Apple is pushing hard to make the Mac relevant in gaming
Apple is taking a giant leap in the gaming world, with executives revealing plans to harness the power of Apple Silicon to transform the Mac into a premier gaming platform.
Apple still wants the Mac in gaming
Apple is making bold moves to transform the Mac into a formidable gaming platform in a significant shift from its small presence in the gaming industry. With a legacy that dates back to the introduction of the Macintosh in 1984, which revolutionized the use of the mouse and indirectly shaped computer gaming, Apple's journey in the gaming sphere has been marked by missed opportunities.
However, the introduction of Apple Silicon signifies a pivotal change in that trajectory, according to an in-depth interview by Raymond Wong at Inverse.
In the interview, Mac product marketing manager Gordon Keppel underscores the transformative nature of Apple Silicon.
"Now, every Mac that ships with Apple silicon can play AAA games pretty fantastically," he said. "Apple silicon has been transformative of our mainstream systems that got tremendous boosts in graphics with M1, M2, and now with M3."
The Mac's history with gaming has been complicated, with early hardware limitations significantly hampering its gaming potential. However, the introduction of Apple Silicon marks a departure from this narrative.
The M3 family of chips, in particular, brings features like hardware-accelerated ray-tracing and mesh shading to the table, previously uncharted territories for Macs. These advancements are about keeping pace and setting new benchmarks in gaming experiences.
Apple's strategy extends beyond just hardware. An Apple software marketing manager, Leland Martin, explains the unified hardware platform approach, simplifying game development across Apple devices.
"If you look at the Mac lineup just a few years ago, there was a mix of both integrated and discrete GPUs," Martin says. "That can add complexity when you're developing games. Because you have multiple different hardware permutations to consider."
"Today, we've effectively eliminated that completely with Apple silicon, creating a unified gaming platform now across iPhone, iPad, and Mac."
The ambition is clear -- Apple is not just trying to catch up but aiming to redefine what gaming on a Mac can be. The company knows that the gaming industry is constantly evolving.
With a vast and growing Apple Silicon Mac install base, the potential for developers and users alike is immense.
"Gaming was fundamentally part of the Apple silicon design," Doug Brooks, also on the Mac product marketing team, said. "Before a chip even exists, gaming is fundamentally incorporated during those early planning stages and then throughout development. I think, big picture, when we design our chips, we really look at building balanced systems that provide great CPU, GPU, and memory performance."
As Apple continues innovating and pushing the boundaries of what's possible with Mac gaming, the industry watches closely. The transformation of the Mac into a gaming platform is a work in progress, with each advancement bringing Apple one step closer to relevance in the space.
Read on AppleInsider
Comments
I'm also a gamer. I have a gaming PC, a Series X, and a Switch. I spend serious money on games (although none of it on any Apple platform). It's one hobby among many that I have, but one that brings me a lot of joy. I even have a few games I play competitively, having won money as part of a game team.
The difference in communities—players, developers, modders, streamers, etc.—between literally any other platform and Apple's is stark to a degree few realize, including Apple. Sure, encouraging developers to bring games to the Mac is great. Not going to criticize a bold first move. But this fawning press coverage about how Apple is taking gaming "seriously" is laugh-out-loud funny. Apple is finally paying the most basic attention to gaming. But that's just one step along a continuum that is miles long. Maybe that will make people who don't know any better think that the Mac is a "gaming platform." For the broader gaming community, it's not even worth a minute's consideration.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sdXX5Me2m6A. Molina
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SQ7flQhzvnQ. Fibi
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/yO9lWrke9oE GoodNotes
Yes Apple needs to create/sponsor 2 new games designed to take advantage of the M series hardware at it's best, but more importantly Apple needs to design/support any bridge software to make writing games easier and that also applies to any AI software needed to bridge-network multiple Mac's together for inference, AI model work.
https://multiplatform.ai/apple-emerges-as-the-preferred-choice-for-ai-developers-in-harnessing-large-scale-open-source-llms/
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=37846387
I think the articles should say that Apple is trying to reboot gaming on the mac. Apple has the largest mobile gaming platform and has a quality development platform. Apple has completely abandon the X86 platform so trying to attract game developers the old way is a waste of time. Getting developers to develop games that span from mobile to desktop is probably Apples best bet. Also of course providing the tools to move games from traditional gaming platforms to the Apple platform.
Apple will not support alternative video cards so the tools to port to Apples alternative is paramount, along with continued hardware development.
The other thing that I would like to see from Apple that I think would help with this transition is a version of the Apple TV with the power level closer to a Mac than an iPhone.
Gaming is a huge market, one that I don't truly appreciate, but those in this industry that do not see this Apple transformation will miss a huge opportunity.
In the G3-G5 days the Mac market share was insignificant and the effort needed to port games was great, so very few companies did it.
In the Intel days the market share was largely still small and the majority of the computers that Apple sold came with shitty integrated graphics that were not suitable for gaming.
Now every Mac sold is genuinely able to play AAA games and the market share is much larger than it was.
No, it won’t match a dedicated PC gaming rig, but most games sold on the PC are not played on those anyway.
I don’t game too often, two young kids and a hefty mortgage have seen to that. Still, I’ve very much enjoyed playing Baldur’s Gate 3 on my MacBook Pro recently and look forward to other releases in the future. if they’d not released it on the Mac I’d not have bought it.
The thing that solidifies it is when people actually spend money on the games. This is the only way to make it self perpetuating.
The base A17 Pro/M3 will be the baseline for AAA games. So the hardware effort has been launched.
Logically, if Apple is truly going to make a go of it, the. next step will be developer tools - oh... That's already done?
Gee, sounds like it's a real thing then.
The next step will be the founding of a first-party game studio/purchase of an existing AAA studio - or three. Even one exclusive/timed exclusive/semi-exclusive game per year would be huge. And third parties adding to that would be a good start. But Apple actively recruiting third-party contracts would be the way to go. They have made some baby steps in this regard, but a serious effort would be massive. With Apple's fan base combined with gaming fans, Apple wouldn't know what hit them with the financial additions and fan growth.
Getting the M3 into an affordable hardware "Apple Arcade" would be a great move. in addition to the computer/device ecosystem.
I expect to see more news on this front at WWDC.
Like how Lego has branded a whole bunch of sets 18+ and now doesn't lose teenagers and has recaptured the parents. The money is still in the hands of the Adults and Young-Adults (with first jobs) who don't want to be left out and in many ways are rediscovering "play" as a brain-health exercise. Or they are just saying that to keep the player without getting too much stick.
If Apple are serious about games they need to be talking to the studios that have dropped them as a platform and work out what would get those titles back on the platform.
I know a teen that does some gaming on an M1 MacMini, and all his mates have PCs - but the M1 actually runs the games he can play on it better than his mates PCs do (faster framerates and better render distance for example).
Obviously the games playable on M1 are limited, so he uses an old Intel Mac with bootcamp for other games and that iMac runs these other games far better than his mates PCs too.
The M1 Mac Mini cost as much when new as the mates low-end PCs but the iMac cost significantly more when it was bought. The equivalent iMac still costs more than the low-end PCs if bought second-hand.
My point is that Apple Silicon does not have to beat the top-end PCs with 4090 GPUs, as most gamers do not have high-end PCs.
I’m pretty sure the M3 would be a great gaming platform if developers would ship games that can run on it - the developers need incentivising/subsidising from Apple imho.
If I were Apple I wouldn't pay any of these flaky game companies, this being Apple anything done aside from software gaming infrastructure needs to fly under the radar until ready. Could be in motion already?