Welcome to the MacNN Forums.

If this is your first visit, be sure to check out the FAQ by clicking the link above. You may have to register before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages, select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below.

You are here: MacNN Forums > Enthusiast Zone > Gaming > Why do people even try to play games on macs??

Why do people even try to play games on macs??
Thread Tools
Duffman_108
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Join Date: May 2004
Location: USA CA
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
May 30, 2004, 11:35 PM
 
Apple should should get more involed into gaming. If apple got into gaming more than music and graphics more people would go to mac. The mane reson why i use a pc is manly for gaming. More better games such as half-life, battle field 1942 and vietnam are on pc. If mac had more games i would use mac more, but right now its pc.
( Last edited by Duffman_108; May 31, 2004 at 12:06 AM. )
DuFfMaN_108 the true PC GAMER!!! since 1998
     
mac freak
Mac Elite
Join Date: Jun 2000
Location: Highland Park, IL / Santa Monica, CA
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
May 31, 2004, 12:38 AM
 
If we never tried, how would the situation ever improve?
For what it's worth, several games (such as WoW and Halo) run better on my Dp1.8 G5 than my 3 Ghz PC (the G5 has a slightly better video card, but I figure the inefficient programming inherent to most Mac ports makes up for that).
Be happy.
     
Graymalkin
Mac Elite
Join Date: May 2001
Location: ~/
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
May 31, 2004, 12:58 AM
 
Originally posted by Duffman_108:
does any here use Internet Explorer on your mac any more? I dont use it all i use is safari.
So which is it, do you use your PC or Mac more often? There's little Apple can do to get companies to port thait games to the platform. They support OpenGL, have an awesome audio API, and have nice quality video hardware in their systems. After that it is up to the game programmers or publishers to port games. Many games do not get ported. Quite a few however do. Companies like Aspyr, MacPlay, and MacSoft usually do a really nice job releasing ported PC games on the Mac. Some of these companies release ports only months after the PC versions hits shelves. Larger developers like id and Blizzard start making Mac ports from the onset of their game development.
     
Lateralus
Moderator Emeritus
Join Date: Sep 2001
Location: Arizona
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
May 31, 2004, 01:00 AM
 
Originally posted by Duffman_108:
Apple should should get more involed into gaming. If apple got into gaming more than music and graphics more people would go to mac. The mane reson why i use a pc is manly for gaming. More better games such as half-life, battle field 1942 and vietnam are on pc. If mac had more games i would use mac more, but right now its pc.
Literacy is the first rite of passage to Mac ownership.
( Last edited by Lateralus; Jun 2, 2004 at 10:24 AM. )
I like chicken
I like liver
Meow Mix, Meow Mix
Please de-liv-er
     
redJag
Senior User
Join Date: Dec 2002
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
May 31, 2004, 01:40 AM
 
If Apple was dead serious about gaming they'd license DirectX from Microsoft and port it. Wallah, all of a sudden it is CRAZY easy to port games to mac. However, I don't want them to do that simply because OpenGL is, well, an open standard.
Travis Sanderson
     
ringo68
Banned
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Pepperland
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
May 31, 2004, 01:41 AM
 
Because of space. Sure, I could build a gaming PC for cheap...but then what? Where would I put it? I don't have room for a big ugly PC box to sit anywhere, nor the monitor, keyboard and mouse. My current iMac (1ghz g4 w 64 meg DDR geforce 4 mx) runs halo fine, and UT2004 admirably.

But for most games, I use the PS2.

- Rob
     
Duffman_108  (op)
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Join Date: May 2004
Location: USA CA
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
May 31, 2004, 02:04 AM
 
I use mac and pc about the same, and i dont use IE on pc i use firefox,i stop useing IE along time ago. I manly just want to see more games go onto mac, if that would happen i would leave pc and only use mac.
DuFfMaN_108 the true PC GAMER!!! since 1998
     
mac freak
Mac Elite
Join Date: Jun 2000
Location: Highland Park, IL / Santa Monica, CA
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
May 31, 2004, 02:33 AM
 
You really love that poking stick smily... lol.
Be happy.
     
thePurpleGiant
Mac Elite
Join Date: May 2001
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
May 31, 2004, 03:18 AM
 


Wow guys this smilie is cool!












     
MindFad
Posting Junkie
Join Date: Sep 2001
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
May 31, 2004, 03:36 AM
 
I'm posting this smiley:

     
thePurpleGiant
Mac Elite
Join Date: May 2001
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
May 31, 2004, 04:54 AM
 
Originally posted by MindFad:
I'm posting this smiley:

lol.











lol
     
Link
Professional Poster
Join Date: Jun 2003
Location: Hyrule
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
May 31, 2004, 05:07 AM
 
Originally posted by Duffman_108:
Apple should should get more involed into gaming. If apple got into gaming more than music and graphics more people would go to mac. The mane reson why i use a pc is manly for gaming. More better games such as half-life, battle field 1942 and vietnam are on pc. If mac had more games i would use mac more, but right now its pc.
Is English your primary language?

If it is, you should be ashamed of yourself. If it isn't, you should still be ashamed of yourself as most people who learn english as a second language try ultra hard to make it look right.

Nevertheless, gaming isn't the primary reason I bought a mac, though it was a small incentive. Considering OS X has more commercial games than almost any other linux/BSD distro I'm happy
Aloha
     
Ozzpot
Mac Enthusiast
Join Date: Nov 2003
Location: Leafy Suburban London
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
May 31, 2004, 05:27 AM
 
I really hate the way PCs have become primarily games consoles. I work in a PC store, and have to sell PCs day after day. Invariably people are only interested in how well each model will play games. My colleagues use their PCs exclusively for this purpose, and whenever we argue about the virtues of Macs over PCs, they always use the old Myth of "Macs can't play games". They weren't happy when I brought my iBook in and showed them UT2004. It ran it better than our shop PC - a P4 2.6. Oh yeah, and my iBook didn't blue screen twice whilst trying to load the game!

I use consoles for gaming anyway. I have an XBOX (easily the best by a long way and pretty much the only one I use), a Playstation 2, a GameCube, a DreamCast, an N64 and an Atari Jaguar. All of them running through a 32" TV and 5.1 speakers. I would rather that any day than waiting for a PC or Mac game to load up, and then squinting at a 14" screen.

iMac G5 17" 2.0ghz 1.5gb RAM MacOS10.4 • iBook G4 14" 933mhz 768mb RAM MacOS10.4 • iPod Touch 16gb
     
Duffman_108  (op)
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Join Date: May 2004
Location: USA CA
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
May 31, 2004, 08:24 PM
 
All i got to say again is Mac should be more into games.


I love this icon
DuFfMaN_108 the true PC GAMER!!! since 1998
     
Ozzpot
Mac Enthusiast
Join Date: Nov 2003
Location: Leafy Suburban London
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
May 31, 2004, 08:33 PM
 
They'd certainly sell far more that way.
iMac G5 17" 2.0ghz 1.5gb RAM MacOS10.4 • iBook G4 14" 933mhz 768mb RAM MacOS10.4 • iPod Touch 16gb
     
a2daj
Mac Elite
Join Date: Mar 2000
Location: Edmonds, WA, USA
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
Jun 1, 2004, 02:05 AM
 
Originally posted by redJag:
If Apple was dead serious about gaming they'd license DirectX from Microsoft and port it. Wallah, all of a sudden it is CRAZY easy to port games to mac. However, I don't want them to do that simply because OpenGL is, well, an open standard.
You trivialize just how much work goes into ports. Just because an API is available doesn't automatically make a port easy. As mentioned several times, major porting houses already have their DirectX porting libs that do pretty much what you mentioned without paying licensing fees. There are still architectural differences in the systems that porters have to deal with.
     
a2daj
Mac Elite
Join Date: Mar 2000
Location: Edmonds, WA, USA
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
Jun 1, 2004, 02:06 AM
 
Originally posted by Duffman_108:
All i got to say again is Mac should be more into games.


I love this icon
FYI, Apple is the company not Mac.
     
Horsepoo!!!
Banned
Join Date: Jun 2003
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
Jun 1, 2004, 08:54 AM
 
Probably the same reason people try to be productive on PCs...for shits and giggles.
     
Ryan Becker
Dedicated MacNNer
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Champaign, IL
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
Jun 1, 2004, 02:54 PM
 
Originally posted by Horsepoo!!!:
Probably the same reason people try to be productive on PCs...for shits and giggles.
I agree with Horsepoo...

The REAL question is, why do people try to work on PCs!?

Did you know that Halo started out as a Mac game, made on Macs, until Microsux came around and bought it out for the XBox.

-Ryan
800mhz 15" Flat Panel iMac G4, 32mb GeForce2MX, OS X (10.3), Maxtor 120gb & 250gb FireWire HDs, FireWire Zip 250, iSight
     
itai195
Addicted to MacNN
Join Date: May 2001
Location: Cupertino, CA
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
Jun 1, 2004, 03:13 PM
 
The top execs at Apple just do not take the game market seriously. What could they do about it? For one thing, throw some money around, maybe acquire some quality developers, and provide more support for third party game developers. Also, they should position their products as more game friendly... for example, the top of the line G5 ships with a 64MB video card, and the only 128MB option is $300 more. That's kind of ridiculous.

I don't expect them to persuade every game developer to develop games for the Mac, but they can at least start making some noise and showing some interest in the market as gaming is a big factor in consumer PC sales.
     
Ryan Becker
Dedicated MacNNer
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Champaign, IL
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
Jun 1, 2004, 03:46 PM
 
Originally posted by itai195:
The top execs at Apple just do not take the game market seriously. What could they do about it? For one thing, throw some money around, maybe acquire some quality developers, and provide more support for third party game developers. Also, they should position their products as more game friendly... for example, the top of the line G5 ships with a 64MB video card, and the only 128MB option is $300 more. That's kind of ridiculous.

I don't expect them to persuade every game developer to develop games for the Mac, but they can at least start making some noise and showing some interest in the market as gaming is a big factor in consumer PC sales.
I think it's completely understandable why Apple doesn't care about the gaming market, and they probably never will.

They make computers for professionals and creative types, not for a bunch of high schoolers to "pwn" eachother.

PC users make such a big deal about gaming because it's one of the few things PCs do well, and that's not a compliment.

-Ryan
800mhz 15" Flat Panel iMac G4, 32mb GeForce2MX, OS X (10.3), Maxtor 120gb & 250gb FireWire HDs, FireWire Zip 250, iSight
     
itai195
Addicted to MacNN
Join Date: May 2001
Location: Cupertino, CA
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
Jun 1, 2004, 04:29 PM
 
Originally posted by Ryan Becker:
I think it's completely understandable why Apple doesn't care about the gaming market, and they probably never will.

They make computers for professionals and creative types, not for a bunch of high schoolers to "pwn" eachother.
And I thought Apple was in business to make money.

BTW, Apple makes computers for home use as well, and buyers in that market have a broad range of interests.
     
Ryan Becker
Dedicated MacNNer
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Champaign, IL
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
Jun 1, 2004, 04:55 PM
 
Originally posted by itai195:
And I thought Apple was in business to make money.
Oh, then you obviously don't know too much about Apple.

Lately they have become more money orientated, but that's not how they've been in the past.

-Ryan
800mhz 15" Flat Panel iMac G4, 32mb GeForce2MX, OS X (10.3), Maxtor 120gb & 250gb FireWire HDs, FireWire Zip 250, iSight
     
itai195
Addicted to MacNN
Join Date: May 2001
Location: Cupertino, CA
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
Jun 1, 2004, 05:24 PM
 
Originally posted by Ryan Becker:
Oh, then you obviously don't know too much about Apple.

Lately they have become more money orientated, but that's not how they've been in the past.
Look I don't want to disappoint you, but like any other business, Apple wants to make money. Perhaps they are not as motivated by profit as Microsoft, but if we place them on a pedestal then we'll only set ourselves up for disappointment. The main reason Apple doesn't take gaming seriously is because its executives don't personally care for the market. I'm sure that's fine with Microsoft, they're glad to take in all the profits without any competition from Apple. I'd just rather not hear Steve Jobs keep talking about market share while paying lip service to the games market. And I don't mean to be unnecessarily harsh on Apple, this is what I observed in the time I was fortunate enough to work there.
( Last edited by itai195; Jun 1, 2004 at 05:30 PM. )
     
a2daj
Mac Elite
Join Date: Mar 2000
Location: Edmonds, WA, USA
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
Jun 1, 2004, 05:25 PM
 
Originally posted by Ryan Becker:
Did you know that Halo started out as a Mac game, made on Macs, until Microsux came around and bought it out for the XBox.

-Ryan
That's not correct. It was being developed primarily on PCs. It was privately displayed on PCs at the E3 preceding the official Halo MWNY appearance. In fact, the Mac version wasn't even working 10 days before the keynote. They had to show off the PC version to Jobs.
     
Ryan Becker
Dedicated MacNNer
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Champaign, IL
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
Jun 1, 2004, 05:38 PM
 
Originally posted by a2daj:
That's not correct. It was being developed primarily on PCs. It was privately displayed on PCs at the E3 preceding the official Halo MWNY appearance. In fact, the Mac version wasn't even working 10 days before the keynote. They had to show off the PC version to Jobs.
Not sure where you got that info, but that's not what I heard. I had heard that Bungie was/is a Mac using company and had originally planned Halo for Macs.

But whatever, it doesn't really matter to me... I'm not a big fan of the game either way.

-Ryan
800mhz 15" Flat Panel iMac G4, 32mb GeForce2MX, OS X (10.3), Maxtor 120gb & 250gb FireWire HDs, FireWire Zip 250, iSight
     
a2daj
Mac Elite
Join Date: Mar 2000
Location: Edmonds, WA, USA
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
Jun 1, 2004, 05:53 PM
 
Originally posted by Ryan Becker:
Not sure where you got that info, but that's not what I heard. I had heard that Bungie was/is a Mac using company and had originally planned Halo for Macs.

But whatever, it doesn't really matter to me... I'm not a big fan of the game either way.

-Ryan
I got my information from inteviews with various Bungie employees including a video interview with Jason Jones.
     
Lateralus
Moderator Emeritus
Join Date: Sep 2001
Location: Arizona
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
Jun 1, 2004, 08:40 PM
 
Originally posted by Ryan Becker:
Oh, then you obviously don't know too much about Apple.

Lately they have become more money orientated, but that's not how they've been in the past.

-Ryan
I disagree with that completely.

The problem with Apple was that they were always profit oriented and not marketshare oriented. If they had been more aggressive on pricing in the early 90s, the Mac marketshare would be substantially larger now. But they had to protect their huge profit margin, which was at the time and up until recently, larger than the profit margin of any other personal computer manufacturer per unit.
I like chicken
I like liver
Meow Mix, Meow Mix
Please de-liv-er
     
Applefreak01
Senior User
Join Date: Jun 2000
Location: Nebraska
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
Jun 1, 2004, 09:25 PM
 
Apple tried to get into games with the Pippen console. Maybe they could try again leaning from their mistakes from last time.

If it had better specs than the Xbox 2 and a wide game selection I would buy a Apple brand console in a heart beat.
[Riding a circus elephant]
Peter: Look Lois, the two smybols of the Republican Party: an elephant, and a fat white guy who is threatened by change. - Family Guy
     
lookmark
Mac Elite
Join Date: May 2001
Location: NYC
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
Jun 1, 2004, 09:57 PM
 
Heh. Apple will release another game console just right after hell freezes over. And that's not a "hell freezes over" like ITMS for Windows. It's like.. hell actually freezing over.

The video game market is something Apple doesn't understand very well, has no leverage in, and (most importantly) isn't particularly interested in. It's a mammoth task to compete against Sony, MS, and Nintendo (MS was able to do as their resources are practically endless, and, paranoid as always, they sensed a far-off danger, in the unlikely chance that a next-next generation console will replace a PC). It's all struggle with the slimmest chance of success.

It seems to me that Apple does all that they can do, given the tiny Mac market and their limited resources. They're working on making OpenGL as good as possible in OS X, they work with game developers (though probably not as much as the devs would like), and promote developers' efforts, and introduce extreme newbies to the entire genre, over at http://www.apple.com/games .

This is much, much better than Apple used to do -- they used to attempt to actively dissuade game development, fearful of the myth that the Mac "was only a toy.") And in fact, the Mac game market is actually rather healthier than it's been in several years. You should seen the Mac games available in the late 80s to mid 90s. Not a pretty sight.

What more do you want...?
     
Applefreak01
Senior User
Join Date: Jun 2000
Location: Nebraska
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
Jun 1, 2004, 10:09 PM
 
I know they will never release another console again. I was just saying if they do decide to try it again and pull it out of their a then I would get one. But like you said that would never happen and if they did the couldn't compete against MS, Sony, and Nintendo.

Only wishful thinking. One can think wishfully from time to time can't they.
[Riding a circus elephant]
Peter: Look Lois, the two smybols of the Republican Party: an elephant, and a fat white guy who is threatened by change. - Family Guy
     
ringo68
Banned
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Pepperland
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
Jun 1, 2004, 10:39 PM
 
Originally posted by a2daj:
That's not correct. It was being developed primarily on PCs. It was privately displayed on PCs at the E3 preceding the official Halo MWNY appearance. In fact, the Mac version wasn't even working 10 days before the keynote. They had to show off the PC version to Jobs.
Wrong.
     
a2daj
Mac Elite
Join Date: Mar 2000
Location: Edmonds, WA, USA
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
Jun 1, 2004, 11:27 PM
 
Originally posted by ringo68:
Wrong.
Oops, sorry. It was 12 days, not 10 days:

http://marathon.bungie.org/story/jjonesmwny99.html
     
Duffman_108  (op)
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Join Date: May 2004
Location: USA CA
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
Jun 2, 2004, 12:23 AM
 
itai195 wrote
The top execs at Apple just do not take the game market seriously. What could they do about it? For one thing, throw some money around, maybe acquire some quality developers, and provide more support for third party game developers. Also, they should position their products as more game friendly... for example, the top of the line G5 ships with a 64MB video card, and the only 128MB option is $300 more. That's kind of ridiculous.

I don't expect them to persuade every game developer to develop games for the Mac, but they can at least start making some noise and showing some interest in the market as gaming is a big factor in consumer PC sales.
I agree with you big time on that.
( Last edited by Duffman_108; Jun 2, 2004 at 12:44 AM. )
DuFfMaN_108 the true PC GAMER!!! since 1998
     
Holigen
Mac Elite
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: In Your Computer
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
Jun 2, 2004, 12:49 AM
 
a2daj generally knows his/her stuff. From what Ive seen in his/her posts in this forum and IMG forums, he/she can more than easily hold his/her own. I wouldnt go toe to toe with him/her on something llike this...

Trying to be politically correct...

.: 15" PowerBook G4 - 1.5 GHz - 512 MB RAM - ATI Mobility Radeon 9700 128 MB VRAM - 80 GB HD @ 5400 rpm :.
     
goMac
Posting Junkie
Join Date: May 2001
Location: Portland, OR
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
Jun 2, 2004, 01:43 AM
 
The Pippen was a failure because it was NOT a game console, rather a full blown Mac. It was basically a set top Mac. No one needs or wants that. I wouldn't enjoy moving around my cursor on a controller and browsing the web.
8 Core 2.8 ghz Mac Pro/GF8800/2 23" Cinema Displays, 3.06 ghz Macbook Pro
Once you wanted revolution, now you're the institution, how's it feel to be the man?
     
itai195
Addicted to MacNN
Join Date: May 2001
Location: Cupertino, CA
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
Jun 2, 2004, 01:50 AM
 
Dredging up the ghost of Pippen lowers us all
     
Scott Kevill
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Join Date: Dec 2000
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
Jun 2, 2004, 03:13 AM
 
Originally posted by PowerMacMan:
Literacy is the first right of passage to Mac ownership.
Ahh, the irony. That should be "rite of passage."

Scott.
GameRanger - the Macintosh multiplayer online gaming service
     
Lateralus
Moderator Emeritus
Join Date: Sep 2001
Location: Arizona
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
Jun 2, 2004, 10:25 AM
 
No, I'm just stupid. Still litterate though. I spelled right correctly at least.
I like chicken
I like liver
Meow Mix, Meow Mix
Please de-liv-er
     
Ozzpot
Mac Enthusiast
Join Date: Nov 2003
Location: Leafy Suburban London
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
Jun 2, 2004, 10:31 AM
 
Originally posted by PowerMacMan:
No, I'm just stupid. Still litterate though. I spelled right correctly at least.
You have spelt litterate incorrectly. It should be literate!

iMac G5 17" 2.0ghz 1.5gb RAM MacOS10.4 • iBook G4 14" 933mhz 768mb RAM MacOS10.4 • iPod Touch 16gb
     
Ryan Becker
Dedicated MacNNer
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Champaign, IL
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
Jun 2, 2004, 01:00 PM
 
Originally posted by Scott Kevill:
Ahh, the irony. That should be "rite of passage."

Scott.
Hi Scott,

I just wanted to say thanks for making GameRanger! It's a great community.

-Ryan
800mhz 15" Flat Panel iMac G4, 32mb GeForce2MX, OS X (10.3), Maxtor 120gb & 250gb FireWire HDs, FireWire Zip 250, iSight
     
   
Thread Tools
 
Forum Links
Forum Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts
BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Top
Privacy Policy
All times are GMT -4. The time now is 08:24 PM.
All contents of these forums © 1995-2017 MacNN. All rights reserved.
Branding + Design: www.gesamtbild.com
vBulletin v.3.8.8 © 2000-2017, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.,