Support NeoGAF

[jshackles]

Report: iOS 19 to include new app dedicated to gaming - 9to5Mac

Last October, 9to5Mac exclusively reported that Apple was developing a dedicated app for video games that would exist separately from...

9to5mac.com

According to our sources, the app will have multiple tabs, including a "Play Now" tab, a tab for the user's games, friends, and more. In Play Now, users will find editorial content and game suggestions. The app will also show things like challenges, leaderboards, and achievements. Games from both the App Store and Apple Arcade will be featured in the new store.

The app will also promote special gaming events and information about important updates. In addition, Apple is reportedly experimenting with some kind of integration with FaceTime and iMessage in its new gaming app – possibly to help players communicate with each other. The company is also exploring letting developers provide mini games based on App Clips.

Apple has entered the console war arena

 

[Ozriel]

Apple has entered the console war arena

Apple has been selling mobile games for nearly 15 years at this point.

 

[poodaddy]

I give this attempt five years.

 

[ChorizoPicozo]

Apple has entered the console war arena

They are the market leader in mobile gaming. They don't need to mess around in the console market.

 

[Trilobit]

I've tried to game on my iOS/iPadOS devices, but the games suck 99% of the time. Much better to play on a dedicated gaming device.

 

[bender]

iPhone 16 is a beast.

I've tried to game on my iOS/iPadOS devices, but the games suck 99% of the time. Much better to play on a dedicated gaming device.

I'll always have fond memories of Canabalt, Pocket Dev Story, and all the Cave SHMUP ports.

 

[Magic Carpet]

The free Fortnite app vs the $7 dollar a month Apple Arcade.

 

[Astray]

Seems like Apple is making moves in gaming now.

Apple is ready to replace Game Center with a more Xbox-like gaming app

Apple could be focusing more on gaming.

www.theverge.com

 

[Trogdor1123]

Heard this for a while. Tie this into the rumours for iOs20

 

[Shmunter]

And they bought a game dev studio that made that Sasquatch game

 

[Badlucktroll]

I'm primarily a mac user so i'll check this out for sure

 

[Miyazaki’s Slave]

WWDC will be a wild time for sure.

Eveyone is saying that iOS will finally find parity with MacOS (press Cmd to Doubt) but they are launching their new interface upgrade/revamp/whateveryoucallit so maybe it will happen!

If they have Phil there and the background is an apple logo with "this is an xbox" under it...well...good on you MS.

 

[Unknown Soldier]

Apple gonna pay more developers to release iOS and Mac games maybe

The fact that they are pushing their own App Store instead of using Steam like the rest of the world will always keep them niche in gaming. I wonder how long it will take for them to figure that out

 

[FinalBossWithTheMostPower]

 

[R3TRO]

Options are nice but no thanks.

 

[Durin]

I'll believe they're making real moves into gaming, when I see it.

Apple has said since the 2000s they were gonna do more in gaming, and it never goes anywhere. Mainly because they don't put out much money to fund development, and they push their own proprietary standards instead of open ones.

Even gaming on iOS was literally handed to them by devs that practically jerry-rigged games on to their platform in the early days, and it was only after they made bank vs other app types they started to care a bit.

 

[Zuzu]

I was just thinking the other day when I playing on my iPad or iPhone that they need a proper game launcher interface. The Scuf Nomad controller that I've been using actually has a decent game console like interface that you can open and launch games and apps from. Apple needs a native version like it.

 

[LordCBH]

Literally anything would be better than Game Center. I don't even know what it does and I have like 3 or 4 games on my phone.

 

[Cyberpunkd]

Seems like Apple is making moves in gaming now.

 

[awwr999999]

Outside of the Mac Mini anybody who can afford a mac will generally have no trouble affording a PlayStation.
Almost nobody wants to use a laptop for work all day and then game on that same laptop in their free time after work.

 

[Trilobit]

iPhone 16 is a beast.



I'll always have fond memories of Canabalt, Pocket Dev Story, and all the Cave SHMUP ports.

Tiny Thief, True Skate and Osmos where some of my absolute favourite iPad games. Not to forget The Silent Age and Galaxy on Fire 2 both with their gorgeous visuals. It's sad that the platform never grew into a ecosystem like Nintendo's.

If Apple would have gone harder on perhaps generational pushes on great controllers or peripherals and perhaps if they would have developed their own games, iOS/iPados could have rivaled the other big three on the gaming market. Apple basically already has the perfect soil to plant their own studios in, but instead they prefer to have mostly trash on their gaming service. I know they already make a lot of money on games, I'm talking in the PoV of a gamer.

Shareholder companies like them always look for new areas to expand in so now with Xbox starting to back out it's the perfect opportunity to make a real push in gaming instead of wasting money on their own cars or TVs.

 

[Robb]

 

[MrCunningham]

They are the market leader in mobile gaming. They don't need to mess around in the console market.

Honesty... Apple should just bring back the iPod (touch) and give it a complete redesign to make it a little more gaming crentric. It would literally be a handheld iPad, sell an official gamepad device that locks into the system. They can use their own Gamepad API for the system. Use Airplay or whatever it is called to 'dock it' to a TV. That's about it.

 

[Ozriel]

Honesty... Apple should just bring back the iPod (touch) and give it a complete redesign to make it a little more gaming crentric. It would literally be a handheld iPad, sell an official gamepad device that locks into the system. They can use their own Gamepad API for the system. Use Airplay or whatever it is called to 'dock it' to a TV. That's about it.

This would flop so hard. Nobody's going to buy an iPod touch these days vs just getting a refurb phone.
And the kids have $299 iPads these days.

 

[Soodanim]

Joke's on them, I don't play games on my phone

 

[RetroGamingUK]

And they bought a game dev studio that made that Sasquatch game

Is this the first time Apple have owned a game studio?

 

[Badlucktroll]

apple would have to pay developers to put big name shit on mac day 1. but i think they should just do a windows translation layer like proton and be done with it

 

[Chittagong]

"Apple is now going to really focus on games" has been a running gag for at least a decade an a half now

 

[Astray]

Is this the first time Apple have owned a game studio?

To my knowledge yes.

They have an incentive to pivot now because they are being targeted by regulators and will have to reduce their take from the app store in multiple ways.

 

[Radical_3d]

I love them, even for gaming, but Christ…

 

[Sorcerer]

apple would have to pay developers to put big name shit on mac day 1. but i think they should just do a windows translation layer like proton and be done with it

They have a translation layer. The developers of Crossover were granted the rights to use it as well. Problem is Apple is seemingly doing nothing with it.

 

[Baemono]

apple would have to pay developers to put big name shit on mac day 1. but i think they should just do a windows translation layer like proton and be done with it

They have some big games on it (like Baldur's Gate 3 recently, or Lies of P), but it doesn't feel right

 

[GoldenEye98]

Honestly surprised Apple still hasn't made their own controller yet. Like their take on the Backbone style controller that could work both attached to phone and unattached (apple tv)

Feel like it would help push gaming on Apple. Not to mention it would be another high margin accessory that they could sell lol

 

[Elitro]

Ever since the m1 this feels like an easy win for me.
Sure, you will need a solid strategy to get into serious gaming.
But putting out an Apple TV device with the M chip would be very interesting.

 

[Badlucktroll]

Honestly surprised Apple still hasn't made their own controller yet. Like their take on the Backbone style controller that could work both attached to phone and unattached (apple tv)

Feel like it would help push gaming on Apple. Not to mention it would be another high margin accessory that they could sell lol

I could see apple doing something simple like this;

 

[Durandle]

They have a translation layer. The developers of Crossover were granted the rights to use it as well. Problem is Apple is seemingly doing nothing with it.

I'm relatively sure I've seen some pretty significant improvements trickle out for it from Apple over time. YouTubers get all excited over it. Saying that, it'd be nice if they took it more seriously and just went full "Lets work with Valve to make it the Proton for Mac".

 

[Shmunter]

Is this the first time Apple have owned a game studio?

Seemingly. Somethings afoot

They've seen Netflix trying to build something, maybe this is a response

 

[Shmunter]

To my knowledge yes.

They have an incentive to pivot now because they are being targeted by regulators and will have to reduce their take from the app store in multiple ways.

Yes, we'll considered.

 

[Shmunter]

I could see apple doing something simple like this;

Too many buttons

 

[Angry_Megalodon]

They should get Jade on board for this exciting initiative.

 

[Kacho]

I'll never understand the appeal of mobile phone gaming. The screen is too small and those controller attachments are ridiculous.

 

[Bradamante3D]

Honestly surprised Apple still hasn't made their own controller yet.

They have. The remote they designed for the Apple TV also served as a game controller.

You could also go back historically to the Pippin project, but it's debatable what Apple designed there.

 

[Paasei]

Too many buttons

Better?

 

[Magic Carpet]

Just saw the trailer for Sneaky Sasquatch. Looks like a game that could be played on every iPhone ever made. Starting out with cross gens already.
Reminded me of sneak thief but with more hair.

 

[RetroGamingUK]

I'll never understand the appeal of mobile phone gaming. The screen is too small and those controller attachments are ridiculous.

This is for Mac and iPad too.

 

[RCX]

And Apple users wont give two shits.

Apple has been "making moves" in gaming for about 20 years at this stage. And it goes precisely nowhere.

Their biggest contribution has been the app store which destroyed the notion of value in software. So big thanks to them for that, I guess.

 

[Kacho]

This is for Mac and iPad too.

Without the convenience factor people are better off using a PC, handheld or console for gaming.

 

[PurePlatinum]

It would be beneficial for all PC players for Apple to more seriously enter this space. Linux is too de-centralized and difficult to use, and Windows sucks, but it has support for all games. Make Microsoft sweat a little bit on the games front.

Apple's new M-series chips are capable of quite a bit. All they need is developer support to be a major player in this space.

 

[MrCunningham]

This would flop so hard. Nobody's going to buy an iPod touch these days vs just getting a refurb phone.
And the kids have $299 iPads these days.

iPads have always been large iPod Touch's, since they never had any phone components. I just think that a handheld sized version of the iPad would make it a suitable handheld console.

I had one iPod Touch and used it as a gaming device non stop. It was great as a non phone device, I preferred it over the PSP and Vita. I would buy another. I like the iPhone but I would prefer it if they had a version that was not a phone and has a basic camera and extended storage (Hahahahaha). I really liked the app store.

I don't think Apple could ever make a gaming console. A cheap Mac Mini could function as one. Maybe Apple could make their own universal gamepad?

 

[Durin]

It would be beneficial for all PC players for Apple to more seriously enter this space. Linux is too de-centralized and difficult to use, and Windows sucks, but it has support for all games. Make Microsoft sweat a little bit on the games front.

Apple's new M-series chips are capable of quite a bit. All they need is developer support to be a major player in this space.

I think it will probably be handed to Apple if anything given how Arm-based chips are pushing into even the desktop/laptop markets now, and Valve is in the early stages of having Proton translate x86 instructions to Arm. I think Linux is going to have more standards move to the forefront that will make the platform less fragmented, and it's already easier to game on than it was 2 years ago.

Eventually Mac users will get more options of stuff to play when translation layers work for Arm.