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Posts tagged with "games"

Apple Reveals the Top App Store App and Game Downloads of 2024

Apple’s App Store has published its year-end list of the top free and paid apps and games, along with its top Apple Arcade games.

The top free apps are about what you’d expect. There are social networks, shopping apps, a few streaming music and video apps, Google, Gmail, McDonald’s, and ChatGPT. Among the top paid apps are several we’ve covered here and on Club MacStories, including AutoSleep, Paprika, Procreate Pocket, Forest, RadarScope, µBrowser, and long-time favorite Streaks. Strangely, the paid app list also includes a game – Suika Game clone called ‘Merge Watermelon for watch’ for the Apple Watch.

Among the free and paid games, highlights include Subway Surfers, NYT Games, Minecraft, Geometry Dash, Stardew Valley, and Balatro. If you’re an Arcade subscriber, top games include NBA 2K24, Sneaky Sasquatch, Sonic Dream Team, NFL Retro Bowl ‘25, Angry Birds Reloaded, Retro Bowl+, Stardew Valley+, stitch, and Tomb of the Mask.

Each of the three lists includes 40 free and paid apps or games for 120 total. The vast majority of apps are the sort of everyday apps people download to shop, search the web, browse social media, and entertain themselves. There is more variety among the paid apps, with categories like health, self-improvement, productivity, and creative apps leading the apps for which users are willing to pay.

On the games lists, what struck me more than anything else is how many games on the lists aren’t new. That’s less true of Arcade, but it seems as though the hits of the past continue to rule the regular App Store game list. I’d like to see more variety in 2025, but it’s also good to see some truly great apps among the more everyday apps that will undoubtedly continue to get lots of downloads.

Celebrate the MacStories Selects App of the Year with the MacStories DS Skins for Delta→

This year’s MacStories Selects App of the Year was never in question. No app has had a bigger political, cultural, and competitive impact on the App Store this year than Delta. On top of that, Delta is a beautifully designed, native app that takes advantage of Apple’s latest technologies, putting it head and shoulders above other iOS emulators. Of course, Delta is also a delightfully fun way to relive classic videogames on the iPhone’s outstanding hardware.

Delta’s impact on the app world this year transcended retro gaming. However, for most people, being able to dip into the world of Pokémon or battle their way through the dungeons of Hyrule on the device they carry with them is all the payoff they need.

That’s why, to celebrate Delta’s many accomplishments in 2024, we commissioned three Delta skins for Nintendo DS games from Sean Fletcher, a Seattle-based designer who has created dozens of Delta skins that pay homage to classic Nintendo hardware. The MacStories DS Skins, which incorporate MacStories’ signature colors and a subtle logo, work in portrait and landscape orientations and are available for $3 on our Gumroad store. As Nintendo’s first touchscreen device, we couldn’t think of a better way to celebrate Delta’s emergence as an emulation powerhouse on the iPhone than with skins for the DS.

The MacStories DS Skins for Delta.

The MacStories DS Skins for Delta.

With the rise of generative AI and the decline of search engines, we’ve made a point of working with as many writers, artists, musicians, developers, and now, designers as possible this year. The fact that Delta enables anyone to make skins for its app allowed us to work with Sean, another talented creative professional, whose work we’ve supported personally and linked to in the past. If you like the MacStories DS Skins, be sure to check out Sean’s other skins, too.

We’re delighted with how the MacStories DS Skins turned out and hope you love them, too. We can’t wait to see screenshots of what you’re playing with them.

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Control Ultimate Edition Is Coming to the Mac Early Next Year

Source: Remedy Entertainment.

Source: Remedy Entertainment.

At WWDC this year, Apple announced that Control Ultimate Edition from Remedy Entertainment would be coming to the Mac. At the time, no release date was announced, but thanks to a Remedy investor event, we now know that the game is slated to arrive on February 12, 2025.

A few days ago, Tom Polanco of Tom’s Guide got a brief demo of the game and came away optimistic about how it will run on the latest Macs:

I briefly played Control Ultimate Edition on the new Mac mini M4, which was the first time I’ve played the game since it originally launched in 2019. The high-resolution textures and buttery-smooth gameplay make it feel like a completely different game from the PS4 version I remember.

According to Polanco:

Apple says that Control Ultimate Edition has been optimized for Macs and will have smooth performance, precise gameplay, and support HDR and MetalFX Upscaling. The game will also support hardware-accelerated ray tracing on Macs with M3 and M4 processors.

Although Control is a five-year-old game, its demanding visuals are still a benchmark against which hardware is often measured, so those details are encouraging. It’s also great to hear that Remedy has gone to the trouble of adapting the game for Apple’s latest videogame APIs. Apple’s hardware has become increasingly capable of playing AAA games, but cooperation from publishers like Remedy is necessary, too.

I expect it will take a while before the entire Mac lineup can run the most demanding games. However, as Apple silicon continues to make advances that trickle throughout the Mac lineup, the market for videogame publishers like Remedy will expand. If Remedy can show that the Mac can deliver a great experience with a game like Control, I’m cautiously optimistic about the platform’s long-term prospects as a high-end gaming platform.

Update: Control Ultimate Edition is available to pre-order on the Mac App Store for $39.99.

The Mac mini Excels as a Videogame Emulation System→

Over at Retro Game Corps, Russ Crandall put the new M4 Mac mini through its paces to see how it handled videogame emulation. As Crandall’s video demonstrates, even the base model version of Apple’s tiny Mac did very well:

Crandall walks viewers through the basics of setting up Emulation Station Desktop Edition on a Mac, which serves as a front-end that uses a variety of emulators to play classic systems. It’s not surprising that the M4 mini didn’t break a sweat emulating the oldest systems like Nintendo’s NES and Game Boy. However, it also did well with more modern systems like GameCube, running at six times the native resolution at 4K.

The mini struggled at times with the most modern systems Crandall tested, like Xbox, but the takeaway is clear: the Mac mini is a capable videogame emulation system. That will be true for other M4 Macs, too, but what’s unique about the mini is its size. The computer’s small footprint lends itself to sitting under a TV or pairing with a portable monitor to play games wherever you have the space.

Uses like Crandall’s are what make the Mac mini such a compelling update. It’s always been small, but by shrinking the mini even further and significantly improving its power, Apple has opened up new possibilities for its smallest Mac.

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Apple Announces New Games Coming to Apple Arcade

Source: Apple.

Source: Apple.

Apple has announced fifteen games coming to Apple Arcade between December 5 and January 9, ranging from all-new titles to App Store games making the jump to Arcade.

Snowman is making another Skate City game dedicated to New York. The original Arcade title takes place in cities around the world, but on January 9, Skate City: New York will take Arcade subscribers on a tour of the Big Apple.

Source: Apple.

Source: Apple.

Arcade is getting three Final Fantasy titles too. Apple describes Square Enix’s Final Fantasy IV (3D Remake)+ as:

beautifully revived with updated graphics, and improved gameplay and voice acting for event scenes. The hit fourth game in the iconic FINAL FANTASY series is also the first title to introduce the Active Time Battle system that players have come to love in the franchise.

The game, which will be out on December 9, looks similar to what is available for Windows on Steam. FF IV: The After Years+ will also debut on Arcade December 9.

Then on January 9, Apple Arcade will get Final Fantasy+, which is the first of the Final Fantasy Pixel Remaster games that are currently available as paid upfront games on the App Store and other platforms.

Apple also announced Gears & Goo, a Vision Pro exclusive game by Resolution Games. It’s a colorful tower defense game that plays out in front of you and will release on January 9.

Apple announced the following games, too:

That’s a lot of games for the holiday season with a nice variety that should appeal to a wide audience. I’m looking forward to dipping into a few of these games soon.

iPod Fans Are Trying to Preserve Lost Click Wheel Games→

I last wrote about iPod click wheel games here on MacStories in…2011, when Apple officially delisted them from the iTunes Store. Thirteen years later, some enterprising iPod fans are trying to preserve those games and find a way to let other old-school iPod fans play them today.

Here’s Kyle Orland, writing at Ars Technica:

In recent years, a Reddit user going by the handle Quix used this workaround to amass a local library of 19 clickwheel iPod games and publicly offered to share “copies of these games onto as many iPods as I can.” But Quix’s effort ran into a significant bottleneck of physical access—syncing his game library to a new iPod meant going through the costly and time-consuming process of shipping the device so it could be plugged into Quix’s actual computer and then sending it back to its original owner.

Enter Reddit user Olsro, who earlier this month started the appropriately named iPod Clickwheel Games Preservation Project. Rather than creating his master library of authorized iTunes games on a local computer in his native France, Olsro sought to “build a communitarian virtual machine that anyone can use to sync auth[orized] clickwheel games into their iPod.” While the process doesn’t require shipping, it does necessitate jumping through a few hoops to get the Qemu Virtual Machine running on your local computer.

Olsro’s project is available here, and it includes instructions on how to set up the virtual machine so you can install the games yourself. Did you know that, for example, Square Enix made two iPod games, Crystal Defenders and Song Summoner? Without these fan-made projects, all of these games would be lost to time and link rot – and we unfortunately know why.

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Nintendo Releases a Music App

Nintendo just released a surprise new iOS app: Nintendo Music, a music player that draws on Nintendo’s decades of videogame soundtracks.

The iPhone-only app is an exclusive perk for Nintendo Online members. Once you sign into your account, you’re greeted with a deep catalog of classic Nintendo music. You’ll find old favorites from the biggest titles, but there are also many, many more obscure songs. A prime example is the Globe: Daytime Forecast song from the Wii Forecast Channel. It turns out it’s an excellent tune for writing.

A sampling of some of Nintendo Music's playlists and collections.

A sampling of some of Nintendo Music’s playlists and collections.

There’s a lot here, and I’ve barely scratched the surface, but I’m impressed with how much thought has gone into the app. The app’s design has a lot in common with Apple Music, featuring rows of rectangular and square artwork divided into categories that include:

  • Highlights, which currently displays a playlist called Nintendo Music Selects,
  • Recently Played
  • Top Recommendations
  • Find Your Favorites
  • Character-based collections
  • Mood based playlists
Looping the Wii Forecast Channel soundtrack.

Looping the Wii Forecast Channel soundtrack.

One of the most interesting sections for anyone who likes to work with background music playing is called Extend Your Enjoyment. It includes songs like the Wii Forecast Channel music that you can loop for 15, 30, or 60 minutes.

That’s just the Home tab of Nintendo Music. The two other tabs feature Search and My Music. In addition to the ability to search for a particular title, the section displays songs from the games in your games library, allowing you to extend your obsession with certain games beyond playing them. My Music includes any track or playlist you’ve marked as favorites.

Kirby is such a classic.

Kirby is such a classic.

Songs and playlists can be downloaded for offline playback, AirPlayed to compatible speakers, and shared via the share sheet. Nintendo Music also features full playback controls, queue management, and playlist-building tools, similar to Apple Music.

So, that’s a quick look at Nintendo Music. It’s packed with endless classics to explore and is delightful. I love it, although I’d love to see Nintendo add support for widgets.

Nintendo Music is available as a free download on the App Store but requires a Nintendo Online account.

GameSir G8+ iPad mini and iPhone Controller Walkthrough→

The new iPad mini is the first model with Wi-Fi 6E support, which makes it the best mini for game streaming yet. Of course, it’s a great size for playing App Store and Apple Arcade games too.

Last weekend, I did an in-depth review of the GameSir G8+ for Club MacStories Weekly, which included an early look at the controller and a video walkthrough on the MacStories YouTube channel as a new perk for Club members. The video is now available for everyone to watch here:

For early access to future hardware walkthroughs and the full review, you can join Club MacStories now through November 1st for 20% off all annual plans by using the code CLUB2024 at checkout, as detailed here.

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Pokémon TCG Pocket Launches Early

Pokémon TCG Pocket, originally slated to be released on October 31st, is out now and available to download from the App Store. The free-to-play game from The Pokémon Company recreates the company’s trading cards as a mobile experience, with a focus on collecting and casual battling.

According to the game’s release notes:

  • You can open packs every day to get cards!
    Collect cards every day! You can open two booster packs every day at no cost to collect Pokémon cards featuring heartwarming illustrations from the past as well as all-new cards exclusive to this game.

  • New Pokémon cards!
    Immersive cards, a brand-new kind of card, make their debut here! With new illustrations that have a 3D feel, immersive cards will make you feel like you’ve leapt into the world of the card’s illustration!

  • Show off your collection!
    You can use binders or display boards to showcase your cards and share them with the world!

  • Casual battles—alone or with friends!
    You can enjoy casual battles during quick breaks in your day!

I’ve played through the game’s tutorial, which walks players through how to retrieve packs of cards, explains missions, and tours other parts of the game’s interface. The highlight of the game is the cards themselves, which look beautiful on the iPhone’s screen. Battling is locked at first, as are a few other areas, which I think makes sense given the depth of areas and features that are available to explore initially.

It’s worth noting that there have been many reports on Reddit of the game crashing on launch. I haven’t experienced that, but I know, for example, Brendon Bigley has.

It’s too early to judge whether The Pokémon Company will have a hit on their hands with Pokémon TCG Pocket, but I like what I’ve seen a lot. The game offers a premium subscription and in-game currency, but my early sense is that there’s plenty to do for free, too. If The Pokémon Company can get the game stabilized quickly, I expect it will become a big hit.

Pokémon TCG Pocket is free to download on the App Store and offers In-App Purchases for a premium subscription and in-game currency.