Apple's focus for gaming is first and foremost for that of their iOS. Not much surprise there since the majority of games are made for one type of closed system or another. Hopefully, there will be some trickling of gaming love to the Mac from the effort being put into the iOS.
As for the hardware side of computer gaming, I remember my PC days of gaming and having to buy new video cards approx. every 1.5 years, at a cost that was near equal to that of the current gaming console being sold. Then there was the always changing bus system, that meant I got about two video card upgrades before having to buy a new motherboard, along with a new CPU and RAM. I love playing games on a computer vs a gaming console, but the task of keeping a PC updated to play the newest games was a chore. So I switched to Mac, and being that my largest gaming addiction, World of Warcraft, was available I didn't feel like I was missing out too much from not having a dedicated gaming PC.
But now we see a possibility of more games and choices coming to a Mac via PC and now we see Mac's stifled hardware looking to hold be a big obstacle for many games. The constricted hardware on an Apple is only a problem due to the games coming from a PC, where the developers can build their games for the latest and greatest video cards and hardware, then a game gets funneled to the lesser hardware on a Mac. Now, if a game where designed from the ground up with a Mac's hardware specs in mind, great games could and can be made. An example of this is what Blizzard creates, in which the PC and Mac versions are created in tandem and the level of hardware on a Mac us taken into account. If more game developers take an approach similar to Blizzard's and develop a game with the idea of also putting it on a Mac, then perhaps the hardware requirements of new PC games will lessen from what they are now. Of course if Apple brings a Mac's development tools and hardware to be more in line with what is on a PC, this would reduce the burden and cost needed for cross platform development.
With more major releases than ever headed to the Mac platform thanks to the release of Valve's Steam service, Apple is working closely with its hardware and software partners to improve performance of graphically intensive titles.
Is this too little, too late?
I thought that PC gaming was dying and that consoles were dominating.
I'm a content creator who relies on OpenGL and current graphics cards. I worked on a AAA game title for Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 and I teach 3D for a living.
As a content creator, the Mac platform has become so unviable, my next Mac will be a PC. A Hackintosh.
OpenGL performance being slower than linux, let alone Windows, isn't even the reason. It's the 2-3 year old cards with 256MB VRam.
When I said 1GB DDR5 is standard, I meant mainstream and affordable. The option doesn't even exist on Mac, which tops out at a 'whopping' 512MB VRAM in the most expensive models.
Sorry if I seem bitter; I feel let down by Apple, and my bitterness grows with each new Mac touting graphics power that was lame two years ago. Photoshop wants VRAM, Maya ants VRAM, Mudbox wants VRAM, and even if I was a billionaire, there is still no Mac for me.
I'm a content creator, not a consumer, and the Mac is leaving creative professionals in the cold.
Yeah, no. You're implying nearly £700 PCs are the majority sold, which is rubbish. (And before you pull a "Hurr sure fanboy!" I have a home-built gaming PC.) However I do agree with previous posters that I wish Apple would pull their socks up with graphics. However it's not all on Apple's shoulders and it would unfair to say that. nVidia and ATi need to do better drivers.
Nah, I'd love for Apple to prove me wrong, I just don't think it's in them — they've never seemed to show any interest in Mac gaming except at Stevenotes, where it evaporates the millisecond he leaves the stage. I'd never presume to have any insider information, just seeing how Apple's behaved on the subject in the past. In my eyes, that only makes the work of you and the rest of Valve all the more impressive.
Edit: Also, I managed to get 10.6.4 fully up and running (including wi-fi and audio, which had previously been sticking points) on my Hackintosh since my last post, and Source games see a definite improvement in framerate and shader correctness vs. the 10.5.8 I use regularly (i.e. janky bright water in HL2 = no more). About 2-3x in most situations, as long as I keep AA, motion blur, etc. off. It does give me a tiny glimmer of hope.
I'm a content creator who relies on OpenGL and current graphics cards. I worked on a AAA game title for Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 and I teach 3D for a living.
As a content creator, the Mac platform has become so unviable, my next Mac will be a PC. A Hackintosh.
OpenGL performance being slower than linux, let alone Windows, isn't even the reason. It's the 2-3 year old cards with 256MB VRam.
When I said 1GB DDR5 is standard, I meant mainstream and affordable. The option doesn't even exist on Mac, which tops out at a 'whopping' 512MB VRAM in the most expensive models.
Sorry if I seem bitter; I feel let down by Apple, and my bitterness grows with each new Mac touting graphics power that was lame two years ago. Photoshop wants VRAM, Maya ants VRAM, Mudbox wants VRAM, and even if I was a billionaire, there is still no Mac for me.
I'm a content creator, not a consumer, and the Mac is leaving creative professionals in the cold.
Absolutely. Apple needs to get their shit onboard. Wasn't part of the reason to move to Intel chips to get more hardware compatibility? WTF. They need to get some beefier video cards.
For sure part of the problem is convincing Nvidia and ATI to support cards that Apple doesn't sell as OEM. There just isn't a secondary market on the mac for video cards - which blows.
Comments
As for the hardware side of computer gaming, I remember my PC days of gaming and having to buy new video cards approx. every 1.5 years, at a cost that was near equal to that of the current gaming console being sold. Then there was the always changing bus system, that meant I got about two video card upgrades before having to buy a new motherboard, along with a new CPU and RAM. I love playing games on a computer vs a gaming console, but the task of keeping a PC updated to play the newest games was a chore. So I switched to Mac, and being that my largest gaming addiction, World of Warcraft, was available I didn't feel like I was missing out too much from not having a dedicated gaming PC.
But now we see a possibility of more games and choices coming to a Mac via PC and now we see Mac's stifled hardware looking to hold be a big obstacle for many games. The constricted hardware on an Apple is only a problem due to the games coming from a PC, where the developers can build their games for the latest and greatest video cards and hardware, then a game gets funneled to the lesser hardware on a Mac. Now, if a game where designed from the ground up with a Mac's hardware specs in mind, great games could and can be made. An example of this is what Blizzard creates, in which the PC and Mac versions are created in tandem and the level of hardware on a Mac us taken into account. If more game developers take an approach similar to Blizzard's and develop a game with the idea of also putting it on a Mac, then perhaps the hardware requirements of new PC games will lessen from what they are now. Of course if Apple brings a Mac's development tools and hardware to be more in line with what is on a PC, this would reduce the burden and cost needed for cross platform development.
With more major releases than ever headed to the Mac platform thanks to the release of Valve's Steam service, Apple is working closely with its hardware and software partners to improve performance of graphically intensive titles.
Is this too little, too late?
I thought that PC gaming was dying and that consoles were dominating.
Well, they must be 'cheeeeeeeeeeap' PC to 'mid' PCs because I see plenty of PCs packing more that 256 VU ram.
Often cost more than a Mac..?
Only if you post on these forums and block out reality and tell yourself that a million times.
But in the real world...
Lemon Bon Bon.
I think what was claimed was that 1GB DDR5 was standard on PCs. It is not. Not even close.
Much better instead to get the *whoo new mini with its integrated crappics for £650.
Apple twice the price for hardware that performs twice as bad as the PC equivalent...with *poor Open GL drivers.
People who will buy the mini are not people who will know or care about the PC equivalents.
Does this finally mean Apple will catch up to the rest of the high-end PC industry and offer 512 MB of VRAM as baseline?
Unlikely. Lately Apple has been slower and lower in their Mac lineup. They are now a mobile devices company.
I've been rooting for some time, as well.
But Steve's "Apple is now a mobile devices company" statement has finally deflated my hopes.
If Apple is working on software to improve gaming, it will probably be focused more on iPhone 4's 6-axis gyro, and the next generation iPad.
I think that you are correct.
As a content creator, the Mac platform has become so unviable, my next Mac will be a PC. A Hackintosh.
OpenGL performance being slower than linux, let alone Windows, isn't even the reason. It's the 2-3 year old cards with 256MB VRam.
When I said 1GB DDR5 is standard, I meant mainstream and affordable. The option doesn't even exist on Mac, which tops out at a 'whopping' 512MB VRAM in the most expensive models.
Sorry if I seem bitter; I feel let down by Apple, and my bitterness grows with each new Mac touting graphics power that was lame two years ago. Photoshop wants VRAM, Maya ants VRAM, Mudbox wants VRAM, and even if I was a billionaire, there is still no Mac for me.
I'm a content creator, not a consumer, and the Mac is leaving creative professionals in the cold.
LOL. Your 'assurances' are like sand.
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showpr...odid=FS-237-OK
Yeah, no. You're implying nearly £700 PCs are the majority sold, which is rubbish. (And before you pull a "Hurr sure fanboy!" I have a home-built gaming PC.) However I do agree with previous posters that I wish Apple would pull their socks up with graphics. However it's not all on Apple's shoulders and it would unfair to say that. nVidia and ATi need to do better drivers.
Wager?
Nah, I'd love for Apple to prove me wrong, I just don't think it's in them — they've never seemed to show any interest in Mac gaming except at Stevenotes, where it evaporates the millisecond he leaves the stage. I'd never presume to have any insider information, just seeing how Apple's behaved on the subject in the past. In my eyes, that only makes the work of you and the rest of Valve all the more impressive.
Edit: Also, I managed to get 10.6.4 fully up and running (including wi-fi and audio, which had previously been sticking points) on my Hackintosh since my last post, and Source games see a definite improvement in framerate and shader correctness vs. the 10.5.8 I use regularly (i.e. janky bright water in HL2 = no more). About 2-3x in most situations, as long as I keep AA, motion blur, etc. off. It does give me a tiny glimmer of hope.
I'm a content creator who relies on OpenGL and current graphics cards. I worked on a AAA game title for Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 and I teach 3D for a living.
As a content creator, the Mac platform has become so unviable, my next Mac will be a PC. A Hackintosh.
OpenGL performance being slower than linux, let alone Windows, isn't even the reason. It's the 2-3 year old cards with 256MB VRam.
When I said 1GB DDR5 is standard, I meant mainstream and affordable. The option doesn't even exist on Mac, which tops out at a 'whopping' 512MB VRAM in the most expensive models.
Sorry if I seem bitter; I feel let down by Apple, and my bitterness grows with each new Mac touting graphics power that was lame two years ago. Photoshop wants VRAM, Maya ants VRAM, Mudbox wants VRAM, and even if I was a billionaire, there is still no Mac for me.
I'm a content creator, not a consumer, and the Mac is leaving creative professionals in the cold.
Absolutely. Apple needs to get their shit onboard. Wasn't part of the reason to move to Intel chips to get more hardware compatibility? WTF. They need to get some beefier video cards.
For sure part of the problem is convincing Nvidia and ATI to support cards that Apple doesn't sell as OEM. There just isn't a secondary market on the mac for video cards - which blows.