TouchArcade
Logo used since January 2012
Type of site
Mobile video game website
Available inEnglish
Country of originUnited States
OwnerTouchArcade.com, LLC
Founder(s)Arnold Kim
EditorJared Nelson
URLtoucharcade.com
CommercialYes
RegistrationOptional
LaunchedMarch 12, 2008; 15 years ago (2008-03-12)
Current statusActive

TouchArcade (stylized as toucharcade) is a mobile games journalism website. It was launched in 2008 as a sister site of MacRumors by its founder Arnold Kim and Blake Patterson. TouchArcade also hosts a forum and a weekly podcast.[1]

History

TouchArcade was launched in 2008 as a blog by MacRumors founder Arnold Kim and Blake Patterson.[2][3] The spinoff site "[tracked] the new games available for the iPhone and iPod Touch".[4] It also included articles, reviews and a forum.[5] Eli Hodapp became editor-in-chief in 2009.[6]

In 2012, TouchArcade released an iOS app which included mobile game listings.[7][8] In June 2015, TouchArcade launched a Patreon for crowdfunded donations. Hodapp explained that mobile game journalism has been struggling as developers shifted towards in-app advertising, and that ad revenue for the website was plummeting.[9][10] Hodapp stepped down from his position in 2019 to focus on his role as co-founder of GameClub,[11] and Jared Nelson succeeded him as editor-in-chief.[12]

Content

TouchArcade publishes news stories and reviews Monday through Friday about iOS and Android video games. A daily SwitchArcade feature covers releases and sales for the Nintendo Switch console. The site also produces a weekly podcast entitled The TouchArcade Show in which Jared Nelson and former editor-in-chief Eli Hodapp discuss top news stories of the week.[13] Registered users receive a monthly email newsletter of the best game releases of the past month, and the site has traditionally rolled up a "best of" feature for the end of the year. In 2022, TouchArcade began covering other portable platforms such as Steam Deck and Playdate.[14][15]

Reception

In 2009, CNET ranked TouchArcade sixth on its list of the top ten gaming blogs.[2] Time named it one of The 50 Best Websites of 2011 and described its reviews as a "cogent, reliable guide" to the games in the App Store.[5]

References

  1. ^ "Exciting Things Ahead for Mobile Gaming - Slide to Play". Slide to Play.
  2. ^ a b Dredge, Stuart (November 6, 2009). "Top ten gaming blogs". CNET. Retrieved May 11, 2023.
  3. ^ Frommer, Dan (July 14, 2008). "Nephrologist To Mac Blogger: The Unlikely Career Path Of MacRumors' Arnold Kim". Business Insider. Retrieved May 10, 2023.
  4. ^ Stelter, Brian (July 21, 2008). "My Son, the Blogger: An M.D. Trades Medicine for Apple Rumors". The New York Times. Retrieved May 11, 2023.
  5. ^ a b McCracken, Harry (August 16, 2011). "Touch Arcade". Time. Retrieved May 11, 2023.
  6. ^ Hodapp, Eli (March 5, 2019). "We're losing the history of the App Store | Opinion". Gamesindustry.biz. Retrieved May 4, 2019.
  7. ^ Scott, Jeff (May 8, 2012). "TouchArcade App Now Available". 148Apps. Retrieved May 11, 2023.
  8. ^ Herbert, Chris (May 8, 2012). "Review: TouchArcade for iPhone". MacStories. Retrieved May 11, 2023.
  9. ^ Dredge, Stuart (June 24, 2015). "TouchArcade Patreon raises wider issues of online journalism economics". The Guardian. Retrieved May 11, 2023.
  10. ^ Rossignol, Joe (June 24, 2015). "App Store's Emphasis on Chart Positioning Squeezing Out Developers and Media Publications". MacRumors. Retrieved May 11, 2023.
  11. ^ Gallagher, William (March 6, 2019). "Old iPad and iPhone games left behind by march of iOS could come back to life". AppleInsider. Retrieved May 11, 2023.
  12. ^ Totilo, Stephen (January 7, 2022). "The future of mobile gaming". Axios. Retrieved May 11, 2023.
  13. ^ "Podcast - TouchArcade". TouchArcade. June 2, 2023.
  14. ^ Jared Nelson (February 25, 2022). "Valve 'Steam Deck' Hardware Review – PC Gaming for Everybody, Now in the Palm of Your Hands". Retrieved December 29, 2022.
  15. ^ Jared Nelson (April 19, 2022). "Playdate Hardware Review – An Amazingly Fun Little Device with One Huge Drawback". Retrieved December 29, 2022.

External links

Video game journalism
Categories