Change is many things: scary, exciting, inevitable. Android is changing all the time, and for a while now we’ve been anticipating a major shift in terms of software support, one that would see the platform abandon its oldest software — Android will go 64-bit-only, dropping compatibility for old 32-bit apps. The biggest question has been “when?” Would the Pixel Tablet demand 64-bit apps? Could we be sitting around until Android 14 to make the switch? Apparently Google just got tired of waiting, and quietly launched the Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro without support for 32-bit apps.
The inevitable march of progress. The move to 64bit killed quite a few old games on iOS, and I’m sure the same will happen to Android. However, if an application hasn’t been updated that long, it might be a good idea to search for an alternative, of which there will be many, since application stores are nothing if not filled to the brim with shameless ripoffs.
This will break any good Android games (released before the encroachment of in-app purchases and thinly-disguised slot machines) that some of us have in our Google accounts (bought during those more innocent times). I am talking about classics such as Need For Speed Hot Pursuit, Asphalt 6, Raging Thunder, and the Tomb Raider I and II games. Sure, you’ll technically still own these apps, but you won’t be able to install them on a new Android device because all you’ll get will be “This app is incompatible with your device”.
File this under the “screw you paying customer” department together with the removal of secdrv in Windows 10 and the removal of SGX support in Intel CPUs (which rendered 4K Blu-Rays unplayable).
Only that this is even worse, as even your old Android devices will lose the ability to connect to Google account, and even on already installed games, the copy-protection will stop working due to an old Play Services version. It already happened on my Android 2.3 devices before they even lost the ability to connect to my Google account.
So here we are already, I have 4 pristine-condition Android 2.3 devices that can’t run games designed specifically for them. Future collectors are in for a ride.
kurkosdr,
I was thinking similar. Just because there are millions of apps today doesn’t necessarily mean people don’t want to run something specific they already had. Honestly, the number of apps is kind of a hindrance especially when so many of them are of bad quality. It’s the aftermath of the race to the bottom for app development. Resources are spread across thousands of bad apps in place of a few high quality ones. Bah.
I am completely unfamiliar with this.
We experienced this as well. It’s a perfect example of why app store monocultures and monopolies are bad. Google and Apple simply have too much power over mobile devices, but of course there’s not much I can do about it. Even for those of us who want to run alt app stores on a fork like lineage, it’s an uphill battle because so many services and apps are exclusive to google’s service.
I’ve been saying it too. “classic” unlocked local computers & software will have the potential to live on forever because remote kill switches weren’t yet a thing. While there was DRM, at least it was local DRM that didn’t involve control from a data center. We are increasingly unable to use modern software&devices after vendors retire them and I think it will continue to get worse. This transition has mostly been pushed by vendors who, whether we like it or not, aren’t putting much weight on the importance of usability after their official EOL. This is our new reality.
Some of the best Android games ever made were made during the “app economy” gold rush, and yet they managed to do fine. Similarly, the PS1 got something like 4000+ titles and yet the good games had no problem surfacing to the top. The problem is not the number of apps, the problem is that most mobile games out there are “gray gambling machines” like the “claw machines” you see in various venues IRL but worse. Most modern Android and iOS games are basically unregulated slot machines, and that’s how practically all modern Android and iOS games are today because of all the money those unregulated slot machines make.
That’s a different issue entirely. Over at the PC, there is no “default” app store and no app “store monoculture”, and yet modern games still rely on all kinds of online DRM servers that go offline randomly. For example, the Origin version of Need For Speed Undercover won’t work anymore (the Steam version will), and the physical release of Test Drive Unlimited 2 will not work (despite relying on Steam’s online DRM servers). It’s basically the problem you mention in your next paragraph:
Amen.
File this under you don’t understand the App store distribution model.
For those people who “understand” it, do they have an option to buy the game as an APK (which btw companies like Gameloft have done in the past)? No? Then that’s the problem. Your only option for buying a game is an app store with online DRM attached, which can be revoked at any moment. This is a raw deal (compared to the previous model of owning the software with no dependence to some online DRM) regardless of whether you “understand” the model or not. Stop making excuses for it.
This site seems more and more like a support group for folks who can’t deal with change or whose set of skills are stuck in time.
It’s literally a non issue for the publisher to update the app. If the publisher has been out of the loop for so long, it means the app has been orphaned long ago.
Most people see an app that is no longer supported, and they simply shrug it off and move on within 5 seconds.
javiercero1,
You are ignoring counterexamples for certain kinds of utilities like google broking wifi scanning or shell capabilities.
https://www.xda-developers.com/termux-terminal-linux-google-play-updates-stopped/
That may represent your own position, but it doesn’t mean others aren’t troubled by applications breaking.
If the change is for the worse, for example online DRM that can be revoked anytime, then I guess it’s fair to view it as a bad thing. Also, what skills are involved in dealing with said online DRM other than just accepting it, which is something anyone can do? Can you please elaborate?
Did you even read the comment that you replied to? I clearly said that some games are abandoned on purpose by the publishers so those publishers can focus exclusively on newer versions of those games laced with in-app purchases and featuring thinly-veiled slot machines (no thanks). With the removal of 32-bit support, those older games become unplayable on newer devices. And even on old devices when those devices stop receiving new Play Services version to keep up with online DRM. This is a part of a more general problem, online DRM making purchased apps and content inaccessible even if you own a period-correct device or if you own a newer device (due to no back compat). So, you are losing access either way. It has nothing to do with “publishers being out of the loop”.
Not sure if trolling or didn’t bother to read the comment you replied to.
kurkosdr,
I agree, newer doesn’t mean better when it comes to changes that include antifeatures including ads/tracking/microtransactions/always online DRM/etc. It’s got absolutely nothing to do with “skills”.