Apple Arcade needs games designed for iPads. Here is why

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• Apple Arcade needs games designed for iPads. Here is why

Many of my colleagues were excited about Apple Arcade when it came out: we gave it four stars in TechRadar's official review, and we've run several rave editorials about the game subscription service ever since. However, I've always found the service quite disappointing, and I think I've finally figured out why: I'm an iPad user. In short, Apple Arcade seems designed for iPhones, and when you look at it through this lens, a lot of the issues with the service make a lot of sense. I think Apple missed a tip by not focusing on tablet gaming in mind, and I'd like to see more focus on these titles. iPads aren't great iPhones, after all. These are power plants that outperform their smartphone counterparts in everything from display quality and audio output to processing and battery life. They're much, much better for playing games (not just Apple Arcade titles), and for making the game service the ubiquitous mobile gaming platform Apple probably wants it to be (and a solid competitor to Google Games Pass when it happens). (worldwide), the company must remember its tablets.

Portrait orientation of certain Apple Arcade games

iPads can be difficult to hold in portrait mode. (Image credit: Future) You're most likely playing games on your iPhone in portrait mode—it's the natural way to hold a phone—but iPads are typically used in landscape mode. iPads appear to have been designed to be used this way as well. iPadOS generally work best in the big picture, and Apple's keyboard devices are designed to hold the iPad that way. In fact, most people seem to leave their bookshelves behind, using boxes as stands to stand them up like laptops. It's a bit confusing, then, that some Apple Arcade games lock you in portrait orientation. If you play them on a massive iPad Pro 12.9 like me, holding the slate at such a heavy angle becomes more of a workout than a way to unwind with a relaxing mobile game. It can be a chore and it put me off playing certain games that are locked in the portrait. This is particularly the case because it precludes holding the tablet in its case or stand. Apple should encourage developers to create titles that also offer landscape orientation options, to make them easier for tablet users to play. At the moment, this is not the case, which makes non-Apple Arcade games with landscape modes that much more tempting. It's not a problem that affects all games, I know. But that applies enough that I find it to be an infuriating part of the experience.

There is no long game and no deep game.

It doesn't look comfortable. (Image credit: Future) Most of the Apple Arcade games are pretty similar too – many of them have a similar art style, and many can be divided into a few narrow genres like platformer or puzzler. The few games that feel "unique" also feel strangely similar to other games. Take, for example, Lego Brawls - it's similar to Super Smash Brothers, while Outlanders feels mimicked from the superior PC game Banished. These games are designed for phones, but not just in terms of the layout of the controls, they are divided into short levels, probably so that you can pick up the device and play quickly for a few minutes before rebooting your iPhone. As a result, there isn't much depth, since you're never supposed to play more than a few minutes at a time. An iPad is like a computer when it comes to gaming. Since you don't need to hold them and they have superior displays and audio quality, they're much easier to settle in for long periods of playback. I'd love a deeper game that I can play for longer periods, and iPads are great for mobile ports of popular games like Rome: Total War, XCOM: Enemy Within, and Tropico for that exact reason. Here's an example: You can play Overland, a good Apple Arcade survival strategy game mired in some major issues, for a few minutes. All the levels are fairly simplistic, and there's no character or item management, so there's little to hold your attention in the long run. Keep in mind that Overland makes our list of the best Apple Arcade games, despite its flaws. Then take XCOM: Enemy Within as a counterpoint; another team-based strategy game that released on consoles and PC, then mobile and tablet a few years back. The basic management section of this game takes about as long as all of Overland, not counting the battles that can take up to half an hour for the most difficult games.

XCOM: Enemy Within running on Oppo Find X2 Pro. (Image credit: Future) XCOM: Enemy Within assumes its players will have plenty of time, so its wide array of mechanics and features work in harmony. Overland feels like it's been pared down on the wings to facilitate short periods of play, making it a less enjoyable experience to play on the iPad. Therefore, iPad users like me may like some games that allow you to play for long periods of time, allow you to develop your skills and knowledge of the game while playing. Currently, there aren't any Apple Arcade games as deep or packed with interlocking mechanics and features as other games you'll find on the App Store, making it a less preferable option for iPad owners. looking for more complex games that they can play. for a long time.

There are better iPad games on the App Store

Rome: Total War is a classic game that you can run on your portable device. (Image credit: Sega) As I just mentioned, Apple Arcade faces fierce competition from other mobile games, and I'd say you're much better off paying for larger, individual games to get involved for a long time if you're looking for an iPad from in-depth title. Typically, a great mobile game will cost you the same price as a month of Apple Arcade, depending on where you live. That's what Tropico, XCOM, and Rome: Total War cost, and these are huge games that will easily last you more than a month of play. Then there are a multitude of good free games with microtransactions that will take your time. Call of Duty: Mobile, PUBG Mobile, and Fortnite Mobile are the headlines here, but I've played a lot of Old School Runescape and Elder Scrolls Blades, which are also very captivating. Apart from being more advantageous than Apple Arcade, these games will give you a more enjoyable experience on iPad because they work very well on whiteboards. In fact, many of them work better on tablets than on phones. For example, Fortnite has a 120Hz mode on iPad Pro. I'm just mentioning the tip of the iceberg here, based on my last month of playing. We've got lists of the best iPad games and the best iPhone games that you can check out for more recommendations, but suffice it to say that The Best iPad Games aren't on Apple Arcade. Few of these games need a lot of processing power as they are all available on Android as well where phones have a much wider range of chipsets so the excuse is that iPhones are not as powerful as iPads. it's a moot point because the games can run at the same time.

IPad owners pay for games they won't use

Apple Arcade can be fun from time to time. (Image credit: Future) How could Apple solve this problem? If Apple ever releases an iPad-friendly extension for Apple Arcade, it really would be worth creating a separate subscription for these select iPad games, to save tablet gamers from paying charges they'll never use. I find Apple Arcade a bit expensive for what it is, which is why I stopped subscribing, because even if I played a few games once in a while, I really didn't feel like those were the kinds of songs I wanted to play on the iPad. But if you'd paid less, to match the relatively small number of games that ran just fine on the iPad, you might not have been so disappointed. Today's best deals for the Apple iPad Pro 12.9-inch (2020), Apple iPad Air (2019), Apple iPad Mini (2019) and Apple iPad (2019) Apple iPad Pro 12.9-inch ... iPad Air (latest generation, third generation) ... iPad mini (latest, fifth generation) ... iPad 10.2-inch (latest, seventh ...