Mac vs PC Gaming
Hey guys just wanted to know what your thoughts are on PC Gaming against Mac Gaming.
I was looking around for good games but found myself seeing mostly games being developed for only PC instead of Mac. Is this because Macs have bad performance/no developer commitment on the platform or because the prices are too high on them?
These drawbacks keep many gamers away from Macs and I was thinking why doesn't Apple release more game development software besides xcode for iPhones/iPods and iPads. Or are game developers just smart enough to know that they won't be able to sell the games on the Mac Platform as good as on PC's?
Comments
Of course we'd like to see more.
Apple needs to get on the ball with OpenGL, though. They need to be the FIRST to support a feature, not the… well, I guess they're the last since they're leagues behind and seem to have no plans to support some at all…
Funny... I'll finally see what this pimped Alienware can do. I bought Call of Duty II and a TactX mouse.
What would be really funny is if you tried without the power cable attached. Tell us how long it takes for the computer to shut down. Of course it will play Call of Duty 2 better than say a Macbook Pro toy, which only gets:
http://www.notebookcheck.net/NVIDIA-GeForce-GT-650M.71887.0.html
41fps on Ultra in Call of Duty MW3. Still, it doesn't come in purple and doesn't weigh over 9lbs, which I'm sure has its benefits.
Sometimes games are done in DirectX so they have to be ported to OpenGL. Sometimes publishers like Microsoft limit developers to their platforms like 360/Windows. The Mac doesn't have as big of an audience (5% worldwide vs 90%+ Windows). Apple sells around 5 million Macs per quarter = 20m per year vs 330m PCs. This affects prices too because even if the gaming audience percentage was the same on both sides, it's over 10x higher volume for the Windows version. By the time the Mac version gets ported over, the PC version tends to be much lower in price.
If I had Apple's budget, I'd either bring a porting team like Aspyr/Feral in-house and make sure the biggest titles came over as soon as possible to launch if simultaneous wasn't possible and discount them where possible and possibly pay the original developers where possible to bring out a simultaneous release.
The reasons IMO have alot to do with:
1. No custom hardware in the Mac ecosystem (and no, a Mac Pro with Xeon processors isn't the most cost-effective way to go) - most PC gaming rigs are customized, usually with aftermarket GPUs. This is the cheapest and best way to build a gaming rig, since you can customize for your cooling needs, and maybe save money on a few components you won't need, while getting the biggest/best GPU possible.
2. Poor OpenGL support. Apple OSX 10.8.3, according to Apple's developer page, only supports OpenGL 3.2. Linux can support the most recent version, 4.3, and all of its features. Nvidia's Linux drivers are also on par with their Windows drivers, and Nvidia is by far the most common aftermarket GPU used in gaming rigs. This is why there's a huge push by Valve and others to support Linux now (also the fact that Linux installs very easily on nearly any hardware, and offers very good performance).
As long as Apple restricts their hardware (and makes it impossible to throw in a massive GPU like the Nvidia GTX Titan), they'll lag behind Windows and even Linux in the future when it comes to gaming.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Marvin
Sometimes games are done in DirectX so they have to be ported to OpenGL. Sometimes publishers like Microsoft limit developers to their platforms like 360/Windows. The Mac doesn't have as big of an audience (5% worldwide vs 90%+ Windows). Apple sells around 5 million Macs per quarter = 20m per year vs 330m PCs. This affects prices too because even if the gaming audience percentage was the same on both sides, it's over 10x higher volume for the Windows version. By the time the Mac version gets ported over, the PC version tends to be much lower in price.
If I had Apple's budget, I'd either bring a porting team like Aspyr/Feral in-house and make sure the biggest titles came over as soon as possible to launch if simultaneous wasn't possible and discount them where possible and possibly pay the original developers where possible to bring out a simultaneous release.
Holy Jenkins! I had no idea that was the ratio. 20 million vs 330 million. They should start adding a gaming section to their website to boost sales because that's just sad. Steve Jobs was into games back in the 90's and up to Doom 3. The iMac website doesn't show anything about gaming. But for the prices that the lowest tier Macs sell at they should all be able to run games higher than 30 FPS and not just have Intel Integrated Graphics even with the new Haswells coming out.
I'm also intrigued by the overclocking scene of gaming. Graphics cards cost a lot though. The GTX 690 and the Titan are roughly the same price as a new Macbook Air so only about 1% of the world own them. If there was a way to decrease the costs of them or go into the future to get one at a lower price I would.
And now I understand why games are mostly on PC's. Thanks Marvin and to you Talest Skil for inputting me on Mac Gaming. They should have been focusing more on Gaming even before Steve Jobs died, that's why people buy and build PC's.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Marvin
What would be really funny is if you tried without the power cable attached. Tell us how long it takes for the computer to shut down. Of course it will play Call of Duty 2 better than say a Macbook Pro toy, which only gets:
http://www.notebookcheck.net/NVIDIA-GeForce-GT-650M.71887.0.html
41fps on Ultra in Call of Duty MW3. Still, it doesn't come in purple and doesn't weigh over 9lbs, which I'm sure has its benefits.
Sometimes games are done in DirectX so they have to be ported to OpenGL. Sometimes publishers like Microsoft limit developers to their platforms like 360/Windows. The Mac doesn't have as big of an audience (5% worldwide vs 90%+ Windows). Apple sells around 5 million Macs per quarter = 20m per year vs 330m PCs. This affects prices too because even if the gaming audience percentage was the same on both sides, it's over 10x higher volume for the Windows version. By the time the Mac version gets ported over, the PC version tends to be much lower in price.
If I had Apple's budget, I'd either bring a porting team like Aspyr/Feral in-house and make sure the biggest titles came over as soon as possible to launch if simultaneous wasn't possible and discount them where possible and possibly pay the original developers where possible to bring out a simultaneous release.
So it doesn't come in purple... so much for the Apple fans talking about the beauty of their products without talking about the guts inside.
And I'm about 3 steps above the N 650. Your last paragraph I agree with 100%.
It's not much to do with marketing really, it's the average selling price. The average selling price of a PC is ~$500. While Apple sells the Mac Mini at that, the full bundles are nowhere near it. There's no way they can sell a mouse, keyboard, display and computer for $500. Even if they had a $200 24" display and a keyboard and mouse for $50, you're still at $850. PC manufacturers sell machines with very low margins on them too (typically less than 5% net) whereas Apple has healthy 20-25% net margins.
The volumes do look pretty low but it's more accurate to think about owners than buyers. They gave an indication of the Mac install base last year at 66 million and said that was 3x what it was 5 years previous. This is in the region of the people who own an XBox or PS3, although people who own Macs don't all play games so there's a long way to go.
I actually think the SteamPlay idea has gone a long way towards helping boost the Mac profile for gaming. Getting simultaneous Windows and Mac digital versions is great.
I just read it over again and I'm not sure I could have possibly used the word 'possibly' more, though I suppose it's possible.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Marvin
It's not much to do with marketing really, it's the average selling price. The average selling price of a PC is ~$500. While Apple sells the Mac Mini at that, the full bundles are nowhere near it. There's no way they can sell a mouse, keyboard, display and computer for $500. Even if they had a $200 24" display and a keyboard and mouse for $50, you're still at $850. PC manufacturers sell machines with very low margins on them too (typically less than 5% net) whereas Apple has healthy 20-25% net margins.
The volumes do look pretty low but it's more accurate to think about owners than buyers. They gave an indication of the Mac install base last year at 66 million and said that was 3x what it was 5 years previous. This is in the region of the people who own an XBox or PS3, although people who own Macs don't all play games so there's a long way to go.
I actually think the SteamPlay idea has gone a long way towards helping boost the Mac profile for gaming. Getting simultaneous Windows and Mac digital versions is great.
I just read it over again and I'm not sure I could have possibly used the word 'possibly' more, though I suppose it's possible.
I get it and like it. The dry stuff that flies over most peeps.