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Apple Arcade launched on 20 Sept 2019 along with iOS13. At the time of publishing there are about 70 curated games you can download and play for £4.99 per month.
For people who prefer gamepads, it’s now possible to connect standard PS4 and Xbox One gamepad controllers directly via bluetooth to play compatible games. You can’t directly connect an Xbox Adaptive Controller via bluetooth or USB yet (see below for a workaround).
Most excitingly of all, from an accessible gaming perspective, it’s possible to connect a Titan Two adapter. That facilitates a massive array of accessibility possibilities, for example, you can:
1: Attach a PS4 controller and use accessibility scripts with that, such as a mouse/touch mode and gamepad mode with assists.
2: Use it to attach a second controller, such as an Xbox Adaptive Controller, C-SID, etc and mix the controls as needed.
3: Link a PC for speech control, JoyToKey use (for one-switch access for example) and much more.
At the time of publishing, when gamepad mode is active the sound is muted, and only available (it seems) if you connect headphones / speakers to the PS4 controller. Fingers crossed there’s an iOS update to fix that soon.
The first game we tried on the Apple Arcade is “Agent Intercept”. Play is left-right steering, CROSS/A = Boost and L2/LT = Missile. Huge fun. Very Spy Hunter / Burning Rubber.
Many thanks to Scachi and Jefferson Koppe at ConsoleTuner.com for invaluable help getting the mouse script working. If you’d like to find out more on this system, get in touch with us at SpecialEffect or direct to barrie.ellis@specialeffect.org.uk.
