Apple’s investment of hundreds of millions of dollars into Apple Arcade is not only one of the biggest bets it has ever made to draw attention to iOS, but is certainly also its largest effort yet to promote video gaming in particular. Take a look back at the history of gaming on the Mac to see why it is necessary.
Macintosh’s early lead in video gaming
It’s nearly forgotten today, but back in the late ’80s and early ’90s, Apple’s Macintosh enjoyed a favorable position in gaming —nearly by accident. That occurred despite the fact that Apple had stridently avoided promoting any of its products as a video game machine in fears of cheapening its brand image.
In the mid-’80s, Apple worked in particular to associate its new Macintosh with professional business uses, and seemed to prefer that video games were played on its more consumer-oriented Apple //c that shipped alongside the original Mac in 1984. Even so, the above ad only makes mention of “fun programs for the whole family. Like ‘Genetic Mapping’ and ‘Enzyme Kinetics,'” while including a photo of Flight Simulator II rather than any popular adventure and arcade games of the period.
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