5 ms·

Everything on Apple Arcade fits your criteria.

gjsman-1000 3y ago
Well sure, that's about the only place, if you don't mind the subscription. The flip side though is that so many Apple Arcade titles are also available on Switch. Even ones that Apple showed in their presentations. You can also actually buy them without a subscription.
- skyyler 3y ago
  Even Nintendo's own offerings show that purchasing is on the way out. The a la carte virtual console has given way for paid subscription access to curated collections of games. You can't buy retro games on the switch the way you could on the Wii and Wii U.
  - emodendroket 3y ago
    Game Pass also seems like the first step down this road for a more “core audience” and Sony has one foot in and one foot out with their PS+ strategy, while we’re at it.
- emodendroket 3y ago
  They’re adding a ton of stuff all the time. I’m not saying that traditional game consoles won’t continue to be around but isn’t mobile already larger both in terms of players and revenue? We’re artificially handicapping the numbers by considering only tablets and not smart phones in this comparison.
  - surge 3y ago
    The switch and the Steam Deck are effectively a tablet hybrid form factor (both are portable and have touch screens), just with the controller integrated or come packaged standard. Docking stations are something tablets handle fine too, Switch and Steam Deck just have that mode of operation as a forethought. All that to say, you can argue consoles in some cases are moving more in the direction of tablets and phones to capture that wider market.
    - emodendroket 3y ago
      That they feel the need to do that and that you can no longer really have a handheld game system with its own dedicated library of games (something else those both have in common) doesn’t really suggest the idea that mobile gaming is nipping at the heels of traditional gaming is wrong.
SirHound 3y ago
It doesn’t though. There is no game of the calibre of TOTK, Mario Odyessy etc on iOS and there never will be.
- emodendroket 3y ago
  The criteria given was “How many games does iOS have that are paid, don't have IAPs, timers, or Loot Boxes?” and not your subjective evaluation of how good the games are.
- mcphage 3y ago
  > and there never will be There could be, but it's not an Apple priority. Maybe one day it will be—who knows.
  - emodendroket 3y ago
    Not that I’m a huge mobile gamer but they do have some good stuff. The developer of Hot Shots Golf has a game that’s basically HSG in all but name which is nice.
- nocsi 3y ago
  Hello kitty island adventure
jamesgeck0 3y ago
Apple Arcade raises the bar significantly on mobile, but it pales in comparison to the first party offerings for any dedicated game console. It's got a lot of good indie games, but is missing anything comparable to flagship console-selling titles like Zelda, or Starfield, or Spider-Man. Even portable devices from previous console generations had more compelling libraries in many regards.
- nocsi 3y ago
  It’s called Hello Kitty Island Adventure. Btw, if you didn’t know, Apple Arcade’s subscriber count dwarfs everyone else’s. Go walk around outside and evaluate what device your average kid is using. I promise, most of the kids are using some hand me down iPhone and playing mobile games, if not from Apple Arcade. It doesn’t matter if apple doesn’t have Zelda, only adults know what that is - what apple is doing is controlling the mind share of kids

Well sure, that's about the only place, if you don't mind the subscription. The flip side though is that so many Apple Arcade titles are also available on Switch. Even ones that Apple showed in their presentations. You can also actually buy them without a subscription.

skyyler 3y ago
Even Nintendo's own offerings show that purchasing is on the way out. The a la carte virtual console has given way for paid subscription access to curated collections of games. You can't buy retro games on the switch the way you could on the Wii and Wii U.
- emodendroket 3y ago
  Game Pass also seems like the first step down this road for a more “core audience” and Sony has one foot in and one foot out with their PS+ strategy, while we’re at it.
emodendroket 3y ago
They’re adding a ton of stuff all the time. I’m not saying that traditional game consoles won’t continue to be around but isn’t mobile already larger both in terms of players and revenue? We’re artificially handicapping the numbers by considering only tablets and not smart phones in this comparison.
- surge 3y ago
  The switch and the Steam Deck are effectively a tablet hybrid form factor (both are portable and have touch screens), just with the controller integrated or come packaged standard. Docking stations are something tablets handle fine too, Switch and Steam Deck just have that mode of operation as a forethought. All that to say, you can argue consoles in some cases are moving more in the direction of tablets and phones to capture that wider market.
  - emodendroket 3y ago
    That they feel the need to do that and that you can no longer really have a handheld game system with its own dedicated library of games (something else those both have in common) doesn’t really suggest the idea that mobile gaming is nipping at the heels of traditional gaming is wrong.

SirHound 3y ago

It doesn’t though. There is no game of the calibre of TOTK, Mario Odyessy etc on iOS and there never will be.

emodendroket 3y ago
The criteria given was “How many games does iOS have that are paid, don't have IAPs, timers, or Loot Boxes?” and not your subjective evaluation of how good the games are.
mcphage 3y ago
> and there never will be There could be, but it's not an Apple priority. Maybe one day it will be—who knows.
- emodendroket 3y ago
  Not that I’m a huge mobile gamer but they do have some good stuff. The developer of Hot Shots Golf has a game that’s basically HSG in all but name which is nice.
nocsi 3y ago
Hello kitty island adventure

jamesgeck0 3y ago

Apple Arcade raises the bar significantly on mobile, but it pales in comparison to the first party offerings for any dedicated game console. It's got a lot of good indie games, but is missing anything comparable to flagship console-selling titles like Zelda, or Starfield, or Spider-Man. Even portable devices from previous console generations had more compelling libraries in many regards.

nocsi 3y ago
It’s called Hello Kitty Island Adventure. Btw, if you didn’t know, Apple Arcade’s subscriber count dwarfs everyone else’s. Go walk around outside and evaluate what device your average kid is using. I promise, most of the kids are using some hand me down iPhone and playing mobile games, if not from Apple Arcade. It doesn’t matter if apple doesn’t have Zelda, only adults know what that is - what apple is doing is controlling the mind share of kids