Apple’s push for mobile gaming might not be paying off just yet. Resident Evil 7 is now the second major iOS release on the platform to bomb at launch. It follows Assassin’s Creed Mirage which only managed to sell less than 3,000 since the game’s launch in May.
According to AppMagic, under 2,000 people have paid for Resident Evil 7 on iOS. Keep in mind that Resident Evil 7 can be downloaded for free. However, in order to unlock the game after playing through the first chapter, you need to fork out the $20. The report claims that the game itself has seen a substantial download rate since its launch with over 83,000 users. But under 2,000 of those users ended up paying for the full game unlock.
Capcom has reportedly only made $28,140 on Resident Evil 7 which works out to under 2,000 purchases when you include Apple’s 30% App Store tax.
Keep in mind that Resident Evil 7, and other recent game launches such as Assassin’s Creed Mirage and Resident Evil 8, are only playable on iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max. In addition, only high-end iPads and Mac devices with an M1 chip support the game. So this may also be limiting these game sales.
With that being said, the whole “Apple gaming” approach also comes with its own anti-consumer terms and conditions. Firstly, these games can be played with the touch screen but are cumbersome. So you’ll need to connect a controller to your device to enhance this experience. The games are also quite large in storage with Resident Evil 7 coming in at 25GB.
25GB is a lot to ask for a mobile game and likely eliminates most iPhone owners with low-storage devices. The product page also recommends having at least “twice the size of the application in free storage space available”. Likely for texture caching and updates. Apple has also made it clear that the company won’t refund any purchases made for these games.
So you’ll need to really like these games to play them on your iPhone or M device. With poor sales across the board, it will be interesting to see if Apple still pushes these mobile ports. Ubisoft has already confirmed that Assassin’s Creed Shadows will launch on Apple products but how well it will sell it still unclear.
Source: Mobilegamer
