An interview with the new App Store Worldwide head shows Apple is still playing by the same rulebook that fails to nail down what gamers want or need from a mobile platform.

If you've been following Apple long enough, you've heard this one before — Apple is finally serious about gaming. That's the mantra we've heard time and again from various product releases and Apple executives, but beyond financial success, it's hard to believe.

An interview conducted by Polygon with Apple's App Store Worldwide head Carson Oliver. The usual successes were listed, like having a Mac gaming app, powerful GPUs in Apple Silicon, and gaming-specific developer tools.

The thing is, Apple has always had a powerful platform for gaming on the iPhone. It is easily the most profitable gaming platform on Earth due to how many people own iPhones and pay for games.

However, very few gamers would consider iPhone, iPad, or especially Mac, a gaming platform. Sure, you can play games there, but they are the often derided "mobile" game.

Apple's previous attempts to address gamers have fallen flat, like the Apple Games app. Indie Games Week is the latest, and actually smart, move, but unless this is the start of a larger shift and not some one-time thing, nothing will change.

The mobile game curse

Today's mobile game is more advanced and beautifully rendered than ever. Call of Duty mobile's graphics rival previous-generation console shooters, while Genshin Impact feels like a game that shouldn't be able to exist on iPhone.

Person holding a smartphone with game controller attachments outdoors, playing Minecraft with a sword and map visible on the screen, standing over a brick path with scattered leaves

Some mobile games escape the stigma by being amazing experiences without the cruft

That is until you encounter your first loot box, gacha, or whatever scheme your game of choice is running.

Apple Arcade's promise was a great one that continues to shine through from time to time. Most of the games are direct ports of mobile games with ads and monetization stripped out.

The titles that stand out are the ones that could easily be found on a gaming console or in the Steam library. They're full games devoid of loot boxes or other schemes.

Yes, No Man's Sky is launching on iPhone and iPad in October, but that team already wanted to do that. Apple's technology made it possible, but I wouldn't herald this as some kind of victory or sign of more to come.

Graphics aren't everything

The interview shows a lot of contrasts and contradictions in Apple's game economy. Oliver touts iPhone's graphical prowess with the A20 Pro then mentions that the most popular games on the platform are indie titles that are predominantly pixel art.

Hand holding a tablet displaying a colorful Pokemon trading card game interface, with several digital cards arranged on a virtual playmat, against a blurred background of shelves and books

Intensive graphics aren't a requirement to make a great game

"We've seen incredible growth of games coming to the App Store, in general, with more premium games releasing on the App Store this year than last," Oliver said. "While many of those are indies, we're also seeing more console and PC franchises coming to mobile, as it is a burgeoning audience for those games."

It sometimes feels like Apple is on the verge of getting it. Nintendo Switch has been so popular not because it's the most performant console on the market, but because its library is filled with fun and whimsical titles that don't need advanced GPUs to run.

He shares that popular games of the moment include Bolatro, Stardew Valley, Slay the Spire, and Bloons TD 6, which are all on Apple Arcade. That's nice and all, but I don't need an A20 Pro for those titles.

Gaming has seen a revival on iPhone thanks to Apple allowing emulators on the platform as well. However, Apple is shooting itself in the foot by not allowing more advanced emulators to run, like those that could emulate PlayStation 2 or Nintendo GameCube.

Apple's long history of gaming is filled with almosts and maybes. Every time it feels like they've figured it out, like with Angry Birds, Pokemon Go, and Infinity Blade, we end up with a race to the bottom.

There have even been multiple attempts to bring AAA games to iPhone, but they all fell flat. A lot of the reason behind these games flopping wasn't the price, execution, graphical fidelity, or anything relating to the games or hardware themselves.

Tablet on a wooden desk displaying a mountain hiking scene, with a game controller in front, desk lamp and speaker nearby, all in a dimly lit, foam-padded workspace

'Death Stranding' works fine on iPad, but years late

The problem was, like many of Apple's efforts in gaming, too little too late with very little understanding of the gaming market. Those that wanted to play the Resident Evil 4 remake or Death Stranding already did years ago at full price on a console they owned.

What made matters worse is these games launched with an in-game purchase that was more expensive than what you could pay to get them on Steam or console. Many were even available as a part of a subscription like Xbox Game Pass or PlayStation Plus.

Less is more

There's this movement in the gaming community asking for fewer games with worse graphics made by manageable team sizes that take longer to make a game. These ideals can be found in how much the gaming community latches onto indie darlings found on Steam.

Smartphone on a wooden table displaying a colorful fantasy game, with a small blue handheld game controller nearby and tall green houseplants in the background

'Cult of the Lamb' is a perfect example of what makes a great mobile game

Sure, there's always going to be a Grand Theft Auto VI or Elder Scrolls on the horizon that has everyone hyped. But, those games aren't on iPhone either.

Apple is trapped in this weird situation where it wants to be part of the conversation the way gaming consoles are, and wants a library as beloved as one on Steam, but it just never puts in the work. As has been exemplified again and again in the past decade, simply having game porting tools and powerful hardware isn't enough.

Game developers start with steam then port to consoles later. If a rare smartphone port happens, it's often a stripped-down version of the game filled with microtransactions or level selectors instead of linear storytelling.

My personal opinion is we need to get past "mobile," which demands addictive gameplay, monetization paths, microtransactions, and short gameplay loops. We also need to create a gaming platform on iPhone that can happily pay $7, $20, or even $60 for a title.

I'm serious. But make sure these games are available at full price at launch, not some years later when everyone has already played them elsewhere.

Person holding a handheld gaming tablet with detachable white controllers, playing a colorful roleplaying game showing small characters exploring an indoor scene with furniture and decorative plants

'Fantasian' proves that a full-length story-driven game can work on iPhone or iPad

The plague of "it has to be free then show loot boxes with premium passes" to succeed is killing us here. Stardew Valley is an amazing game because I can pay once, or get it on Apple Arcade, and play beginning to end without ever encountering an ad or microtransaction.

Fantasian, Hello Kitty Island Adventure, The Last Campfire, and plenty of others prove this is possible on iPhone. Embrace it, charge real money up front, and let me just play the game and get out of my way.

Sadly, Apple could never go that route because the cat is out of the bag. I'm afraid the only way that Apple can ever be serious about gaming is if it invents a time machine, goes back to when the App Store began, and encouraged game developers to charge real money for games.

The next chance to change course

There's a shift coming in the games industry thanks to AI-induced RAM and memory shortages. The PlayStation 6, if and when it ever releases, is estimated at over $1,000.

Handheld gaming device with attached controllers displaying Pokemon Emerald title screen on a black surface, with a Game Boy cartridge and small plastic case containing game accessories nearby

Games can survive generations regardless of graphic fidelity

It is making increasingly more sense to game on what you already own instead of investing in new hardware. Everyone owns a smartphone, and I expect we'll see a gaming-focused revolution on that front very soon.

The GameBoy, PlayStation Portable, and Nintendo DS were successful in spite of requiring specialized hardware to play expensive games that took upwards of 40 hours to complete. You can play many of those titles today thanks to emulation, which gaming companies seem allergic to finding a way to monetize.

My point is, your iPhone, iPad, and Mac are quite the capable gaming machines today. There are plenty of amazing titles you can play on them already, but Apple has an opportunity to make this a part of its brand.

Hand holding a smartphone attached to a small retro-style game controller, playing a colorful pixelated adventure game, with blurred framed artwork hanging on the wall in the background

Emulation lets us utilize existing hardware to explore classic games

Lean into it, find some developers and push to get their new pixel art-style game in the App Store. Promote one-time purchase games, rethink the App Store gaming page around what gamers actually want instead of what is most lucrative for Apple.

The real problem is Apple doesn't really need to change a thing, because regardless of gamer opinion on the matter, App Store games are among the most lucrative in the industry. It has to want to make a change for the better for gamers in spite of potential harm to revenue.

They're making money hand over fist because of mobile games preying on humanity's worst impulses. Gambling with loot boxes and paying to win are what define iPhone gaming, and unless Apple does something dramatic, it always will.

Let's see if Carson Oliver understands that and pushes Apple into finally getting serious about gaming. I wouldn't hold my breath.