Apple wants to remind you Arcade exists

Apple was a no-show in the flurry of Super Bowl ads, but it made its presence felt seemingly everywhere else. The tech giant launched a full-on ad blitz for Apple Arcade shortly before the football extravaganza got underway, including a takeover of its home page where game characters invaded the usual product promos -- you probably weren't expecting Sonic to ever race around a MacBook Pro. There were a number of straight-up commercials, too, such as a TV spot showing all the ways you could play (including in the grips of a sewer monster) and a mock livestream from Oceanhorn 2's hero.

We wouldn't blame you if your eyes glazed over during the campaign, but it's arguably vital given Apple Arcade's ultimate strategy. The company is buying games outright for the service instead of paying developers for play time like Google does for Play Pass, making it more dependent on the sheer number of gamers instead of how often they play. While Apple isn't exactly hurting for cash, it needs to recruit as many players as possible if Arcade is going to be a success.