Apple will stick to the the most profitable segement of the market and let the rest of the planet fiesta on the crumbs
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In 3 years, 50% of all computers capable of playing AAA games will be Macs
- Thread starter senttoschool
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So what you are saying is Apple won’t do AAA games because they are not profitable compared to the mobile loot box games they currently host/sell.
Apple won't do AAA games (but then again, they do TV so who knows really). But third party devs just might. The hardware and the dev ecosystem is there.
They had their chance when the Mac mini G4 hit to make a "fully disposable/resellable game box." This was even with the advertising of the time ("Go ahead and try to play Halo on Intel Integrated Crapware," I paraphrase) They failed at it TREMENDOUSLY due to Intel Integrated Crapware graphics in the first Intel minis...and every one after.
They had an additional chance with Blunderbolt and eGPU's...and never gave a lick of support to ANYONE trying to make one work until 10.13.
Apple likely had tons of chances to buy a gaming company and just let them roll with AAA Mac games...and it never happened.
As much as I'd love to see it, the brutal reality we continue to look at is telling...
In short, yes.
And aside from the current market situation, what could Apple realistically do to bring more PC gamers on board?
- Buy a studio and make exclusives!
Hasn’t worked for Epic, and the gamer crowd is more hostile to Apple than Epic.
- Pay devs to port games!
Won’t increase share of market.
- Make a gaming Mac!
Macs do fine already performance wise, and there’s no compelling reason for PC gamers to switch.
Realistically, Apple’s stuck in their current position. And as stated above, they don’t have to care when they reap much more profits from mobile games.
I’m no market strategist, but I can’t see any realistic scenario where investment into gaming makes any returns for Apple. They already have frameworks, capable hardware, their own storefront, and nearly complete cross-compatibility with the most profitable and biggest gaming market on the planet.
Devs still don’t care, and PC gamers don’t care either (and in fact, are hostile to Apple for one reason or another.)
So where are all the iOS games that should be in the Mac App Store (since it can run all of them)? How come Apple is allowing devs to leave money on the table by not forcing all iOS games into the Mac App Store?
I’m gonna answer your question with another question:
What does Apple gain by forcing iOS games onto Mac?
Apple already has the player in their ecosystem, and arguably its more convenient to boot up a game on the phone in your pocket or your iPad than it is on your PC.
And there’s the question of controls, since the Mac lacks touch input. Would devs be forced to include Mac controls, or would the controls just not function on Mac?
I don’t think Apple is leaving money on the table at all by allowing devs to pick what platform they want their app to be available on.
Furthermore, what does the end consumer gain by getting iOS games onto Mac? They already have the game on their preferred platform. And that doesn’t solve the original question of getting AAA games which are unavailable on Mac, to the Mac.
Honestly, how many people say “I really like this iOS game, but I want it on my laptop/desktop”?
In my post I was talking about the underlying technologies like Swift and Metal. There are plenty of devs experienced in those (as evident by the magnitude of the App Store). So it isn’t really a question of experienced coders for the platform.
I think the questions are...
- Would people, in general, play iOS games on a computer?
- Where/how do people play iOS games? (pandemic aside, on the couch, in a bus/train/plane, while waiting at the dentist, etc.?)
If it's pay once, play on both, then why should Apple bother? Because they're making that money from iOS sales anyway. Nothing to be gained from being able to run it on macOS. And in the end, we all know Apple is after cutting 30% from devs.
That actually is one of the reasons I got my M1 MBA! Hardly nothing of my iOS apps run on it. I can actually run MANY more android apps on my Windows PC using bluetacks.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Everyone take note here. It's as simple as "We threw the switch in XCode. iOS is fully supported. macOS can play but is not fully supported." It isn't happening en masse.
Apple released the methods to which you can make one "super app" for both iOS and macOS and NOBODY IS USING IT.
(DISCLAIMER--I know coding isn't as simple as throwing a switch)
Happier customers -- at least me, especially since it's a selling point for them.
I actually disagree it's easier to boot up and play a game on my iPhone/iPad being easier than doing it on my Mac. The one game app that I've played that does allow a Mac to run it is quicker to load and just as easy to play with a mouse vs. touch input.
A mouse works just as good as single touch input, and that's what most apps use. Multi-touch would be a problem, but I have no multitouch apps on my iPhone.
Maybe not this time around, but there's a good saying about the consequences for customers, once bitten twice shy.
The iPhone isn't my preferred platform for sitting and playing light games, a WindowsPC, or one of my Mac's are. I don't do AAA games at all on any Apple platform. (or Windows for that matter) Input is a problem there too, and much more of one than single touch!
Me! (But not just games, other apps as well)
We were told that with Apple Silicon developers can have a game run on iOS tvOS and macOS, yet there are very few games that actually do so. Plus it appears that all the games that make a lot of money (lets call them loot box games) are pretty much missing from tvOS and macOS.
That would be the same way Microsoft bolstered their AAA game chops.
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Actually that's not what we're talking about -- not compiling it for the Mac, but actually running the iOS version on the Mac -- Apple advertised that the M1 Macs could run iOS apps. And most iOS developers in their lack there of wisdom, chose to opt out of allowing it.
Lack of wisdom? They probably don’t want to invest the time to make it a good Mac version. Or they view it as separate from iOS and a new market they’ll enter on their own terms if at all. Personally I wouldn’t make it available either as my focus would be on iOS.
Yep, lack of wisdom -- they're leaving money on the table.
They don't need to make it a good Mac version, just make it a good iOS version and allow it to run on a Mac. The apps that I can run on my M1 run just fine. I'm actually an Apple developer to, though for only personal stuff, not commercial. (I make my money as an IT Manager that can program on much bigger machines..)
I think you need to read the original post again carefully. It was 50% of all AAA-capable computers sold yearly 3 years from now.
Starting price is not a factor to achieve the 50%. 50% is 50%.
In addition, I'm predicting that Apple will release a Macbook SE in the range of $750 - $800.
Do you think Apple will make a Macbook SE? And at what price point?
Laying down some facts: Apple makes the iPhone SE ($400), Watch SE ($280), and iPad (SE in spirit for $330) The iPhone 8 launched at $699. The iPhone SE, based on the iPhone 8 but with a faster SoC, is $300 cheaper. Cheapest Macbook Air right now is $1000 Apple once sold an Intel Macbook Air...
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How do you define "AAA-capable computers sold yearly 3 years from now."?I think you need to read the original post again carefully. It was 50% of all AAA-capable computers sold yearly 3 years from now.
Starting price is not a factor to achieve the 50%. 50% is 50%.
In addition, I'm predicting that Apple will release a Macbook SE in the range of $750 - $800.
Do you think Apple will make a Macbook SE? And at what price point?
Laying down some facts: Apple makes the iPhone SE ($400), Watch SE ($280), and iPad (SE in spirit for $330) The iPhone 8 launched at $699. The iPhone SE, based on the iPhone 8 but with a faster SoC, is $300 cheaper. Cheapest Macbook Air right now is $1000 Apple once sold an Intel Macbook Air...
I define it as MSRP starting at $999 & more. Can $100 PCs run AAA games?
50% of the top 20% of the laptop/desktop market by 2023 is doable
$750-800 is possible if they continue selling MBA M1 at a lower MSRP when the M2 comes out within 12 months.
Sounds like the rabbit hole of that dude who kept insisting Halo would have made Macs a gamer's computer.
too much Reality Distortion Field It’s not lack of wisdom at all.
None of the iOS apps I developed and published are available on MacOS. To make this happen it is simply a tick box when you publish the app.
The issue is that while yes, it will run. The truth is that the app is designed for a touch interface. Just because they “can run” it doesn’t mean it will look good and give a good user experience on both laptop and desktop.
People will say you can just put a note saying that it’s not supported etc etc. But the truth is that users expect support with issues, they expect a good user experience, and that experience directly impacts my reputation.
Therefore, there’s no real benefit to me by allowing it to “just run” on mac, and a load of extra work with no extra income.