Is it not in the best interests of gamers and developers alike to argue in favour of choice as to which hardware or OS a game can be played on?
More competition and available options is ultimately a benefit to the consumer and not a detriment
It is interesting to note that OW2 was ported to Switch which is arguably less suited for the game than a modern day Mac given performance and control limitations and most likely a smaller current OW2 userbase
While true that there would be some expense required for updates there is no evidence that this would be prohibitively costly for Microsoft
The recently released Mac Mini M4 is widely lauded as one of the best mini PCs available and this suggests many potential future owners of the device including casual gamers
Even its base configuration would capably handle OW2
This would be the ideal device to optimise for
Evidence suggests that macOS will continue to grow as a compelling gaming platform
While translation software exists that can enable the game to be played on a Mac this comes at a performance cost and is often overly technical for the end-user
Iāve seen many many Mac users express that they would love to be able to play Overwatch natively without requiring a separate gaming device or translation software - please make our dream come true Blizzard!
The PirateSoftware guy on twitch talked about this. They ported a game to Mac and it made up something like 0.3% of their player base. They didnāt port future game as it just wasnāt worth all the effort.
As of the latest version Overwatch does not work through Crossover on Mac; this is further justification for a native port
macOS as a games platform - in the era of Apple Silicon - is still in its infancy therefore discussion around the current gamer market share misses the wider picture;
That being that the Mac will continue to grow as a games platform as more games are added which will in turn attract more gamers to the platform
Every game platform once started off with a small market share and it is only through the combined efforts of both developer and platform maker that they have succeeded in this highly competitive and cutthroat industry
Would anyone argue that games should not be made for Xbox because it has a smaller market share compared to the Playstation?
The adoption of new technology ultimately depends on developers to take the first step
A leap of faith is needed and AAA companies have the most leeway in doing so
While there is a risk in the development for any new platform there also exists a large potential payoff in being the first on said platform; as they have a head-start (Google, Microsoft et al were first in their respective fields and still today have no prominent competition)
Multipurpose personal computers are more popular amongst the younger generation compared with consoles; among those the Mac has seen a rise in popularity
To be fair though I imagine Mac fanboys have a large ratio of users who would pay for Shop skins, even if itās only because they come bundled with Apple weapon charms.
They likely did, but now we have Apple Silicon and Metal 3. In the past, neither Apple nor Mac users considered Macs to be gaming-capable devices. However, thatās no longer the case. Heck, Iāve always been a console gamer, but I recently got an M4 Pro and Iām starting to actually enjoy PC gamingā¦
Agreedā¦ plus, Windows is just bad. Everyday is a struggle when you use windows.
Once, I clicked on āshut downāā¦ guess what, Windows restarted itself. I was leaving office when this happened and I was so pissed !
I want to address the claim that āApple doesnāt care about gamingā since this statement is frequently made!
Millions of dollars spent towards funding the ports of many popular games such as Cyberpunk 2077
Theyāve funded development of several game-related technologies which include:
Metal - their entirely in-house made graphics API used across the entire Apple Silicon lineup including iPhone, iPad and Mac
Apple Game Porting Toolkit
MetalFX upscaling
Game Mode lowers Bluetooth latency and prioritizes game performance
Support for additional game controllers as of new macOS versions
Hardware ray-tracing support as of Apple M3
Adding support for more game controllers
Having iPhone + iPad + Mac share the same underlying architecture makes it easier for developers to bring games from one platform to the other
Apple Arcade - a subscription service which offers a curated library of games free from microtransactions
Games and the subject of gaming brought up in their newer keynote presentations
Apple already has a lucrative investment in gaming on the mobile platform
Itās likely that they also see a potential on the macOS desktop platform
All of the above is evidence that Apple - being a for-profit company - very likely does indeed see the potential in making macOS an attractive gaming platform as a means to further grow the platform to new audiences!
It also shows that theyāre exploring avenues to attract developers to the platform!
Iām not a Mac person myself, and Iāve had strong feelings about it (and Apple in general) for a long time. But Iāll have to agree. Itās another computer platform that has a large, dedicated install base, with a lot of users who probably donāt want to bootcamp or use other workarounds. The more barriers to entry, the fewer people will bother with it.
It would probably have more players than the Nintendo Switch at any rate. And I absolutely ADORE my Switch. Just not for OW.
I couldnāt play WoW at low settings on my mac for more than 10 minutes before it would overheat. Replaced it quick because you canāt play games worth a damn on them. Can just imagine the amount of people complaining in mass for āfalse bansā just because they keep DCāing on mac.
You know that Apple offers the Game Porting Toolkit that can convert Windows software into Mac software? Presented in 2023. Also, why is WoW on Mac, but not Overwatch?
Iād very much love to use my 120hz ProMotion DIsplay to its full capabilities.
There are many who prefer to only own one device for both gaming and professional needs
What about Game Pass and console āloss leadersā?
What about the fact that Microsoft allowed Blizzard to remove heroes from the Battle Pass despite an immediate reduction expected in revenue?
Both of the above items suggest there are wider concerns at play than simply profit-first
Microsoft has longer term goals in mind which includes the capture of multi-platform markets other than their own
One possible way in which revenue could be increased is that Microsoft could charge double the normal amount for microtransactions for Overwatch on Mac
Microsoft Office is available on Mac
Minecraft is available on Mac
World of Warcraft continues to be available and updated on Mac
'd this thread - itās much appreciated!
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