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Apple to Allow iOS Subscription Gaming Services in App Store [Updated]

Tuesday November 22, 2011 4:37 pm PST by Eric Slivka
Bloomberg reports that Apple has opened up a new class of App Store offerings, allowing game publisher Big Fish Games to offer a monthly subscription package that will allow provide users with access to a number of the company's games through a dedicated iPad app [App Store].
The setup is similar to Netflix Inc. (NFLX)’s streaming application for the iPad. Subscribers can get unlimited access to games such as “Mystery Case Files” and the “Mahjong Towers” series from inside the Big Fish app.

Games played through the subscription service, which are streamed to a user’s iPad from Big Fish’s data centers, will initially require Wi-Fi access to play.
The standard package from Big Fish Games will launch as a $4.99 monthly subscription, increasing to $6.99 per month early next year as more game titles become available for the app. A free ad-supported option limiting play to 30 minutes per day will also be available.

Update: Big Fish Games has put out a press release announcing the new subscription service.
With Big Fish’s Play Instantly!, anyone with a Wi-Fi internet connection can launch and begin playing any game in the catalog within seconds. The service is free for a limited time each day, or available as an unlimited, full-screen experience with access to all of the games in the service via a monthly subscription. As these games run in the cloud, Play Instantly! users can play games immediately with no additional download or installation process. Each player’s progress for each game is saved in the cloud, allowing them to pick up where they left off regardless of the device they are using. Players can jump into any game, exit out and later pick up where they left off on the same device they started on, or on any other supported device.
Initially available only in the U.S., the new service currently offers dozens of games, with new games added every week. The company is planning an expansion to several hundred titles and new Android, Mac, and PC platforms by next year.

[ 58 comments ]


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Yumunum
101 months ago
Who games enough on an iDevice to pay for this? And heck, you could buy a ton of better games with that money.
Rating: 13 Votes
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ArtOfWarfare
101 months ago
Please, $6 a month for access to a whole lousy library of games versus $1 per game that you can cherry pick the best of, and keep for as long as you use iOS devices?

No one would seriously consider that price, would they?
Rating: 11 Votes
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1goodidea
101 months ago
It does seem like a strange model for games unless it gives access to a lot of games (and I mean a lot).
Rating: 10 Votes
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Hawkeye411
101 months ago

again. proofreading can be your friend.


I'm going to guess that proofreading is your only friend! LMAO

Anyway .... this sounds more expensive in the long run than the "traditional" method of purchasing apps.
Rating: 10 Votes
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seamer
101 months ago
Well. Subscription movies. Subscription TV. Subscription music. Subscription news.

Subscription gaming is kind of late to the party.
Rating: 9 Votes
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pavelbure
101 months ago
More like "Big Balls Games".
Rating: 7 Votes
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sinsin07
101 months ago
Sucker mode
Rating: 6 Votes
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plasticparadox
101 months ago

Why? To me it seems to be a natural step towards cloud 'gaming', just like everything from your documents to your music to your movies is moving to some sort of cloud.


Steve Jobs wasn't in favor of subscription/rental services. He always pushed for the users' "ownership" of content, although he did bend a bit with movies and print media.

This move isn't about the cloud, it's about securing recurring revenue, and probably appeasing developers and keeping them from defecting to other platforms.
Rating: 5 Votes
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Zepaw
101 months ago


Anyway .... this sounds more expensive in the long run than the "traditional" method of purchasing apps.


Agreed. Same reason I can't stand the micro-transaction games. Like playing a free iOS pets games vs Nintendogs. One you buy once, the other you have to buy virtual food for your dog for the rest of your life if you want to keep playing.
Rating: 5 Votes
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haruhiko
101 months ago
Sorry, but they won't get a penny from me.
Rating: 4 Votes

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