2023-06-12 16:30:00
The launch of the mixed reality glasses Apple’s, as part of the developers’ conference it held last week, aroused great interest among technology enthusiasts in the world. While most of the headlines dealt with the technological innovations and the high price ($3,500 per unit) of the new product, the field of video games which may benefit from the new technology was pushed to the margins almost completely.
As part of the launch, the company announced that the Vision Pro glasses will also be a platform for video games, with users benefiting from an existing library of 100 Apple Arcade games from day one. “In addition to watching movies, you’ll be able to play Apple Arcade games…like NBA2k 23 on as big a screen as you want,” Ann Kelly, senior engineering program manager, in the company’s technology development division, said during the launch.
Vision Pro glasses. Credit: Apple
The gamers were disappointed
On the face of it, it seems that the new glasses contain technological innovations, which allow a mixed reality experience at a higher level and more accessible than what we have seen so far. Something that may lead to a widespread entry of developers, who will seek to harness the advanced technology for the production of interactive games. Added to this is Apple’s announcement that the visionOS operating system will support the Unity engine, which runs an array of games and applications across different platforms. Something that should help developers transfer and create new games to the new platform.
But the announcement was met with great disappointment among the gaming community that expected more significant news from the launch. Despite the support for existing games, Apple has not introduced any virtual reality games, such as those that can be found in Meta’s competing glasses (Meta Quest 2). Instead, the company is offering users to make use of the new games through the new glasses. Instead, the company chose to focus on other areas, primarily solutions for the work sector, while at least at this stage neglecting the gaming area. Evidence of this can be found in the fact that the Vision Pro requires an external battery and cable, making the device a bit cumbersome for gamers.
Gaming enthusiasts hoped that the new device and its launch would provide a significant boost to virtual and mixed reality games. As part of the launch, Apple did not deal with the concept of metaverse at all, which is associated with the competitor Meta (former Facebook), and which Web3 games such as The Sandbox and Decentraland gave it a boost. This is despite the technological innovations that may be an opening to new gaming experiences that do not exist at this point in similar devices.
Apple continues the tradition
This is not the first time that the company has received criticism regarding its lack of dominance in the field of games. In the past, Apple has been criticized for its lack of investment in game sales in the App Store, and later in supporting games on Mac computers. Ironically, precisely during the last conference, during which the mixed reality glasses were launched, Apple dedicated a significant place to supporting games on Mac computers. Among other things, the company offered new tools to help developers transfer their games to Mac computers and make them work well on its chips. The highlight in the field was the surprise appearance of the well-known Japanese video game designer Hideo Kojima who presented a new Mac version of his latest video game, Death Stranding.
Vision Pro glasses. Credit: Apple
In 2019, the company tried to restore its position in the field of games with the launch of Apple Arcade. This is with the aim of placing competition to similar services Xbox Game Pass and PlayStation Plus. But the lack of titles and a long-term strategy made it difficult for the platform to rise. Shortly after launch, several games stopped being supported and the service quickly became a graveyard for dying games.
In addition, Apple has also gained a negative reputation for its attitude towards third-party developers. In the recent past, the company got into a legal battle with Epic Games over revenue sharing, which led Epic to remove its games from the company’s devices. Even before that, the way the Epic Games Launcher worked on Mac computers was criticized. Something that contributed to the fact that many gamers choose not to use Mac computers despite their technological advantages.
A market that will reach 520 billion dollars
The gaming market is a rapidly growing industry that relies on millions of people playing video games worldwide. According to the estimates, the revenues in the video game market are expected to reach during the year 2023 approximately 384.90 billion dollars. In the coming years, the market is expected to materialize and grow at an annual growth rate (CAGR 2023-2027) of 7.89%, which will result in a projected market volume of 521.60 billion dollars in 2027. The number of users is expected to total 3.10 billion users by 2027.
The video game market refers to the entire industry involved in the creation, development, publishing, distribution and monetization of video games. The market includes a wide variety of products, including games for consoles, computers, and mobile phones. It also includes hardware and accessories such as game consoles, controllers and virtual reality glasses.
The biggest player in the field is the Chinese company Tencent which mainly dominates the Asian market but invests in game studios around the world. Behind it is the Japanese Sony that developed the popular PlayStation game console. Another prominent player is Microsoft, which manufactures the Xbox console and operates the Game Pass online platform that allows users to download games and play them through the cloud. Among others, we can also mention Nintendo, Take-Two, Sega, Electronic Arts and Ubisoft, which are valued at billions of dollars.
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