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2006 may have been a challenging year for Mac games, but there's plenty to look forward to in 2007. Game Room columnist Peter Cohen profiles some of the upcoming releases slated for the next 12 months. [more]
Game Room Weblog: Mac games: What to look for in 2007
#1
Macworld.com 
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Posted 06 December 2006 - 10:20 AM
MultiQuote
#2
swartzfeger
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Posted 06 December 2006 - 02:37 PM
Great article, Peter. And you're my hero for slipping annus horribilis into a gaming article. /forums/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif
#4
Steve_S
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Posted 06 December 2006 - 04:35 PM
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People arent buying games for their Macs in huge numbers. And no ones quite sure why, as the number of Mac users has been increasing.
People arent buying games for their Macs in huge numbers. And no ones quite sure why, as the number of Mac users has been increasing.
You may very well get a different answer from different people. From my perspective, it's because there were fewer titles released and few of the titles released appealed to me. I'd normally buy about 8 games per year. Probably not a hard core gamer, but not to bad either. I purchased maybe half that this year and most were of the shareware variety. Let's hope next year has better offerings. I'd be interested in the Star Wars RTS game for example. I have no interest in Prey. PC gaming is also in a decline. Consoles are getting better, but a bigger issue is that fewer of the newer games released on the PC appeal to me. I don't think my tastes are changing, rather I'm just getting bored of the same old thing.
As for Gamerhood, I'm curious to see how this will do. It sounded very interesting to me until I read about the DRM restrictions that will be built in. Sorry, but I'd rather use a cluncky DVD if necessary. While I wish Aspyr much success and prosperity, I'm hoping Gamerhood flops so that companies realize consumers don't want DRM. Please, spare me the lecture on piracy. Nothing justifies alienating your paying customers.
On a related note, the Wallstreet journal is covering at article noting that the Music industry may have to start selling MP3s. (paid subscription required) From Macsurfer:
"In a Turnabout, Record Industry Releases MP3s" ["EMI Group PLC's Blue Note and other music companies are beginning to think they will have to sell some MP3-formatted music both to satisfy customer demand and to provide access to Apple Computer Inc.'s iPod for songs that are sold by online stores other than Apple's iTunes Store."] WSJ.com [Paid Membership Required] 10:40 AM "
Steve
#5
troy77
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Posted 06 December 2006 - 04:59 PM
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At the end of the day, the success or failure of the Mac game market is in our handsand its up to us to support the companies that support Mac gamers.
At the end of the day, the success or failure of the Mac game market is in our handsand its up to us to support the companies that support Mac gamers.
Couldn't agree more. And that's exactly why I would never run Windows games using Bootcamp on my Mac, because that's the best way to kill Mac gaming.
If you want more games for OS X you have to vote with your wallet. It's as easy as that.
#7
griffman
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Posted 06 December 2006 - 05:30 PM
Halo 2 was first used to force people to buy the Xbox. Now it's going to be used to force people to buy Vista -- it's being released for Vista, and only Vista. I doubt we'll ever see it on the Mac (but I hope I'm wrong...)
-rob.
-rob.
#8
jafs
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Posted 06 December 2006 - 07:03 PM
One thing with Macs is that pretty much every large game is a decent game. As I own a Intel iMac I own Sims 2 as has a Universal Binary patch and holding off buying any games such as Stubbs the Zombie until there is a Universal Binary available.
I would say that is possibly the only thing to affect sales of some games is lack of Universal Binary for games with the growing market, as the PowerPC only ones would run S-L-O-W in rosetta
I would say that is possibly the only thing to affect sales of some games is lack of Universal Binary for games with the growing market, as the PowerPC only ones would run S-L-O-W in rosetta
#9
ginsu
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Posted 06 December 2006 - 09:39 PM
I do not think the slow down in the purchase of Mac games is at all mysterious. Given the transition to Intel and the relatively long lifetime of Macs, the range of capability (or lack thereof) for playing new high end games is much bigger than it used to be. New games with significant hardware requirements can only target a sliver the Mac market, which is of modest size to start with. If the biggest sellers are MacBooks (integrated graphics), it may stay this way for a while. Most of us can't justify buying a second machine just for gaming, games with modest requirements may do quite well.
#10
Peter Cohen
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Posted 07 December 2006 - 08:31 AM
No one said it was mysterious. What I said is no one is sure why that is. We can infer whatever we want, but with a decided lack of empirical data, your guess is just as good (or as lousy) as mine.
#11
scfischer
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Posted 07 December 2006 - 08:40 AM
Regarding Blizzard, I've never been a big WOW fan, yet I still play Diablo II nearly every day. Let's hope once all the fanfare regarding the release of The Burning Crusade has died down, they announce Diablo III.
#12
cjmahony
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Posted 07 December 2006 - 11:20 AM
I've been playing games on my Mac, ever since I loaded MYST onto my PM 6100/60 in 1994. I have stacks of games, most of which I can't play because they are incompatible with MAC OS X. Which isn't really a problem, since the release of WoW. This is the only game I have been playing for the last two years. I used to be happy if a game kept my attention for two months. Blizzard has been doing quite a job, starting with Warcraft 2 they haven't missed their target.
#13
HumanJHawkins
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Posted 07 December 2006 - 11:34 AM
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Regarding Blizzard, I've never been a big WOW fan, yet I still play Diablo II nearly every day. Let's hope once all the fanfare regarding the release of The Burning Crusade has died down, they announce Diablo III.
Regarding Blizzard, I've never been a big WOW fan, yet I still play Diablo II nearly every day. Let's hope once all the fanfare regarding the release of The Burning Crusade has died down, they announce Diablo III.
Good luck... I love Diablo II. It's a pinnacle achievement in gaming. But WOW is an absolute cash cow for Blizzard. I can't see any businessperson in their position choosing to put resources into a game like Diablo II...
Meaning that if they do Diablo III, it will probably be an MMORPG or something. I mean, thinkg about it... You bought Diablo II about 4 years ago for about $45 right... Someone who bought WOW one year ago who plays it like you play Diablo has already sent Blizzard $225.
#14
BigBox
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Posted 11 December 2006 - 02:29 AM
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Good luck... I love Diablo II. It's a pinnacle achievement in gaming. But WOW is an absolute cash cow for Blizzard. I can't see any businessperson in their position choosing to put resources into a game like Diablo II...
Meaning that if they do Diablo III, it will probably be an MMORPG or something. I mean, thinkg about it... You bought Diablo II about 4 years ago for about $45 right... Someone who bought WOW one year ago who plays it like you play Diablo has already sent Blizzard $225.
Quote:
Regarding Blizzard, I've never been a big WOW fan, yet I still play Diablo II nearly every day. Let's hope once all the fanfare regarding the release of The Burning Crusade has died down, they announce Diablo III.
Regarding Blizzard, I've never been a big WOW fan, yet I still play Diablo II nearly every day. Let's hope once all the fanfare regarding the release of The Burning Crusade has died down, they announce Diablo III.
Good luck... I love Diablo II. It's a pinnacle achievement in gaming. But WOW is an absolute cash cow for Blizzard. I can't see any businessperson in their position choosing to put resources into a game like Diablo II...
Meaning that if they do Diablo III, it will probably be an MMORPG or something. I mean, thinkg about it... You bought Diablo II about 4 years ago for about $45 right... Someone who bought WOW one year ago who plays it like you play Diablo has already sent Blizzard $225.
Just so you know, you just broke my heart with that statement... I've been dreaming of Diablo III
