Because it adopts a monthly subscription model and the monthly billing price is not expensive, it can increase the number of players with affordable and eye-catching game content, allowing users to play more content at the price of a single game. Although it seems a bit disadvantageous, it actually allows Apple Arcade service to become an alchemy platform for game manufacturers and developers. By producing high-quality game works, it attracts players to stick to playing, and then makes players willing to pay for more high-quality game works sold by the same developers on the App Store.
Therefore, for game makers and developers, Apple Arcade is a platform for promoting their game production capabilities. Even if they fail to attract more players, they can still earn a certain share of the profits from the Apple Arcade service, and they can also gain a lot of market experience.
However, Apple has yet to disclose the actual number of subscribers to its Apple Arcade service. There have even been a number of reports suggesting that Apple's subscription service, like its other streaming video service, Apple TV+, faces the same embarrassing sluggish growth in actual subscriber numbers. Therefore, Apple has chosen to continue offering free trials in the hope of increasing and maintaining current subscription usage.
However, the subsequent introduction of Apple One services, including subscription services such as Apple Arcade, Apple TV+ and Apple Music, may help to drive more usage of Apple's various subscription services. Judging from the increase in the proportion of its service revenue shown in Apple's recent financial report, it is clear that the integrated subscription plan strategy does help attract more people to subscribe.
