Technology

Apple Arcade is just a sneaky way for Apple to bundle up average mobile games, and skim off the top, right? Wrong. Like many, I wasn’t convinced about the idea of Apple Arcade. But now, two weeks in, I have to admit that I’m a convert. And a subscriber. And a happy one. I’ve drunk the Apple Arcade Kool-Aid and I’m excited about what games are coming to the platform next.

Deep down, I hoped Apple would pull it out of the bag with Arcade. Mobile gaming is a messy industry that desperately needs a shake-up. But I just couldn’t see it. I thought mobile gaming was dead.

And my logic was sound. Mobile gaming kind of still is dead. My rationale was this: serious games are realised on PS4, Xbox or PC. Not iPhones, iPads and certainly not Apple TVs.

What’s left are just the crumbs from the table. These are the games that are re-hashed to fit the broken revenue model that is mobile gaming. And the few mobile games that are good have ridiculous strategies for making money.

We’ve all experienced the problem. A good mobile game is either plagued with advertisements, or they’re pay-to-win ‘‘free’’ games – forcing players to dedicate days of gameplay in order to compete with rivals who are willing to pay a few dollars to jump ahead.

Doesn’t sound like much fun, does it? And it’s not.

Apple Arcade has changed that overnight. Working with the industry’s best developer companies such as Ubisoft, Square Enix, Konami, Capcom, and Lego, Apple has created a hub for high-end, quality-checked mobile games.

And better still, they’re fun. Actually, they’re really fun, without adverts. And there are zero in-game purchases (so far).

Open the App Store, swipe right to the Apple Arcade tab and for $8.99 a month you (and your family) have all-you-can-eat access to more than 70 games.

This is about to change everything about mobile gaming.

I’ve been ‘‘researching’’ Apple Arcade games for the past two weeks and games like What the Golf, Mini Motorways and the epic Oceanhorn 2 have made me see the light.

The quality of these games has forever changed the US$70b a year (NZ$111b) mobile gaming industry.

Remember that horrible game, Pokemon Go? It was technically ‘‘free’’ but managed to generate more than US$2b in its first two years. And all via optional in-app purchases.

Apple was making bank from this too – creaming its usual cut of 30 per cent commission from all in-app purchases.

Criminal really, isn’t it? Well, Apple Arcade has just killed the future of these games for good.

Nobody’s going to spend five bucks on ingame ‘‘gems’’ or ‘‘coins’’ or some other weird gaming currency. Not when those same dollars could buy a month’s subscription to 70-plus quality-checked games.

Which begs the question, why did Apple kill its cash cow? The reality is that the cow was close to dying from natural causes anyway.

More and more app developers were calling for Apple to drastically reduce the cut it takes from in-app purchases.

In fact, they weren’t just calling. They were taking action – forcing users to leave an app and go to their website to make a purchase to avoid Apple’s in-app tax.

The newly-launched Maria Kart Tour app, for example, forces its users to register user accounts via a web browser, to avoid this charge.

Apple Arcade is Apple’s way of staying ahead of the industry. Offering great value and quality to the end-user, while taking monetary control back from breakaway developers.

And just as Spotify’s all-you-can-eat music streaming service stopped people from buying individual music singles and albums, Apple Arcade has presented mobile gamers with a similar option of playing for more high-end games than ever before. Without ever owning a title outright.

All without adverts and additional in-app purchases.

Remember that horrible game, Pokemon Go? It was technically ‘‘free’’ but managed to generate more than US$2b in its first two years.