The Apple game subscription service is expected to be launched on September 9th, US West Coast time (September 19th, Taiwan time).Apple Arcade, the user experience of early participation in the iOS 13 beta test has been opened earlier. If you have already installed the iOS 13 test version and happen to meet the early experience qualifications, you should be able to activate the subscription in the Apple Arcade service page in the App Store.
According to the author's own situation of using the iOS 13 developer preview version and setting the region to Taiwan, he can join the subscription through the Apple Arcade dedicated page in the App Store.
Before officially joining the subscription, Apple will provide an additional one-month trial period. Users can try it out during the first month, so there will be no actual charges. However, users still need to enter payment information such as a credit card to complete the subscription. However, if the user is not satisfied after the trial, they can cancel the free trial at any time during the first month (by selecting Cancel Free Trial in the Subscription Item in the Personal Account Settings). Otherwise, starting from the second month, a monthly fee of NT$1 will be charged.
After completing the subscription, the system will also ask the user if they want to invite other family members, relatives and friends to join the shared Apple Arcade subscription plan. Invitations can be sent via iMessage, email, etc. However, in addition to yourself, you can only invite up to five family members and friends. Invited people must also update their operating system to iOS 5 or above, otherwise they will not see the Apple Arcade option.
Apple Arcade is charged at a monthly subscription fee of NT$170. If users share it with five other people, each person only needs to pay less than NT$5 on average to play game content provided by various game manufacturers and developers. They can even enjoy cross-device play, record linkage, and a gaming experience without any advertising interruption. Future updates and additional content will not require additional payment.
Cross-device play, easily connect to more game titles
Compared to the games currently available on the App Store, Apple emphasizes that the games included in Apple Arcade are all platform exclusives and can be played on iOS, Mac or Apple TV platforms. This means that the game content will be available across different screen sizes and operation modes. On Mac devices, you can even play with a keyboard and mouse, and on Apple TV, you can play withPlayStation 4 and Xbox One game controllers, or a compatible Bluetooth handle for operation.
The Apple Arcade page provides a description of each game, including its age rating, genre, player count, and developer profile. Clicking on a developer profile displays not only background information about the developer, but also other App Store titles from the same developer, such as other paid games or stickers for iMessage.
Searching for "Apple Arcade" in the App Store will quickly list all games included in the Apple Arcade service, allowing users to more easily find games created by specific developers using keywords.
In addition, compared to games generally included in the App Store, games included in the Apple Arcade service will display the words "Apple Arcade" in red each time they are executed, thereby clearly distinguishing them from games included in the App Store.
Rich game categories
Many players originally thought that Apple Arcade would only include lightweight casual games. However, the processors in current iPhones are capable of nearly desktop-level performance. As a result, some included games, such as Oceanhorn 2: Knights of the Lost Realm and Beyond a Steel Sky, can even rival the gameplay provided by home consoles and PCs.
The entire game can be switched between different Apple devices and previous game records can be synchronized, making it easier for users to continue playing or play with others. Downloaded game content also supports offline play, so users don't have to worry about not being able to use it during poor signal or long-distance travel on airplanes.
There are currently about 50 games included in the testing phase. After the actual online operation, it is expected that the number of included games will increase to more than 100, and there will be more game categories to meet different gaming needs.
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Become an "alchemy platform" for game manufacturers and developers
As for the included game content, since we cooperate with game manufacturers and developers in an exclusive manner, the quality of the content will be guaranteed to a certain extent.
Judging from the content announced at this autumn press conference, Capcom's "Into the Depth", which boasts of real underwater sound and gorgeous visual tension, has actually attracted a lot of attention. Konami's re-created "Frogger" is also very suitable for the whole family to play together. In addition, it also includes game content provided by well-known game producers such as Final Fantasy's father Hironobu Sakaguchi, Wang Youjian, and Will Wright, as well as first-line manufacturers such as SEGA, Lego, Cartoon Network and Disney. It is expected that the included game works should not easily disappoint.
Because it adopts a monthly subscription model and the current billing is not expensive, Apple expects to attract more players with affordable prices and eye-catching game content, allowing users to play more content for the price of a single game. Although it seems a bit disadvantageous, it actually allows the Apple Arcade service to become an alchemy platform for game manufacturers and developers. By producing high-quality game works, it will attract players to stick to playing, and then make 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.
