I would be more excited if they were launching a credit card gaming service.
As for this… hmm. Apple’s history with gaming has been spotty at best. I’m hesitant to believe this change in direction is honest and heartfelt. “Just what is your other hand doing, Apple?”
It’s around average. I just finished making an ad for the VW Service Credit Card. There’s no interest on purchases over $500 for 12 months, but if you don’t pay it off in time, the variable APR is 30.74%.
I’m just confused at this move. I don’t see this working out. Specifically, the Arcade concept I think won’t bear much fruit for them since no one thinks of Apple products when it comes to games. Sure folks play games on their tablets and phones but really I can’t see how devs are going to be willing to fork over more of their underpaid labor as it is. Unless Apple is willing to take a cut in their percentages for devs (or open their own game studio) on Arcade they’re going to have an uphill battle.
Apple appears to be pushing security and privacy hard as a part of their brand. Apple Card would be a logical extension of that as removes your purchase history from the banks. Pretty much all of their announcements today touted privacy as a feature. The only one they soft-pedalled on was the Apple TV app on smart TVs but there is nothing they can really do to stop smart TV companies from monitoring your viewing habits.
Every credit card needs an issuing bank. To create Apple Card, we needed a partner that was up for the challenge of doing something bold and innovative. Enter Goldman Sachs. This is the first consumer credit card they’ve issued, so they were open to doing things in a whole new way.
Nope.
Yeah from the announcements it sounds more like a brand. With Apple funding devs as a publisher. As opposed to devs and publishers listing their products in Apple’s store front.
It sounds pretty tied to existing sorts of App Store and mobile games. So simplified touch screen mobile games? I guess. But it’s pitched as a service. Earlier coverage and rumors pegged it as a competitor to Google’s PC game streaming service. And tech press are talking like this puts Apple in direct competition with the consoles. Neither of which seem to be what this is.
Those two things are not mutually exclusive and the divide on that isn’t as neat as all that.
It’s more of the arcade based mechanics forward approach. Where mechanics are relatively simple or fewer in number, and games often non narrative. Which has historically been more influential on Japanese console games and (currently) Western Indy titles. And that approach is older, as it’s rooted in arcade cabinets.
VS a more narrative focused approach. Where mechanics are complex, as in there are many of them, and they’re less about direct impute. That’s been more typical of PC games, especially Western games. Along with RPGs wherever they’re from. And then there are things like sims and strategy games, which may not be narratively focused but often follow a similar route on mechanics.
I really don’t see an iOS based, touch screen ecosystem doing much outside the former. I doubt you’re going to see off kilter stuff like “I am largely free of any sort of mechanics” visual novels. And one of the only actual titles they mentioned was apparently a new Sonic The Hedgehog game. So retro platformers I guess?
There was an Apple branded Visa card back in the 90s. Might have only been available to people who worked with authorized sales/service centers. I still have mine somewhere even though its long expired.
Another 2% cash back card on the market with no fees is not the worst thing – that’s as good as cash-back cards with flexible 2% back get.
Does anybody know if there is a fee for foreign transactions? If not, I may sign up.
Following - sorry - INNOVATING in the same way as GM, GE, Sony and Hitachi.
Vaguely recall something about this recently. …
Introducing The iCard !
Thinner than any other credit card!
Subtle pic there, Rob… Nice!
Fittingly, I am slightly allergic to that specific cultivar.
The credit card will have no late fees, annual fees or international fees, said Apple Pay VP Jennifer Bailey.
Yeah, I watched the whole keynote today, and I’m very likely getting this credit card. Sure it’s usury and mostly evil, but hey, we live in strange times and I kind of like my mark of the beast, heh.
Yep. Sony has been in consumer financial since 2001.
No foreign transaction fee (no fees of any kind, evidently). The catch on the 2% back is that it’s only on Apple Pay purchases, which leaves a lot of gaps (in the US) where you’ll only get 1% back. But I could see using this for international travel (as contactless acceptance is near universal outside the US) along with something like Citi’s 2% cashback card for chip and swipe purchases in the US.
(With the caveat that a high interest/high rewards card should always be treated like a charge card and never used to carry a balance, of course.)
This is exactly the plan. 
Doncha worry, I am in good standing with the credit agencies. 
LOL now when they release the US version of a “citizen confidence score,” well, not so sure. heheh
Mildly interested in the card. No card numbers, some positive privacy steps and better security features? Yay. Goldman Sachs? Boo.
Oh come now, what’s not to love???
edit: LOL have to figure, Goldman doesn’t need to gather information on all of us as consumers because DUH. THEY ALREADY KNOW/RUN EVERYTHING. haha!
