5 classic games we’d like to see on Apple Arcade

With the news that Apple is set to spend as much as $500 million on Apple Arcade, we got to thinking about the new gaming subscription service. According to reports, Apple Arcade will be something of a Netflix for gamers, with the monthly fee allowing gamers access to their complete library of original games. It sounds like a fantastic idea, and it will be welcome news to Mac owners who now have games that PC owners cannot access.

The game developers and designers are the biggest names in the business, with the likes of Ken Wong, Hironobu Sakaguchi, and Ken Wong all on board for the project. But there’s one small hitch. As you may have already guessed, there will be no classic games on the platform. It’s a good business call by Apple, as it ensures that an air of exclusivity will surround Apple Arcade. But we’d still love to see a few classics on there just for the hell of it. Here are a few that we’d love to see get a revamp and find their way into the Arcade.

 Zelda

It was arguably Nintendo’s greatest ever creation after Mario””the world of Hyrule. Link was a childhood friend to anyone who had a Nintendo in the house, and it’s about time our little hero made his way onto a smartphone. There have been many whispers and rumors about a mobile version of Zelda, with some even suggesting that 2019 could be the year we finally see it. But wouldn’t Apple Arcade be the perfect home for Link?

Nintendo has always been reticent to rush things with Zelda and prefers to do things right. So, how about a new adventure that is exclusive to Apple Arcade? There are people who would pay the subscription fee for that alone. Make it happen!

 Donkey Kong

Like Zelda, this was another of Nintendo’s great titles, and while some have tried to copy the original, all have failed to live up to it. There have even been quite a few attempts to port the game to Android (meh), but without success. The best we can hope for is a new mobile iOS version exclusive to the Arcade.

Nintendo has already taken Mario mobile with Mario Run, but there are seemingly no plans, as of yet, to give Donkey Kong the same treatment. Having said that, though, the Japanese firm is pretty good at keeping things under their hats. We live in hope.

 Monopoly

Photo by William Warby / CC BY 2.0

Now hear us out on this one. Yes, you can already play Monopoly Go on your iPhone or iPad, and you can mix it up a little by changing how you play. Did you know that there are even Monopoly strategies that suggest you spend a little time in jail? Yes, it’s true, but we still think that this is a game that’s in need of a revamp, and we’d love to see how Apple would make this an exclusive game on Apple Arcade.

Would they make it more like an actual real-world RPG game where you go out and build your hotels, like in Minecraft? Perhaps you would be able to bust out of jail by making a few bribes here and there? Anything is possible.

 Doom

This is the game that creeped the hell out of anyone who played it. The soundtrack was the eeriest thing, and we’re sure it caused quite a few nightmares. You can play Doom classic right now, and there’s talk of streaming the game with the 2016 update sometime later this year.

But we’d rather see an entirely new version of Doom created for Apple Arcade. Give us a new version complete with gore and creepy music. The clamor for the streaming version should be sign enough alone that the gaming public wants this to happen. Again, Apple, make it so.

 Tron

There have been many ‘games’ that have tried to emulate this classic, but none have had that ‘special something’ that the original arcade title had. Disney released a Tron game back in 2010, but it was bizarrely a tank-shooter game. We want to see light bikes and the straight neon lines we know from the movie.

Tron is a title that has so much potential for a back story that, in all honesty, we’re shocked that a developer has yet to make an attempt at it. The original movie has something of a cult status, and we’re pretty sure a decent attempt at a game would garner a lot of interest.

The truth is that Apple Arcade will never have these titles, nor any titles that we’ve ever heard of before””and that is probably a very good thing. At least with new games, there’s no fear that they damage a game’s legacy or that they’ll face backlash from fans. With such incredible developers on board, there’s no doubt that there will be some amazing games available when the arcade finally opens. The only question now is, how much will it cost?