The market for smartphone games is changing. Until last September you can play online or offline for free or buy apps. This creates excitement and dissatisfaction because each game is accompanied by advertisements and sometimes you have to pay to continue playing. Consumers can now subscribe to a $ 5 monthly subscription worth of Apple Arcade or Google Play Pass, giving them access to hundreds of games. Although Google offers are not yet available in Ghana, we are still able to make preliminary estimates of products that are engaged in current subscription offers such as Netflix.
A rapidly changing market
According to the French video game agency, mobile games account for 25% more spending than all other games combined in 2019. This will cost around $ 86 billion worldwide, a figure that must be surpassed this year. Regardless of whether its Call of Duty or Mario Kart Tour, recommendations for video games have been successfully migrated from consoles to smartphones. It seems they have been liked by the public. Arcade games for laptops stand out among the crowd because they themselves have contributed 47% of total mobile game downloads. Although this category is very small because it contains many different games such as crush or battle games, these numbers partly explain the motives that led the giants Google and Apple to develop a monthly subscription system.
A subscription system
The war subscription begins in September 2019. Apple launched the first Apple Arcade, a video game subscription service for iOS, iPadOS, tvOS and macOS devices, on September 19. This service includes access to more than one hundred exclusive and original games so you can play on iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple TV. The subscription fee is € 4.99 per month. This system is equipped with a one-month free trial. All available games are available offline and you can share access to the platform with Apple Family Sharing (up to 6 members). Phil Schiller, senior vice president of global marketing at Apple, said in September:
We are very pleased to launch Apple Arcade on the App Store. It features a handpicked selection of more than 100 new exclusive games, designed by some of the most innovative game developers in the world, and perfectly complements the extensive catalog of games in the App Store.
Google’s response is fast. Less than a week after Apple, Google released the Google Play Pass in the U.S. market. on September 23. Game lovers on the Google Play Store can now access ad-free ads and in-app purchases without having hundreds of apps and games available at a price of $ 4.99 per month. Besides games, Google offers other lifestyle applications and game catalogs. Just like Apple Arcade, you can share accounts with 5 family members. This service must be launched internationally last year. However, it is currently limited to the US market.
The difference: the games
Google stated in its announcement that its customers will have access to 350 games and applications. This database is updated monthly with the addition of new features. Subscriptions include classic Android video games from several years such as Stardew Valley, Terraria or Limbo. The big difference with Apple Arcade is the possibility to download paid applications such as the AccuWeather weather service. According to Google, interest is justified by the fact that games that were previously paid separately are now available at no additional cost. Of course, we will test this service because, according to the US giant, it can solve a sensitive and disturbing problem for users: the integration of microdisplays and transactions in games and applications. Because of this, the company is committed to ensuring that you can play without advertising and there are no additional costs as you progress through the game.
Google Play Pass is compatible with smartphones, laptops and digital tablets. So, you need Play Store version 16.6.25 and Android version 4.4 or higher. The brand announced on its website that it had connected game developers with this new adventure and guaranteed that new products would be permanently available. We found 80 Days, Lumino City, Titan Quest, Star Wars: Choir or Risk in the list of available games. This offer also includes games for children such as StoryToys Rapunzel or Elmo Loves 123s, but also classic applications such as Currency Converter Plus or KWGT Custom Widget Maker.
While Google plays the card for the continuity and loyalty of its users who are customers, Apple insists on new things, originality, and the quality of the game. This exclusivity also presents itself as the most important capital of its services, which must be a platform for exclusivity and innovation for the general public. This dynamic is reflected in the emphasis on working with famous designers like Konami. This brand also emphasizes the quality of game graphics that are only available at Apple Arcade. According to this logic, this platform offers certain games that you will not be jealous of when you can play on Nintendo or Xbox consoles (with clear limits on maneuverability, graphic quality, and sensations that you will never find while playing the phone, whatever we always say). For this reason, the US giant offers games developed by some of the most creative developers in the world, some of whom will not share work without the concept of a laptop gaming platform.
Like Google, Apple insists that you only need to pay a monthly fee of five euros. Customers can then access the full version of each game without placing advertisements or buying extensions. You can also download Apple Arcade games from the Apple Store area to better centralize purchases and accounts that provide access to the Apple ecosystem (also built-in Siri). To compete with consoles and attract players, this system allows the use of controllers, including wireless Xbox controllers with Bluetooth and PlayStation DualShock 4 controllers. At the game level, this platform offers new games, adventure, business, and puzzles. Specifically, we found Gameloft ballistic baseball, Devolver’s Exit the Gungeon, Ubisoft’s Rayman Mini, and even an original cartoon network game named Steven Universe: Unleash the Light.
It’s not fair to take a position and give you a clear opinion about which of the two best subscription services. We have to wait for the launch of the Google Play Pass in Europe, especially so that you can experience the inconvenience of playing from an “open” database every day. Personally, I invite you to subscribe to the free Apple Arcade monthly offer. This is the best way to make your own decisions.
When you subscribe to smartphone games, you must stop your eating habits. If you are not accustomed to playing on a smartphone due to lack of time like me, I think subscribing isn’t really worth it. If I register, I will really feel obliged to use this platform because I know I pay every month. You lose the freedom to play if you want. If you don’t spend hours and hours enjoying your laptop and choosing a good old console, follow your habits.
Once more, it depends on every and the wide variety of hours you spend tapping to your phone. I’m satisfied that when a certain quantity of hours of play, it is surely worth taking the subscription. If most effective to finish the games and now not have to undergo the damn advertisements that slip even as having a laugh. And you, what do you think of apple arcade or the google play pass? Might you be tempted to join this type of two offers?
