The Mac as a Gaming Platform, the New Era

[c0r3f1ght3r]

I think its AWESOME! Now I will be able to own noobs that are noobs not only at a game, but also at computers, and I'll probably be owning them with a machine 1/2 the price of theirs but double the hardware power. XD XD XD.

 

[ottozero]

[citation][nom]kelemvor4[/nom]In 5 years Steve Jobs will be having press conferences telling people why steam is evil and that it's no longer allowed on his platform because HTML6 is so much better. If I were a tech company, I'd be very leery of partnering with apple given their recent track record.[/citation]

I agree, Adobe's Flash is getting (has gotten) screwed, and that Steve Job's wants tight control of the Revenue stream and the OS control.. Having said that, Last time I Took HTML 4 was exactly 10 years ago, So if HTML 6 comes out in another 10 years I CAN LIVE WITH THAT, because Steam will Have REIGNED FOR 10 years.. HAHAHAA

of course I am only Kidding.

 

[ottozero]

[citation][nom]c0r3f1ght3r[/nom]I think its AWESOME! Now I will be able to BE ownED by exWindowsUsers that are exWindowsUsers not only at a vista OS, but also at Vista computers, and I'll probably be ownED by them with a machine 1/2 as good as theirs but has double the hardware power but has vista on it. XD XD XD.[/citation]

What Can I say.. you have said it all.

Actually I

 

[ottozero]

[citation][nom]SteveLord[/nom]I can see it now."Wow World of Warcraft plays on Mac @ 2560 x 1440 with full effects on! Wow! Not as many viruses as windows & same amount of games as the same amount of viruses weird huh? Suck it PC!"[replaceyou PC game that is 2+ years old.][/citation]

What can I say.. SteveLoard... has said it all.

 

[neiroatopelcc]

Suppose it makes sense. If you've got a crapple system you can't run the newest games anyway. Might's well settle for some 5 year old valve games which should have no problem running on 2008 graphics hardware (as of last week 4890 was the best grahpics card available for mac in denmark ; pc gamers had this option almost 2 years ago)

 

[eddieroolz]

I really think that Apple is trying to reinvent itself. First with gaming on iPod touch, and now the Mac OS X line.

Not that Mac OS will make a viable gaming platform anyway.

 

[JonnyDough]

[citation][nom]Wolfgang Gruener[/nom]...The list is not as extensive as what you can buy for the PC and certainly not as cutting edge. But it isn’t as bad as you might think if you are a dedicated PC user.[/citation]

A MAC is a PC.

 

[Guest]

I think the real problem will come with the Mac's lack of upradable graphics. Except for the Mac Pro their is not a Mac with graphics that can be upgraded. In fact I find Mac's in general have marginal grphics for any hard core gammer. But I agree, open it up Steam! Not every game requires a big GPU!

 

[baronofcheese]

When apple stops trying force crappy, overpriced computers down people's throats then maybe I'll consider it.

 

[Guest]

Why would anybody be upset that they are releasing games for the Mac? It's not like they are canceling PC games. It's like an Xbox user being upset that they make games for Playstations too. I can understand if somebody made your favorite game an exclusive on Mac, but really, why in the world anybody would be upset by this is beyond me.

 

[invlem]

With Bungie's teaming up with Activision I could see some decent titles coming to both Mac and PC again.

Before Microsoft came in and grabbed Bungie, all their previous games were Mac/PC launches. One can only hope they go back to their roots now that they aren't tied to the xbox platform.

 

[ddt529]

I agree that opening Mac up to gaming will expose the true nature of it's hardware in that it is sub par for it's price tag.

 

[Hilarion]

It is still not worth collaring myself with the weight of Apple Almighty and their priggish, moralistic, censorious ways. Not that I would every bend knee to Apple Almighty anyway.

 

[Hilarion]

[citation][nom]Jonnydough[/nom]A MAC is a PC.[/citation]
No it is not.

 

[quadibloc]

People who own Macintosh computers, for whatever reason, might also like to play computer games, and so being able to do so without buying another computer or a game console is a good thing.

Windows game developers don't try to support every video card any more; they have DirectX, which, of course, is not available on the Mac, as the article noted, since it's strictly a Microsoft product.

Isn't there more than one video card for Macintosh computers? And, on the other hand, don't game developers for the Macintosh have OpenGL available to them, filling the same role that DirectX does on the Windows platform?

 

[quadibloc]

[citation][nom]Jonnydough[/nom]A MAC is a PC.[/citation]
A Macintosh certainly is a personal computer. However, a Macintosh is not an IBM Personal Computer, containing a 4.77 MHz 8088, nor was it a PC-compatible computer. Until, of course, very recently.

Boot Camp lets you install Windows as a second operating system on an Intel Mac, although some problems were reported in the case of Windows 7, but I suppose you could still just install Windows directly on an Intel Mac if one wished to. Given that a PC running Linux is thought of as still being a PC, though, I suppose you could say that, hardware-wise, a Mac is a PC.

However, that doesn't change the fact that people will want to have a brief way to refer to an Intel x86 machine running the current version of Microsoft Windows. Those machines run certain software; a Macintosh runs different software.

 

[prelude2250]

one thing to consider is that a lot of steam's revenue comes from $15 and under titles. Which seems like you could run those titles on just about any platform. I'll always be a "wintel" fanboy but its almost cute to see mac users talk about gaming.

 

[reklatsa]

[citation][nom]Jonnydough[/nom]A MAC is a PC.[/citation]A PC with Windows is not a Mac
A PC with Linux is not a Mac
An Apple computer without an OS is a PC. But with OS X it is most decidedly a Mac.

If you can't comprehend the difference, go away.

 

[tommysch]

Dumbing down gaming one platform at a time!

I can just imagine the amount of noobish mac owners connecting to competitive CSS servers thinking about the friendly competition they are going to enjoy...

That will be a harsh learning curve.

 

[figgus]

[citation][nom]Reklatsa[/nom]A PC with Windows is not a MacA PC with Linux is not a MacAn Apple computer without an OS is a PC. But with OS X it is most decidedly a Mac.If you can't comprehend the difference, go away.[/citation]

All squares are rectangles, but not all rectangles are squares.

All Macs are PCs, but not all PCs are Macs.

Subsets FTW.

 

[tommysch]

BTW, 1 word:

DIRECTX


LOL @ Open GL, it bring back memories of my 3DFX VooDoo 3!

 

[Guest]

Apple's lack of interest in gaming has nothing to do with the lack of success of gaming on the Mac. It just wasn't a viable market - simple as that. Apple doesn't compete at the dirt cheap tech level, which is where gaming PCs sell most. You don't know much about the developer tools in OS X if you think that it's not capable of making good games - it's had OpenGL from the start and if Autodesk's Maya (a massive 3D application) could make it onto OS X, a full-screen OpenGL game definitely wouldn't have anything stopping it. I think what you're seeing isn't Valve being interested in the Mac as a gaming platform as much as they are giving their Steam distribution a broader coverage for their clients/other games. And they are trying to get a good name with the Mac crowd to brand themselves for a future mobile gaming/distribution strategy.

 

[gogogadgetliver]

One button mouse.

 

[reklatsa]

[citation][nom]TommySch[/nom]Dumbing down gaming one platform at a time![/citation]The slight compromising or degrading of a game's graphics is considered "dumbing down"?
Either a game is dumb or it isn't. With each major evolutionary development in games it hasn't been the graphics exclusively which have made the game good; it's been the thought, originality and playability which has marked it out as special. Then comes the dozens of rubbishy pretenders... For every good game that is realised there are literally hundreds that are junk. I asked earlier on in this thread for someone to name three PC games released in the last year that have required more than one middle to high-end graphics card. I'm still waiting.

Then again, I realise and accept one person's good game is another's POS.[citation][nom]TommySch[/nom]I can just imagine the amount of noobish mac owners connecting to competitive CSS servers thinking about the friendly competition they are going to enjoy...That will be a harsh learning curve.[/citation] You have a point. I remember when I built my first PC and logged onto Multi-player PC game servers for the first time only to be shocked by all the cheating and foul-mouthed cretins who made the whole experience quite objectionable. I quickly went back to finding people who had set up Mac servers. Rather than suffer complaints, Valve may want to consider setting up Mac only server groups.

 

[reklatsa]

[citation][nom]figgus[/nom]All squares are rectangles, but not all rectangles are squares.All Macs are PCs, but not all PCs are Macs.Subsets FTW.[/citation]Subsets indeed, but, mathematically, you'll agree squares are special?

Objectivity v Subjectivity FTW