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So news hit recently that valve is about ready to release Steam/Source, and something called Steam Play, to the MAC. The latter being a utility which allows the player to seemingly switch between MAC and PC versions of the game if you own both types of computers (Portal 2 will be the first game getting a simultaneous PC/MAC release).
Fancy stuff, for sure, but honestly I'm not entirely convinced that this is a viable use of resources. Especially since Valves development for the PS3 has been woefully ignored in comparison to other platforms.
Valve/PC development and the xbox 360 are, of course, a perfect fit...at least in terms of development for similar architectures. But is the Macintosh really such a viable gaming platform that it's development precludes that of the PS3? Is the Macintosh install market for gaming really that huge? And considering the dire truth that PC gaming in general has been waining over the years I'm not so sure that gamers should take these current announcements with any type of real levity.
We cannot doubt that MAC usage has grown recently. Quanticast, a web analytics firm, as recently released numbers showing 10.9 percent of online users in North America signed on using MAC OS X ( a 30% increase over the past year). But I'm not completely convinced that the majority of these users are not signing on at a coffee shop to read the newest NPR news and are, instead, booting up World of Warcraft.
The only thing I can think of here is that Valve see's the MAC as some possibly fertile land that can be tilled. They might have seen the World of Warcraft MAC users number and want a piece of that pie. Personally, I don't see it happening. PC gaming is a slowly dying adventure and MAC gaming hardly ever existed in the first place. As consoles become more and more popular, and the PS3 install base grows thanks to the pre-holiday price cut, Valve is going to have to seriously look at giving more love to the console market.
Missions 1 Valve: Work with XBLA, and eventually PSN, to deliver to the console market the handiwork of the robust modding community that gave so much more life to your games in the first place.
-Joseph-
Comments
14 years, 1 month ago
I would think it is a mix of getting in on the ground floor and the fact that it is an open platform, which Valve can make more money off of versus the closed, fee-laden, console space. Plus the fact that the actual techincal hardware isn't really anything different from what a PC is. I'd be interested in how much actual investment it took.
14 years, 1 month ago
PC Gaming a dying adventure?!?! I disagree. You can't play games like Garry's Mod on consoles without it becoming a menu nightmare, and actually adding the endless amounts of avaliable mods to it would be impossible for a console to handle. And I'd like to see consoles try and play Crysis in the same manner as my PC. I'll never favour consoles over PC.
14 years, 1 month ago
Really, I think if microsoft did force them to charge for updates and things that would normally be free for pc, they would be more supportive for 360. And for ps3, well when the lead guy doesn't like developing for the system itself, your kind of up shit creak without a paddle, so to speak.
I do think there is enough of a mac base out there that would like this but ya, making a stronger console presense would be better. Maybe a portal Wii? it could happen and would probably sell well for that style of game.
14 years, 1 month ago
"PC gaming is a slowly dying adventure"
No.
14 years, 1 month ago
Mac gaming isn't too hard to port for. Internally I see alot of Core 2 Duos with a 8800 GT graphics card, great build from '07 and can play any ported 360/ps3 game. Glad they were able to finally find a way through the limitations of the OS, may help bring back a higher demand for quality games. (feel like crysis was the last hurrah for exclusives beside MMOs)
14 years, 1 month ago
Personally, Im really excited for this. I have a MacBook with a decent graphics card, the idea of having Team Fortress 2 or LFD2 on the go sounds awesome. Also, an excuse to play through the Half Life series again.
14 years, 1 month ago
“PC gaming is a slowly dying adventure”
No. It's small in the US, but it's alwasy been small in the US.
Up here in the scandinavia PC versions of games still outsell console versions.
Consoles sucks cause the developer can't do as they want with their games.
14 years, 1 month ago
Don't see it as developing for mac, see it as extending their Steam service, just like Sony making a PSP.
Valve don't need the money, they're swimming in the stuff so right now it makes sense to extend their own platform instead of branching out into other consoles.
Also the PC market may be smaller than the consoles, but considering that Valve is dominating with Steam, that size isn't a problem.
14 years, 1 month ago
Yea, I would say that the mac area for gaming is something Valve may be looking to grow upon, extending the service of steam, and definitely looking for to appeal to more people and more sales, wouldn't say this is the better choice, as I think Valve should set their sights on the console market as a first priority, I think we could see some really interesting stuff from them whether it be through smaller downloadable titles (XBLA/PSN) or even some cool things through the wii-mote.
14 years, 1 month ago
my prayers have been answered?