Apple asks employees to get their feedback on Apple Arcade

by



[ad_1]

In March, Apple introduced its new Apple Arcade service. For a monthly rate to be determined ($ 4.99, $ 9.99?), Subscribers will be able to choose from over 100 new mobile games. Apple plans to launch Arcade this fall, but in the meantime, the company is offering employees an overview of the service. According to 9to5Mac, those who work for the tech giant benefit from a free trial of a month; once the trial period expires, they pay 49 cents per month to test the first versions of some of the games that will be offered to subscribers at the launch of the platform. This early access program is expected to end once the final version of iOS 13 is discontinued.
Games available for the Advance Access Program include Turtle way, Down to Bermuda, Hot Lava, Sasquatch sneaky, Kings of the castle, Frogger in Toy Town and Game 2 Blade. Apple Arcade will allow subscribers to read any available title for as long as they want, and players will be able to switch devices from iPhone to iPad, Mac and Apple TV without wasting time. Users will also be able to play offline games and a family of up to six members will be able to share a family subscription. Since players will pay monthly, no built-in purchase is offered.

Apple would have spent $ 500 million on Apple Arcade

After the iPhone shipments peaked in 2015 at 231.22 million units, the company decided to focus on its service unit. This was a wise decision, as many of the service-sector companies, such as Apple Music and Apple News +, require recurring payments from their subscribers. And these companies are less dependent on new iPhone sales, but rather the large number of active users of the iPhone, which totaled 900 million people. The company is targeting $ 50 billion in service revenue by 2020, double the division's gross $ 25 billion in 2016. For the recently announced third fiscal quarter, covering the months of April to June, the Services division achieved record sales of $ 11.5 billion. This represents a gain of 12.7% from one year to the next compared to the $ 10.2 billion that the division cashed in the same quarter in 2018. Overall, the unit service is the second largest business unit of Apple and the most profitable. The success or failure of Apple's Arcade will determine to a large extent whether Apple will reach its $ 50 billion business goal next year.

Earlier this year, a report claimed that Apple had spent $ 500 million for Apple Arcade. Analysts at HSBC believe that the subscription service will generate $ 370 million in revenue next year, before going from $ 2.7 billion in 2022 to $ 4.5 billion in 2024 The analysis of the bank predicts that Apple Arcade will have 29 million subscribers by 2024, with individual subscriptions of $ 12.99 per month.

In addition to paying the monthly subscription fee, Arcade members must shell out the money they need to purchase accessories for their Apple devices such as controllers. While subscribers can navigate Arcade games using the buttons on their iPhone, iPad or Mac, choosing a MFi controller (designed for iPhone, iPad) could make the game a little easier for some.

It seems a little strange that Apple is asking its employees to pay 49 cents a month for the company to collect their comments. After all, the goal of the advance access program is to determine where Apple and game developers can make changes to improve the user experience. Although we do not have data indicating the number of people enrolled in the short-term program, we bet that it was more than enough for Apple and its developer partners to have a good idea of ​​the work that remains to be done. on Arcade. before its launch.

[ad_2]

Source link