O'Grady's PowerPage

Tag: Arcade

  • Apple announces 2024 App Store Award finalists

    Apple announces 2024 App Store Award finalists

    Apple on Monday revealed its 2024 App Store Award finalists, with entries hailing from 45 finalists across 12 categories, including a first-ever Apple Vision Pro category. Apple said the awards recognize developers who delivered the “highest levels of user experience, design, and innovation” on the App Store this year.

    Kino was released earlier this year by Lux, the makers of the popular iPhone camera app Halide.

    Apple stated that the winner of each category will be announced in the coming weeks.

    iPhone App of the Year Finalists:

    • Kino
    • Runna
    • Tripsy

    iPhone Game of the Year Finalists:

    • AFK Journey
    • The WereCleaner
    • Zenless Zone Zero

    iPad App of the Year Finalists:

    • Bluey: Let’s Play
    • Moises
    • Procreate Dreams

    iPad Game of the Year Finalists:

    • Assassin’s Creed Mirage
    • Disney Speedstorm
    • Squad Busters

    Apple Arcade Game of the Year Finalists:

    • Balatro+
    • Outlanders 2
    • Sonic Dream Team

    Mac App of the Year Finalists:

    • Adobe Lightroom
    • OmniFocus 4
    • Shapr3D

    Mac Game of the Year Finalists:

    • Frostpunk 2
    • Stray
    • Thank Goodness You’re Here!

    Apple Watch App of the Year Finalists:

    • LookUp
    • Lumy
    • Watch to 5K

    Apple Vision Pro App of the Year Finalists:

    • JigSpace
    • NBA
    • What If…? An Immersive Story

    Apple Vision Pro Game of the Year Finalists:

    • Loóna
    • THRASHER
    • Vacation Simulator

    Apple TV App of the Year Finalists:

    • DROPOUT
    • F1 TV
    • Zoom

    Cultural Impact Finalists:

    • Arco
    • The Bear
    • BetterSleep
    • Brawl Stars
    • DailyArt
    • Do You Really Want to Know 2
    • EF Hello
    • NYT Games
    • Oko
    • Partiful
    • Pinterest
    • The Wreck

    Congratulations to the finalists and stay tuned for additional details as they become available.

    Via MacRumors and Apple

  • Antstream Arcade to launch for iOS, iPadOS on June 27, offer access to 1,300+ retro gaming titles

    Antstream Arcade to launch for iOS, iPadOS on June 27, offer access to 1,300+ retro gaming titles

    There’s a bevy of gaming and streaming applications and devices en route to your iPhone and iPad, and Antstream Arcade has announced that beginning Thursday, June 27, the company will begin streaming access to over 1,300 licensed games from a variety of retro consoles, including the Commodore 64, Amiga, Atari 2600, Atari 7800, SEGA Genesis, and more.

    Earlier this year, Apple updated its guidelines to permit game streaming apps in the App Store worldwide, allowing for a selection of games to be offered within a single app. These services, such as Xbox Cloud Gaming and Nvidia GeForce NOW, were previously only accessible via the web on the iPhone and iPad.

    Unlike other services and emulators, Antstream Arcade doesn’t make the user bring their own emulators that have been downloaded from the Internet. Per MacStories and MacRumors, the service will retail for $4.99 per month or $39.99 per year, following limited-time $3.99 per month or $29.99 per year pricing at launch. Antstream Arcade requires a Wi-Fi or cellular connection to stream games, and the service offers only a handful of games for consoles like the NES, SNES, Game Boy, and PS1.

    Antstream Arcade is already available on platforms such as Android, Windows, and Xbox.

    If you get a chance to try the service, please let us know what you make of it in the comments.

    Via MacRumors and MacStories

  • Apple hires former Xbox co-creator, VR engineer Nat Brown

    When in doubt, you hire the man who co-created the Microsoft Xbox game console and worked as a virtual reality engineer for Valve.

    Apple has hired Nat Brown regarding a series of unspecified platforms and projects, Brown tweeting that he’s “looking forward to continuing to work on my obsessions by focusing on all applications of graphics, and working with any of you using graphics on Apple platforms.”

    Brown’s portfolio includes work for Microsoft, where he helped create the first Xbox, iLike.com, Myspace, and Valve.

    It’s unknown what Brown’s portfolio will be at Apple, though the rumor mill has it that he’ll work on Apple’s augmented reality efforts as well as Apple’s Arcade gaming service.

    Stay tuned for additional details as they become available.

    Via The Mac Observer, Variety, and Twitter