[Forte]

An article was posted on Slashdot earlier, posing the question of "What [other] games are missing from Mac OS X?". It turned into a bit of a bash-fest of numerous OSes, though, so I figured I'd pose the same question here.

To quote my own comment on it;
--
Anything by Capcom. Games from series like the (vast) Mega Man saga, Ghouls 'n' Ghosts, Street Fighter, Resident Evil, Viewtiful Joe, and so on and so forth would be great things to have on OS X.
It'd also be nice to see OS X versions of the recent Mega Man and Street Fighter "Anniversary Collection" packs (which were essentially digests of the primary installments in those series, along with some extras), purely for the fact that those would be great timewasters to play with on, say, a portable, when you really ought to be working or something.

Same goes for Konami. Some Mac-based Castlevania or Metal Gear action wouldn't go amiss.

I had also been hoping at one point to see Argonaut bring some of their franchises (old and new) to the platform - such as Croc, I-Ninja, and Starglider, for example. Given the recent events surrounding the company, though, that seems pretty unlikely at this point. :/ Ah well.

Those guys aside, I think a good solution to the situation with Mac games, would be for more encouragment and better support to be made available to developers, to encourage them to create games on the platform. There's a lot they could do, if they had the right incentives. This might also open the door for more new-and-original content than is already available, which may well be a better thing than getting bogged down with ports (not to say those are always a bad thing, of course, although I'd rather see more developers take the approach that Blizzard does as opposed to getting ports done later, but that's another kettle of fish entirely. ;P).
--

Any thoughts?

[Leonard]

The thing is, I don't think there is much money in porting old games. If there was, you'd see these ported over. There's got to be money in it for a game porter to look at it and give it the time it deserves to be ported. I too would like to see the Resident Evil series and the Tribes series, but they're old, and game players won't pay much for them. I think it's better that the game porting companies concentrate on the newer games - we finally got C&C Generals after many years of the C&C series abandoning the Mac. I think the game porting companies are doing a great job, the only minor beef I have is when the game gets ported a year later.

[gbafan]

Apple is too busy riding the iPod/iTunes pipe dream to notice gaming at this point.

Once they start losing market share in the music arena will they look at games again? Doubtful.

Am I cynical? Hell yes. The last time Apple tempted fate with gaming was WAY back with the Pippin; I really don't think they'll do anything like that anytime soon.

Apple did not create the iMac to be a gaming machine. It was developed to be trojan horse to get into the homes of consumers to sell music and iPods. Apple is really a music focused company at the moment; I refer back to their latest earnings report for proof.

[Buck_Naked]

Originally posted by Forte:
An article was posted on Slashdot earlier, posing the question of "What [other] games are missing from Mac OS X?". It turned into a bit of a bash-fest of numerous OSes, though, so I figured I'd pose the same question here.

To quote my own comment on it;
--
Anything by Capcom. Games from series like the (vast) Mega Man saga, Ghouls 'n' Ghosts, Street Fighter, Resident Evil, Viewtiful Joe, and so on and so forth would be great things to have on OS X.
It'd also be nice to see OS X versions of the recent Mega Man and Street Fighter "Anniversary Collection" packs (which were essentially digests of the primary installments in those series, along with some extras), purely for the fact that those would be great timewasters to play with on, say, a portable, when you really ought to be working or something.

Same goes for Konami. Some Mac-based Castlevania or Metal Gear action wouldn't go amiss.

I had also been hoping at one point to see Argonaut bring some of their franchises (old and new) to the platform - such as Croc, I-Ninja, and Starglider, for example. Given the recent events surrounding the company, though, that seems pretty unlikely at this point. :/ Ah well.

Those guys aside, I think a good solution to the situation with Mac games, would be for more encouragment and better support to be made available to developers, to encourage them to create games on the platform. There's a lot they could do, if they had the right incentives. This might also open the door for more new-and-original content than is already available, which may well be a better thing than getting bogged down with ports (not to say those are always a bad thing, of course, although I'd rather see more developers take the approach that Blizzard does as opposed to getting ports done later, but that's another kettle of fish entirely. ;P).
--
Any thoughts?

How was your comment moderated? I could mod it up if you would like
I have five mod point to burn by Tuesday.

[Forte]

I too would like to see the Resident Evil series and the Tribes series, but they're old, and game players won't pay much for them. I think it's better that the game porting companies concentrate on the newer games

I actually meant newer games - I should've clarified that a bit better. All of the series I mentioned (apart from Argonaut's, and even there I was hoping for new content) are still ongoing. ^^;

How was your comment moderated? I could mod it up if you would like
I have five mod point to burn by Tuesday.

Heheh, that's a very nice offer, but it kind of feels like "cheating" to me, so I'll pass... ^^;; To my knowledge, though, it hasn't been moderated at all. XD Ah well. I guess that's how it goes.

[James L]

Originally posted by gbafan:
Apple did not create the iMac to be a gaming machine. It was developed to be trojan horse to get into the homes of consumers to sell music and iPods. Apple is really a music focused company at the moment; I refer back to their latest earnings report for proof. [/B]

Interesting thought, but considering the first iMac was released in September 1998 and the first iPod was released in October 2001, 3 years plus a month is a long time to pre-release a machine that's sole purpose was to promote sales of the iPod.

Factor in the fact that the iTunes music store did not come out until April of 2003, and you are saying that Apple released the iMac 3 years ahead of MP3 players, and 5 years ahead of the music store. That is a whole lot of long term vision!

[gbafan]

Originally posted by James L:
Interesting thought, but considering the first iMac was released in September 1998 and the first iPod was released in October 2001, 3 years plus a month is a long time to pre-release a machine that's sole purpose was to promote sales of the iPod.

Factor in the fact that the iTunes music store did not come out until April of 2003, and you are saying that Apple released the iMac 3 years ahead of MP3 players, and 5 years ahead of the music store. That is a whole lot of long term vision!

No no... the vision has been a work in progress since the iPod boom a few years ago. Remember the first iMac? What a pile of CRT.

But now, now look at it? Nice and sleek like an iPod. Thin and white.

I hear what your saying about the past; but in the last two years Apple has been very music focused and I doubt that will change until the winds blow in another direction; it just won't be games.

[Randman]

Not sure if Apple should do the porting. I would think other companies would do it if there was a market. Though I would like to see Apple do something like M$ did with Bungie (just less ham-handed) and create some game in-house that truly kicks butt and take advantage of OSX.

[James L]

Originally posted by gbafan:
No no... the vision has been a work in progress since the iPod boom a few years ago. Remember the first iMac? What a pile of CRT.

But now, now look at it? Nice and sleek like an iPod. Thin and white.

I hear what your saying about the past; but in the last two years Apple has been very music focused and I doubt that will change until the winds blow in another direction; it just won't be games.

But, why should it change? The iPod design team does not detract from the Mac design team(s), they are separate. If anything, in the case of the recent iMac it has augmented the Mac design teams.

The iPod, and iTunes, has done exactly what Apple needed... increase market presence. If they make a ton of dough off of it too, all the better. Apple is selling over 3 million Macs per year, and I would venture a guess that many of them are because of people who were introduced to Apple via the iPod. I view all the music stuff as a good thing, not a bad thing.

With regards to the old CRT iMac, for 1998 standards it was an amazing machine, and was crucial to the rebuild of Apple when Steve returned. I have used Macs since 1984, and owned them since 1986, and for its day the original iMac was a great consumer machine compared to what was out there.

I do agree with you, however, that games will probably never be a major focus for Apple. Games go hand in hand with lower priced machines that are easily obtainable by the average person or family. Apple has consistantly said they are not trying to compete in that market.

Cheers,

James

[willed]

Originally posted by James L:
But, why should it change? The iPod design team does not detract from the Mac design team(s), they are separate. If anything, in the case of the recent iMac it has augmented the Mac design teams.

The iPod, and iTunes, has done exactly what Apple needed... increase market presence. If they make a ton of dough off of it too, all the better. Apple is selling over 3 million Macs per year, and I would venture a guess that many of them are because of people who were introduced to Apple via the iPod. I view all the music stuff as a good thing, not a bad thing.

With regards to the old CRT iMac, for 1998 standards it was an amazing machine, and was crucial to the rebuild of Apple when Steve returned. I have used Macs since 1984, and owned them since 1986, and for its day the original iMac was a great consumer machine compared to what was out there.

I do agree with you, however, that games will probably never be a major focus for Apple. Games go hand in hand with lower priced machines that are easily obtainable by the average person or family. Apple has consistantly said they are not trying to compete in that market.

Cheers,

James

I agree on the original iMac - unlike the earlier poster said, for its time and price-point it was not underpowered. Was rather good, and looked cool. As to games going hand in hand with cheap machines, I have to disagree; games are pretty much the sole reason hardware keeps advancing. MS Word and almost all other consumer apps could run pretty much just as effectively 5 years ago as they can now; if it wasn't for games (and apps like Photoshop) there wouldn't be so much demand for high-end systems.

[James L]

Originally posted by willed:
I agree on the original iMac - unlike the earlier poster said, for its time and price-point it was not underpowered. Was rather good, and looked cool. As to games going hand in hand with cheap machines, I have to disagree; games are pretty much the sole reason hardware keeps advancing. MS Word and almost all other consumer apps could run pretty much just as effectively 5 years ago as they can now; if it wasn't for games (and apps like Photoshop) there wouldn't be so much demand for high-end systems.

I agree for the die hard gamers it is all about the latest and greatest, but many people buy games to play on the family computer... the one that everyone uses and costs approximately $1000 or less.

Now, the disposable income crowd who love to game (myself in this category)... that is what drives the latest and greatest! I completely agree with you there.

Cheers,

James

[gbafan]

Originally posted by willed:
I agree on the original iMac - unlike the earlier poster said, for its time and price-point it was not underpowered. Was rather good, and looked cool.

I have to disagree. The first iMac was just as gimped as the new ones. Back then Apple was in deep trouble and thankfully the iMac gave them the cash they needed to really get back in gear. But upgrading those machines was impossible for the consumer in which they where built for. Heck, eMachines have better upgrade paths

And again, back to the original post; Apple should get involved more with gaming from a development standpoint but they won't. They're more than happy with their niche market share and the mass appeal of the iPod. Can't agrue with the stock price. /shrug

[Caesar2099]

Originally posted by Forte:

Anything by Capcom. Games from series like the (vast) Mega Man saga, Ghouls 'n' Ghosts, Street Fighter, Resident Evil, Viewtiful Joe, and so on and so forth would be great things to have on OS X.
It'd also be nice to see OS X versions of the recent Mega Man and Street Fighter...

Those are all really console games. The people that would want to play these types of games probably already own a PS2 or gamecube, and copies of them. If apple wants to port games they'd have to start with hit PC games like Medal Of Honor Pacfic Assault, Painkiller(especially this game), Need for Speed Underground 2 (when it comes out).

I think the mac gaming community could do without Mega Man. There hasn't been a good mega man game since, well ever. Viewtiful Joe however is the only game you listed that might actually bring people to the mac. This game was innovative and looked cool and those are the reasons people buy macs.

[Forte]

Those are all really console games.

True, but then, so are a few other titles that have appeared...

The people that would want to play these types of games probably already own a PS2 or gamecube, and copies of them.

I quite agree. But what about, say, if you're on the road with a portable? ;P

I think the mac gaming community could do without Mega Man. There hasn't been a good mega man game since, well ever.

Purely your view. There's a reason it's the most successful mascot franchise out there.

Viewtiful Joe however is the only game you listed that might actually bring people to the mac. This game was innovative and looked cool and those are the reasons people buy macs.

"Looking cool" wasn't why I bought a Mac - it's far too superficial a reason to spend so much. I paid for the quality, and quality is what the Capcom series I listed (not just Viewtiful Joe) are about. ;P Ah well.

[MilkmanDan]

"Looking cool" wasn't why I bought a Mac - it's far too superficial a reason to spend so much. I paid for the quality, and quality is what the Capcom series I listed (not just Viewtiful Joe) are about. ;P Ah well. [/B][/QUOTE]

Obviously you've never attracted women using the sexy power of your sexy powerbook.

[Forte]

Obviously you've never attracted women using the sexy power of your sexy powerbook.

That would be because 1: I am not a guy, and 2: I use an iBook. ;P

[Eug Wanker]

Originally posted by MilkmanDan:
Obviously you've never attracted women using the sexy power of your sexy powerbook.

My iBook attracted a lot more women than my PowerBook has.

Originally posted by Forte:
That would be because 1: I am not a guy, and 2: I use an iBook. ;P

LOL. And whodathought... A gal starting a gaming thread... [/stereotype]