Really, Mac games are just PC games, it's a different OS, the differences beyond that aren't substantial.
I like that the biggest response of Steam gamers is something along the lines of: "Awesome, more people in the fold, now Mac will see how awesome Steam is."
Microsoft should seriously be a little scared. I think more people would jump on the Mac bandwagon if they could game on them.
I dunno, I think this is just going to pander to people who are already on the mac bandwagon. (Which is A-OK, as they deserve to be able to play games as well.) I mean, aren't macs still more expensive for the equivalent hardware in a PC?
I'm a Mac fanboy and the answer to your question is YES. But remember that with a Mac it is impossible to just pay for the hardware as you always get software with it, and I can justify the price for that bundle with three simple words:
No fucking viruses.
Actually, that's fucking priceless as I've been the resident support geek for my family and friends, and after having successfully converted almost all of them to Macs, I've reduced the time needed for tech support to very close to zero.
I don't think I've had a virus in maybe 3 years now. And for the first 1.5 I don't think I even had a virus scanner.
I haven't gotten a real virus for probably 6 years. I mean i don't know many people who ever get viruses anymore unless they do something stupid like try to download hacks or use p2p programs way to much.
Though i dont use macs because i just dont like them. I don't think they are cost effective and i don't like that i cannot build my own. Mac's just aren't for me. I don't really care if other people use them though.
I like to think that Valve has basically unlimited income at this point thanks to Steam and TF2 and self-publishing their games and so on, so they have the time to do whatever the hell they like. Gabe's all like "hey, we got some time before Portal 2's ready to announce, you guys wanna port the Source games to Mac?" and they're like "sure, why not? Could be fun."
I like to think that Valve has basically unlimited income at this point thanks to Steam and TF2 and self-publishing their games and so on, so they have the time to do whatever the hell they like. Gabe's all like "hey, we got some time before Portal 2's ready to announce, you guys wanna port the Source games to Mac?" and they're like "sure, why not? Could be fun."
I've said it before, but Valve has a ridiculous amount of stuff in the pipeline right now. Especially if they're still working on Episode 3.
I like to think that Valve has basically unlimited income at this point thanks to Steam and TF2 and self-publishing their games and so on, so they have the time to do whatever the hell they like. Gabe's all like "hey, we got some time before Portal 2's ready to announce, you guys wanna port the Source games to Mac?" and they're like "sure, why not? Could be fun."
I'll bet Gabes conversation was almost exactly like that too. "Hey guys what do you think about putting steam on Macs?"
The biggest surprise to me about the whole thing is that Apple didn't make the move first.
Are they too busy counting how much money they are making from iPhone games to see the potential in the hardware that they sell that is actually far more capable for gaming.
I like to think that Valve has basically unlimited income at this point thanks to Steam and TF2 and self-publishing their games and so on, so they have the time to do whatever the hell they like. Gabe's all like "hey, we got some time before Portal 2's ready to announce, you guys wanna port the Source games to Mac?" and they're like "sure, why not? Could be fun."
If only everyone in the gaming biz had the resources to do that, the world would be a better place.
Microsoft should seriously be a little scared. I think more people would jump on the Mac bandwagon if they could game on them.
I dunno, I think this is just going to pander to people who are already on the mac bandwagon. (Which is A-OK, as they deserve to be able to play games as well.) I mean, aren't macs still more expensive for the equivalent hardware in a PC?
I'm a Mac fanboy and the answer to your question is YES. But remember that with a Mac it is impossible to just pay for the hardware as you always get software with it, and I can justify the price for that bundle with three simple words:
No fucking viruses.
Actually, that's fucking priceless as I've been the resident support geek for my family and friends, and after having successfully converted almost all of them to Macs, I've reduced the time needed for tech support to very close to zero.
I don't think I've had a virus in maybe 3 years now. And for the first 1.5 I don't think I even had a virus scanner.
I haven't gotten a real virus for probably 6 years. I mean i don't know many people who ever get viruses anymore unless they do something stupid like try to download hacks or use p2p programs way to much.
Though i dont use macs because i just dont like them. I don't think they are cost effective and i don't like that i cannot build my own. Mac's just aren't for me. I don't really care if other people use them though.
Same exact scenario here, though I don't think I've ever gotten a virus. I've used computers that have had a virus on them but that was due to someone like my grandparents using the computer and not knowing that you shouldn't open email attachments, download software from shady websites, etc. I taught them how to browse smart and they haven't had a virus in years either. I understand that theoretically I could get a virus but I don't see it happening any time soon.
As for Macs themselves, they're not bad computers but I also don't like how much they cost for what you get, and I don't like that I can't build it and customize it myself. They are good machines and I can see why other people would like one but they're just not for me.
Apple computers make up 11 or 12% of the US market.
The proportion of Apple computers to legitimate game-capable PC's is probably similar and if not, it's really not all that disparate.
You're just pulling "1%" out of your ass.
Sure, I just guessed it completely, but if you had a strong interest in gaming then why would you have bought a mac? Literally the worst platform for games on earth up until this point. Furthermore, even if you are correct, and an equal fraction of macs and PCs are gaming capable machines, owned by someone who wants to game then why would you waste significant development time developing for a machine which is owned by at most 1/10 of your potential client base. Unless making the mac port is so trivial as to be silly (in which case why didn't they just do it anyway and sell online on Direct to Drive or something) it doesn't make sense to make a port.
Having a Mac laptop in the last 4 years means you could use bootcamp pretty much, and the hardware itself could play steam games well. I have a friend who (would associate himself as a hardcore gamer) boots into bootcamp all the time for his steam games, I know he is going to be very happy about this. You are also still pulling numbers out of your ass.
I think valve does pretty good business, and they probably would know from models if this would be profitable or not. Hell they do hardware scans all the time, they probably know how many of their current users are mac clients using windows on bootcamp. To them, they've pretty plainly shown already that they believe it is a good idea to make a port.
I think that the best thing about this announcement is that we're going to see OpenGL as a more viable technology, and really, if they do Mac, I'm sure they'll just go ahead and do Linux as well, specially since they already have tools for hosting serves in Linux systems.
Apple computers make up 11 or 12% of the US market.
The proportion of Apple computers to legitimate game-capable PC's is probably similar and if not, it's really not all that disparate.
You're just pulling "1%" out of your ass.
Sure, I just guessed it completely, but if you had a strong interest in gaming then why would you have bought a mac? Literally the worst platform for games on earth up until this point. Furthermore, even if you are correct, and an equal fraction of macs and PCs are gaming capable machines, owned by someone who wants to game then why would you waste significant development time developing for a machine which is owned by at most 1/10 of your potential client base. Unless making the mac port is so trivial as to be silly (in which case why didn't they just do it anyway and sell online on Direct to Drive or something) it doesn't make sense to make a port.
Having a Mac laptop in the last 4 years means you could use bootcamp pretty much, and the hardware itself could play steam games well. I have a friend who (would associate himself as a hardcore gamer) boots into bootcamp all the time for his steam games, I know he is going to be very happy about this. You are also still pulling numbers out of your ass.
I think valve does pretty good business, and they probably would know from models if this would be profitable or not. Hell they do hardware scans all the time, they probably know how many of their current users are mac clients using windows on bootcamp. To them, they've pretty plainly shown already that they believe it is a good idea to make a port.
Your hypothesis
Gamers are just as likely to buy mac
Your provided numbers
10-11% of computers in the US are Macs
My statement
At most, 10-11% of the target audiance for a game use a mac.
So, in fact, if I was simply reusing numbers and statements as provided by you.
I don't think this is a bad idea, I just doubt we'll see much momentum to change to or codevelop for a mac platform. Since as you say, mac users could already bootcamp in, why waste development budget making your game run natively?
It's not just the possibility of a few mac gamers without windows that may buy source games, they'd be installing the store client and more likely to purchase crap from other vendors through the steam front while valve counts its money.
Valve has always been about getting money from more customers rather than squeezing more out of their existing customers like say Activision.
The biggest surprise to me about the whole thing is that Apple didn't make the move first.
Are they too busy counting how much money they are making from iPhone games to see the potential in the hardware that they sell that is actually far more capable for gaming.
It's not that surprising. When they wanted to launch Steam on Windows they approached Microsoft and some other big names and nobody thought it was a worthwhile venture. They seem to be the only ones that really listen to their customers and just deliver that. Everyone hails them as geniuses but all they do is listen to feedback. What's funny is that the heads at companies like Ubisoft will look at them like this is some visionary philosophy of doing business - listening to your customers.
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The biggest surprise to me about the whole thing is that Apple didn't make the move first.
Are they too busy counting how much money they are making from iPhone games to see the potential in the hardware that they sell that is actually far more capable for gaming.
It's not that surprising. When they wanted to launch Steam on Windows they approached Microsoft and some other big names and nobody thought it was a worthwhile venture. They seem to be the only ones that really listen to their customers and just deliver that. Everyone hails them as geniuses but all they do is listen to feedback. What's funny is that the heads at companies like Ubisoft will look at them like this is some visionary philosophy of doing business - listening to your customers.
I actually think there's something else there. I mean, Nintendo is notorious for NOT listening to customers... yet they take a mantra that they know better than their customers. And in general they are successful.
I think the common vein, honestly, is both's desire to grow their brand. By using a true killer app that draws people to the system, combined with an easy entry point (free for Steam, cheap for Nintendo back then), throw in some ease of use, and suddenly you have a growing user base that makes shit-tons of money.
I'm not sure that's entirely correct with regards to Nintendo, I think they're just listening to a different market than what we're accustomed to thinking of as gamers. When the Game & Watch series were launched they were successful because they were pocket size, durable and had long battery lives, something which had also been successful in other small electronics of the time (such as calculators I suppose). They may not listen to the most vocal part of their customers, but I think by and large they deliver what it is their customers are asking for.
I've never played Deus Ex or Hitman. Chances are, with school, I wont be playing them anytime soon. I'm still getting the feeling that I should be picking up that bundle on sale today. It's sooooo cheap.
Actually, it's a pretty common thing to not listen to customers. On a whole, people are stupid. If you've ever done design work or SaaS work, you're very aware of this. However, what is important is to have the perception that you listen to your customers. If you actually listened, you would end up with one piece of software that is configurable to all hell, has a bulleted list of features a mile long, features every piece of eye candy ever, and does nothing well.
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Actually, it's a pretty common thing to not listen to customers. On a whole, people are stupid. If you've ever done design work or SaaS work, you're very aware of this. However, what is important is to have the perception that you listen to your customers. If you actually listened, you would end up with one piece of software that is configurable to all hell, has a bulleted list of features a mile long, features every piece of eye candy ever, and does nothing well.
This is very true. There's a similar thing with coffee. People are happy with drivel. See: Tim Horton's Coffee.
Actually, it's a pretty common thing to not listen to customers. On a whole, people are stupid. If you've ever done design work or SaaS work, you're very aware of this. However, what is important is to have the perception that you listen to your customers. If you actually listened, you would end up with one piece of software that is configurable to all hell, has a bulleted list of features a mile long, features every piece of eye candy ever, and does nothing well.
There's a difference between incorporating feedback and being a slave to your customers whim. :P The balance is to weigh what your customer's what versus the practicality and feasibility of implementing it.
Sometimes player's ask for good things (Friend's lists) and sometimes they ask for stupid things (such as for a nerf to something that doesn't need a nerf.)
The biggest surprise to me about the whole thing is that Apple didn't make the move first.
Are they too busy counting how much money they are making from iPhone games to see the potential in the hardware that they sell that is actually far more capable for gaming.
It's not that surprising. When they wanted to launch Steam on Windows they approached Microsoft and some other big names and nobody thought it was a worthwhile venture. They seem to be the only ones that really listen to their customers and just deliver that. Everyone hails them as geniuses but all they do is listen to feedback. What's funny is that the heads at companies like Ubisoft will look at them like this is some visionary philosophy of doing business - listening to your customers.
Actually, Ubisoft just view them as having completely the wrong idea in how to implement things like say, DRM. I mean, Steam games are pirateable right? Why would we ever use that system, it's not visionary, that's backwards.
Now the always online singleplayer game, that's a visionary philosophy.
Weren't they supposed to team up with Amazon to make GoogleZon?
Remember the rumours some people were spouting a couple years back? Google to buy Valve? Those were hilarious times. Well, watching them panic over it was hilarious times anyway.
Steam games on mac is insanely awesome news to me. I have a macbook pro since I'm a graphic designer and that's pretty well all we used at school, and I like their laptops. My fiance has a computer and I've bought a few steam games on there and I play a little bit, but never as much as I really intended to when I bought 'em, since it's her computer and she's likely to be on there at any given time. If I'm reading things correctly, since I own TF2 and L4D and Half Life 2 on my PC I would also own them on my mac at no extra charge, and that friggin rules. I'll probably be playing a lot more TF2 than I was before, that's for sure, and I'll be much more likely to buy Valve games in the future.
I suddenly see the number of TF2 forums doubling and the the amount of content for Halolz doubling. Honestly, with the orange box, Garry's mod, and the power of a mac book, we are going to see some very elegant videos of Spy banging Scout's mother.
Hell, in a few months time, there is going to be a Spy in every single M. Night Shyamalan movie.
Posts
I like that the biggest response of Steam gamers is something along the lines of: "Awesome, more people in the fold, now Mac will see how awesome Steam is."
It's nice to include people in awesome things.
I haven't gotten a real virus for probably 6 years. I mean i don't know many people who ever get viruses anymore unless they do something stupid like try to download hacks or use p2p programs way to much.
Though i dont use macs because i just dont like them. I don't think they are cost effective and i don't like that i cannot build my own. Mac's just aren't for me. I don't really care if other people use them though.
I've said it before, but Valve has a ridiculous amount of stuff in the pipeline right now. Especially if they're still working on Episode 3.
I'll bet Gabes conversation was almost exactly like that too. "Hey guys what do you think about putting steam on Macs?"
Exactly. If this takes off, it makes the PC gaming market larger, which can only lead to good things.
I'm going to be playing these games so much more in a month's time.
Are they too busy counting how much money they are making from iPhone games to see the potential in the hardware that they sell that is actually far more capable for gaming.
If only everyone in the gaming biz had the resources to do that, the world would be a better place.
Same exact scenario here, though I don't think I've ever gotten a virus. I've used computers that have had a virus on them but that was due to someone like my grandparents using the computer and not knowing that you shouldn't open email attachments, download software from shady websites, etc. I taught them how to browse smart and they haven't had a virus in years either. I understand that theoretically I could get a virus but I don't see it happening any time soon.
As for Macs themselves, they're not bad computers but I also don't like how much they cost for what you get, and I don't like that I can't build it and customize it myself. They are good machines and I can see why other people would like one but they're just not for me.
Having a Mac laptop in the last 4 years means you could use bootcamp pretty much, and the hardware itself could play steam games well. I have a friend who (would associate himself as a hardcore gamer) boots into bootcamp all the time for his steam games, I know he is going to be very happy about this. You are also still pulling numbers out of your ass.
I think valve does pretty good business, and they probably would know from models if this would be profitable or not. Hell they do hardware scans all the time, they probably know how many of their current users are mac clients using windows on bootcamp. To them, they've pretty plainly shown already that they believe it is a good idea to make a port.
:^:
This is pretty awesome news.
I mean, I have my Windows PC right next to me hooked up to the second monitor on my desk, but still.
Your hypothesis
Gamers are just as likely to buy mac
Your provided numbers
10-11% of computers in the US are Macs
My statement
At most, 10-11% of the target audiance for a game use a mac.
So, in fact, if I was simply reusing numbers and statements as provided by you.
I don't think this is a bad idea, I just doubt we'll see much momentum to change to or codevelop for a mac platform. Since as you say, mac users could already bootcamp in, why waste development budget making your game run natively?
Valve has always been about getting money from more customers rather than squeezing more out of their existing customers like say Activision.
It's not that surprising. When they wanted to launch Steam on Windows they approached Microsoft and some other big names and nobody thought it was a worthwhile venture. They seem to be the only ones that really listen to their customers and just deliver that. Everyone hails them as geniuses but all they do is listen to feedback. What's funny is that the heads at companies like Ubisoft will look at them like this is some visionary philosophy of doing business - listening to your customers.
I actually think there's something else there. I mean, Nintendo is notorious for NOT listening to customers... yet they take a mantra that they know better than their customers. And in general they are successful.
I think the common vein, honestly, is both's desire to grow their brand. By using a true killer app that draws people to the system, combined with an easy entry point (free for Steam, cheap for Nintendo back then), throw in some ease of use, and suddenly you have a growing user base that makes shit-tons of money.
I've never played Deus Ex or Hitman. Chances are, with school, I wont be playing them anytime soon. I'm still getting the feeling that I should be picking up that bundle on sale today. It's sooooo cheap.
Steam: CavilatRest
3DS Friend Code: 2707-1614-5576
PAX Prime 2014 Buttoneering!
I can't speak to the Hitman games, though.
This is very true. There's a similar thing with coffee. People are happy with drivel. See: Tim Horton's Coffee.
Steam: CavilatRest
I should have never taken this stupid credit card. Dell's Days of Deals and Steam's Enix/Eidos week is going to drain me.
Steam: CavilatRest
Valve to make first operating system intended solely for gaming! SteamOS coming Fall 2013! (2019 Valve time)
The next headline would probably read something like this;
VALVE TO BUY ENTIRE INTERNET
There's a difference between incorporating feedback and being a slave to your customers whim. :P The balance is to weigh what your customer's what versus the practicality and feasibility of implementing it.
Sometimes player's ask for good things (Friend's lists) and sometimes they ask for stupid things (such as for a nerf to something that doesn't need a nerf.)
Well, yeah... but not really. The rest of the games are middling to terrible. I honestly wouldn't spend those extra $6 if I were you.
Actually, Ubisoft just view them as having completely the wrong idea in how to implement things like say, DRM. I mean, Steam games are pirateable right? Why would we ever use that system, it's not visionary, that's backwards.
Now the always online singleplayer game, that's a visionary philosophy.
Remember the rumours some people were spouting a couple years back? Google to buy Valve? Those were hilarious times. Well, watching them panic over it was hilarious times anyway.
Hell, in a few months time, there is going to be a Spy in every single M. Night Shyamalan movie.
http://www.fallout3nexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=16534
edit: Everything is set up, I just need a player with the Decay mod. :P
You can download it here: Half-Life: Decay