News | Fallout 76 subscription service announced
Bethesda has announced Fallout 1st, a subscription service for the mmo Fallout 76.
Players can join Fallout 1st for € 119.99 a year or € 14.99 a month. In exchange, they receive the option to create a private server in the game for up to eight players. Only the person who creates the server needs to be a member of Fallout 1st.
Members also receive various extras, including exclusive items, a Survival Tent to set up a base in the wilderness and a certain amount of atoms, the in-game currencies for in the Atom Shop, per month. You can become a member on the platforms for which Fallout 76 is available, ie PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.
More information can be found on the official website.
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Column | Apple Arcade is one of the biggest shifts in gaming industry since ages
Although I don't pay much attention to smartphone games here at GamersInfuzed, this is still a very interesting side of the game industry. The new Apple Arcade is potentially one of the biggest shifts in this industry for a long time.
Apple Arcade is Apple’s new subscription service. Soon you will have separate subscriptions for television series, news and now also games.
You pay five euros per month for a collection of games that can be played exclusively via Apple Arcade on smartphones. In addition, they are also playable on macOS and Apple TV with savegames in the cloud without additional costs. The games were selected by Apple, with seventy titles at the launch. This collection will be further expanded over time.
Well-known studios have been approached to post their new titles on Apple Arcade. The quality is therefore remarkably high. Not every game is equally good or appeals to everyone, but after trying several I’m absolutely impressed. From the crazy graphics in Oceanhorn 2 with a Zelda feel or the hilarity of What the Golf?.
A game subscription is nothing new, but with Apple Arcade, Apple is making some major changes to the way smartphone games usually work.
Gamedevelopers have different ways to make money from their games on iOS and Android. The game can of course cost some money, but the most important source of income is in-app purchases. Many smartphone games therefore work with an energy system. Then you can wait to continue playing, or fill the energy meter for a few euros and get back to work immediately. Ads are also used to earn free games.
What is special is that no game within Apple Arcade contains in-app purchases or advertisements. You never have to worry anymore that you cannot continue due to hidden costs, or that third-party trackers keep an eye on your behavior. It is finally purely about the games and that is a big relief.
Still, Apple Arcade is causing a huge shift in the gaming industry. The service will have a major impact on the games that are offered outside of the subscription service. If Apple Arcade is a success, then there is a big chance that the sales of games not selected by Apple will get a big blow.
But Apple Arcade does not only affect iOS. All games offered through the service may not appear on Android from Apple. Android is the most popular operating system for smartphones with potentially the largest group of players. That is a big difference with the Play Pass subscription service from Google, where the games and apps do not have to be exclusive.
For a company that for a long time has shown not understanding how important games are, Apple can suddenly become one of the most important players in the game industry.
News | Google comes with subscription service for Android games
Google has announced its own subscription service for Android games and apps: Google Play Pass which is launching in the US this week.
Like the Apple Arcade, which launched last week, it costs 5 euros a month to be a member of the service. Also on Google Play Pass none of the games have ads or in-game purchases. The difference is that none of the games that Google Play Pass subscribers can play are exclusive to the subscription service.
This is not just about games, but also about other apps, such as AccuWeather. In terms of games, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, Terraria, Monument Valley and Risk will be available. In total there are about 350 apps on it, which are refreshed every so often.
Subscribers can recognize Play Pass titles by a special symbol in the app in the Play Store. There is also a separate tab where all content can be found. Just like with Apple Arcade, subscribers can share Play Pass with five family members or friends. The service works on Android smartphones and tablets and laptops.
Google Play pass launches in the United States sometime this week. The service must also come to other countries, but Google has not confirmed which countries these are and if and when the service arrives in the Netherlands.
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News | Anthem now playable via EA Access
Anthem is now available via EA Access.
The subscription service on Xbox One and PlayStation 4 allows gamers to play various EA games for a fixed monthly fee without any further costs. Anthem is now a game of that, about six months after the game was launched.
When Anthem launched earlier this year, there were quite a few problems with the game. However, EA said this summer that they still have faith in the game and developer BioWare.
Next week, on September 19, Access members can also try out Fifa 20. This is a 10-hour trial version.
You can read my Anthem review here.
News | Apple Arcade subscription service launches with more than 100 games
Apple is launching the Apple Arcade subscription service somewhere this fall. More than a hundred games are planned for launch.
The service, which will be available on iPhone, iPad, Mac and Apple TV, will receive a curated range of games that players can download to their device via the App Store. As a result, the games can also be played offline. Games on this service have no ads or in-app purchases. A price for the service is not yet known, but it is known that up to six family members can share one subscription.
The company announced several games during the presentation earlier today, including a sequel to the sci-fi point ‘n’ click game Beneath a Steel Sky, called Beyond a Steel Sky. This game also comes to consoles and PC. Clay Entertainment’s Hot Lava, Mistwalker’s Fantasian, Giant Squid’s (Abzu) The Pathless, Lego Brawls, Sonic Racing, Simogo’s Sayonara Wild Hearts, Little Oprheus from The Chinese Room, WayForward’s Spidersaurs, Oceanhorn 2: Knights of the Lost Realm and Finji’s Overland. Furthermore, Will Wright (The Sims) and Ustwo Games (from Monument Valley), among others, would work on exclusive games.
Apple will collaborate with various publishers and studios to bring games exclusively to Apple Arcade. With exclusive, Apple most likely means games that are not available on Android. A launch date for the service is not yet known, but Apple Arcade is due to launch in more than 150 countries sometime this fall. It is not known whether the Netherlands falls under this.
During the same presentation, Apple also announced a paid streaming service called Apple TV +, which includes exclusive programs and films from Steve Carell, Steven Spielberg and Oprah Winfrey, among others. Apple TV + should also launch in a hundred countries somewhere this fall. Furthermore, Apple comes with new AirPods with a wireless box to charge them, a new iPad Air and iPad Mini and a personal credit card called the Apple Card.
Here’s Apple’s announcement trailer for Apple Arcade.