Like most Mac - slinging gamers , I ’m wedge to resort to Boot Camp to replete my predilection for play torpedo , monster , and zombie Revelation of Saint John the Divine survivor .
I ’ve remember a lot about the doors that Steam , Valve ’s on-line store for Windows game , could open for play on the Mac , and now that it ’s all but confirm to be on its room , I ’m think even more about it . Why is now the right time ? Why did Valve tantalize this specific handful of game ? Will 2010 go down as the year the Mac in conclusion plays with the big dogs ?
The reasons behind Valve ’s move are n’t necessarily cut and dry . “ The Mac is ultimately popular enough for game - makers to take notice , ” you might say , but I do n’t entirely corrupt that . The most affirmative numbersI’ve learn for the Mac ’s market ploughshare , from a connection statistics firmof all places , are 11 pct in the U.S. Apple is said to have about five percent in the UK , and full worldwide market share is estimate to be around 4.5 pct . That might be mellow for Apple , but it ’s clearly small potatoes when lay against Windows .
Furthermore , a glance at late Mac cut-rate sale show that Apple CEO Steve Jobs was n’t kidding at January ’s iPad launch when he described Apple as a “ mobile gimmick company . ” grant to Apple ’s fiscal Q1 2010 report , about two - thirds of its recent Mac sales agreement are notebooks which , apart from a fewexceptions , are not typically known as gaming powerhouses , no matter who make them . While Apple does not break down Mac gross revenue by modelling , it does boast in in its stores that the 13 - inch MacBook and 13 - inch MacBook Pro ( both handle the same comparatively weak NVIDIA GeForce 9400 M computer graphic card ) chair the pack .
So I asked myself again : why did Valve pick a clip like this to embrace the Mac ?
Apple bridged the gap years ago
Thanks to Apple ’s transition to Intel CPUs in 2006 , these days a Mac ’s interior hardware has more in common with a PC than ever , pass water play in Boot Camp a popular workaround for Mac users . But getting snug with the same cow dung that baron PCs has also made platform conversions easier .
From a expert perspective , technology like Cider , Transgaming ’s “ Portability Engine , ” do it much easier for developer to bring games to the Mac , including recent title likeDragon Age : Origins . And software such as CrossOver Games even allows Mac users to play some personal computer game natively on their Mac , without needing to install Windows .
Fewer hurdle to start through also means port games to the Mac looks considerably from a financial position . So , instead of waiting five to six years for a major deed to be ported to the Mac , games likeBioShockwere brought over in just two years . deed over , that ’s still a farsighted prison term , especially in the play world , but it’sprogress .
The PC game industry is thirsty for new blood
With the rise in popularity of frightfully herculean gaming consoles like Sony ’s PlayStation 3 and Microsoft ’s Xbox 360 , a ton of gamers have dropped their mouse and keyboard in favor of wireless comptroller and HDTVs . Combine this hejira with the above hardware changeover and the fact that Apple ’s sales have done nothing but go up the last few geezerhood , and it ’s not hard to see a everlasting violent storm brewing .
The opportunity is apparent . Not only can Valve plant its signal flag for serious gaming on the Mac , but with Steam , it has the potential difference to to becomethemajor play dealer for the political platform . Sure , Apple has its App Store and portable , casual , 99 - cent gaming on the iPhone and iPod touch , but it ’s never present a real interest in gaming on the Mac .
Valve , on the other hand , sees a chance to expand its vast conglomerate of PC gaming to an exclusively new audience : Mac users who want to both work and play in the same OS . And in that case , even a paltry undivided - finger percent market share think of possibly hundred of grand of Modern client for Valve .
This is the first baby step
While the comer of Valve and its Steam store on the Mac is honest news just about any way of life you slice it , this is still a baby step for Mac gaming .
And Valve is still play a conservative secret plan . Theteaser imagesthat it released on Wednesday only employ fictitious character from Valve ’s own game — Half Life 2,Team Fortress 2,Portal , andLeft 4 Dead . Note that these games are anywhere from two to six age old ( Left 4 Deadand the originalHalf Life 2 , respectively ) , so they ’ll believably run pretty well on even a moderately equipped MacBook that ’s nearing the end of its AppleCare insurance coverage . It ’s also worth noting that all of these statute title are built upon Valve ’s ownSourceengine , mean less production on the company ’s part to transition several championship .
But as of yet there ’s no word on whether even a single third - political party publisher is on control board , and there likely wo n’t be at least until next week’sGame Developers Conference , where most have a bun in the oven to hear an prescribed announcement from Valve . Whether unexampled game likeStar Trek OnlineorModern Warfare 2will be present to fight the limit of gaming on the Mac is likewise a closed book . Nor do we fuck if Apple has finally warm up up to secret plan developers on the Mac as it has on the iPhone and iPod touch . A Valve co - father made waves in 2007 when he kvetch about Apple ’s hot - and - cold attitude towards play , but there ’s been no word from either party since then , and no Holy Writ from Apple , about a shimmy in its advance .
All say , Valve ’s arriver on the Mac is corking news for all postulate . Now really does seem like the right meter to “ get in on the ground floor , ” as the 2 a.m. infomercial salesmen are so lovesome of saying . There are muckle of other questions to do , such as whether client will require to re - leverage games they already buy through Steam on the PC so as to play them on Mac OS X.
But already it seems as though Valve could not have chosen a better time to go full steam ahead on the Mac .
