Apple Arcade: How Can Subscription Services Change Games?

Announcement: I reviewed Generation Zero for Indie Game Website. Check it out: https://www.indiegamewebsite.com/2019/03/25/generation-zero-review/

Main Post: Apple announced another video game subscription service, being the latest company to jump on the idea after Google, Microsoft, and really every other platform holder depending on how you look at it. Personally I have yet to lean one way or the other on subscription services, and in regards to Apple Arcade specifically, mobile games as well. I guess my main question is: will Apple Arcade’s exclusives be able to hold my attention longer than the usual time-wasters?

I haven’t spent significant time on a mobile game in a long time, and books are actually the main reason. I don’t know if other people don’t read books on smart phones as opposed to tablets or dedicated e-readers, but a phone has always had enough screen real estate for me. When I’m out somewhere with my phone and some time to kill, books have been doing a better job at holding my attention than mobile games.

Is There Still A Software Gap Between iOS And Android?

Almost as soon as the iOS-Android rivalry began there were guides, think pieces, and other talk about users switching between one and the other. I think Samsung’s entire smartphone advertising strategy has been about people switching to their phones from iPhones — how their phones get new features before Apple copies them. I’ve always had a problem with these messages, and it’s with how they almost always focus on hardware and operating systems to the exclusion of the software that runs on them.

Basically, I never really thought about switching because of how much iOS software I’ve paid for over the years that wouldn’t come with me if I left that ecosystem. Recently though I sat down and took stock of all those apps and what such a transition might actually cost me. I found that the difficulty is really dependent on what you’re using your device for and what kind of apps that entails.

Diablo Immortal: Where, And To Whom To Announce Mobile Games

Last week I did a post about mobile gaming and now there’s the anger surrounding Blizzard’s announcement of a mobile Diablo game. Let me just say I’m down for a mobile Diablo, and in fact have been waiting for such a game for quite a while.

The Real Difference Between Mobile And Console Gaming

When Apple unveiled its new iPads and MacBooks this past week it boasted the new iPad Pro can get graphics performance that rivals the Xbox One S. Whatever arguments may ensue about the differences between mobile gaming and console gaming, I don’t think hardware performance is the main factor keeping what some might consider “real gaming” from appearing on smartphones and tablets. Just being able to run Xbox games doesn’t mean you’re gonna start seeing the likes of Red Dead Redemption on the iPad. I think by far the biggest factor is the standard of pricing for mobile software. Even the touch-only interface isn’t that big a deal in comparison.

[iPhone September 2018 Keynote] What Matters To You When Upgrading iPhones?

As Apple unveils its new iPhone models this week, the iPhone XR, Xs, and Xs Max, I find myself once again thinking about what’s going to affect my hardware purchasing decision the most — the software.

My decision on when I’ll want to upgrade from my 6 Plus is going to depend a lot on how iOS 12 performs on my current phone when it drops next week and throughout the fall. I actually could’ve sworn I’d posted something here about that when Apple unveiled it in June but according to the search on this site I haven’t, so I guess I can go over my hopes for that too.

The Nintendo Wii 10 Years On: What Was And Could Have Been

The original Nintendo Wii turned 10 over the weekend, I haven’t seen many retrospective articles about it but I haven’t really been looking. Maybe they’ll be up this week. In any case I don’t think I’ve ever shared my thoughts here on what the Wii accomplished and why it failed to follow that up.

The Game Gear’s Lessons After 25 Years

There sure are some anniversaries going down in October 2015, so it might look like I’m putting these kinds of posts out in rapid fire. Maybe it’s gonna be like this every fall since that’s usually the biggest season for game releases. Today’s post is about a platform though, and a Japanese release from the early 90’s at that.

Apple’s News App & News Consumption, Part Two

I could only really mess around with Apple’s News app for a few hours before I wrote that previous post about why I wouldn’t really need it and why I still use RSS. Since then I’ve discovered a little more about it, but still don’t know how much use it could ever really be to me. It also got me thinking some more about how fundamentally my news consumption has changed in the last 10 years or so.

Previously I compared Apple’s News app to RSS before realizing it actually does have a function to accept RSS feeds. If you go to a website in Safari with a certain kind of feed you can tell iOS9 to add that feed to the News app. I haven’t gotten it to actually work but there it is.

iOS9 News And Why I Still Prefer RSS

With the buzz around about iOS9 I thought I’d go ahead and at least check out Apples new News app before I dismissed it. Even before the OS update and the app came out I already assumed I wouldn’t be very interested in yet another news aggregator, but it’s made me realize what’s happened to the way I get my news.

The New Apple TV Looks Like A Wii With Actual 3rd Party Support

Apple seems to be sidestepping the “mobile games on your TV” problem other microconsoles have run into.While Apple indicated you will be able to run legacy iOS apps on the newly announced Apple TV, the conference clearly focused on games made specifically for the device. This is what it should  be pushing for.

What we may end up seeing here is the first real library of games built specifically for a microconsole. That might open up an experience not quite mobile but not quite traditional console.