Stop overcharging so much for component upgrades and it might help Mac sales, which are currently going in the wrong direction for anything in this thread discussion to actually materialize
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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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When the M3 MacBook Air arrived, I looked for a refurbished M1 MacBook Air, fully-loaded like mine, and it was only down by another US$90.
You can get the lightly-equipped model for good prices, but the fully-loaded model is still expensive.
I was watching M1 MBA fully loaded refurbs from when they first came available ... and the discount never moved enough and the value just kept getting worse and worse as it got older
I don't get Apple's pricing strategy with refurbs -- at all
They usually aren't even less than the EDU discount, which anyone can get straight away on totally new products.
Apple doesn't check or verify or anything.
I recommend some of the second tier and boutique studios.
Apple doesn’t need to shoot their wad on an Activision size deal to be competitive.There are lots of great smaller studios. If Apple would show the commitment to gaming that they've show to tv they could be very successful in gaming. They've got the hardware for gaming, now they need the software.
I don't know if Tim is interested or up to it.`
I bought a refurb M2 Studio Max (64G memory, 2TB storage, 38 graphic cores) from the Apple refurb store for $2700 last fall. It was considerably cheaper than a new one.
Maybe it's only a refurb pricing issue with Apple laptops ?
In my Apple Store region, the refurb pricing for a long time has been:
85% (15% off) for current gen
77% (23% off) for one gen old
70% (30% off) for two gen or older
And with the M3 release so close to the M2 (Pro/Max), some of the refurb units get less discount than the above.
I don't think Apple looks at market price at all. The only reference is their own (MSRP) pricing. In the case of M1 gen MacBooks, there seems to be a surplus of remaining stock in 3rd party hands, therefore they get dramatically heavier discounts than what Apple offers. In Studio's case, it is relatively unpopular among 3rd parties so there isn't as much pressure to price down and offload.
Epic is private so I’m not sure they could buy them even if they wanted. Besides Unity would be a better fit (at least if you are talking about owning a game Engine).
Feral Interactive and Evirils would be the first two Apple should purchase.
Slitherine and Larian would be two of my recommendations.
For what Microsoft spent on Activision Apple could feature
Hundreds of highly rated games from a dozen great, smaller studios.
Where there’s a will, there’s a way.
I don’t know if Apple has the Will.
Apple bragging about the latest Macs being great for gaming without a PC sized catalog is meaningless.
For what Microsoft spent on Activision Apple could feature
Hundreds of highly rated games from a dozen great, smaller studios.
Where there’s a will, there’s a way.
I don’t know if Apple has the Will.
Apple bragging about the latest Macs being great for gaming without a PC sized catalog is meaningless.
MS offered to buy Larian, they refused. I'd be curious if they would accept Apples offer (not to mention Evilrils did the Mac port to begin with).
Studios not interested in being subsumed by Apple might be interested in less than majority purchase investments.
Apple benefits from MacOS games and the studios keep their independence and receive much needed capital.
Evirils is a Russian company, I certainly hope that Apple has enough sense to not even look in their direction. It was already extremely problematic that Larian was working with them and I am very glad they ended this cooperation.
Hire away the people that did the work?
EDIT: really was just pointing out that there are dev houses that have "extensive" macOs porting skills that could help Apple.
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I don’t see how buying a studio would be more beneficial than what Apple’s doing now.
Which is throwing money and resources at second and third parties to port their games.
It’s pretty much the exact same thing they’d be doing if they owned a studio.
Which is throwing money and resources at second and third parties to port their games.
It’s pretty much the exact same thing they’d be doing if they owned a studio.
An owned studio could focus on better using the technologies Apple brings out.
What else could explain why Resident Evil 4 and 8 are missing RT (still)?
Ported games are inferior to native builds and years late.
That’s a fine strategy for 2% market share of the gaming market.
Apple needs to go beyond that if gamers are going to take Macs seriously, imo.
I believe Tencent already owns 30% of Larian. (But those could be non-voting shares.) With that and the success of BG3, they probably don't need more capital. Maybe the founders will sell when they retire, but until then, they don't want bosses who only care about making money.
I know they are working on their next game, have they talked about if it is new IP or a sequel to existing IP yet?
Some interesting developments in game design.
www.tomshardware.com
Ubisoft, Nvidia, and Inworld AI partnership to produce "Neo NPC" game characters with AI-backed responses
Speaking to NPCs a la the infamously-faked "Project Milo" may be coming to future Ubisoft games, for real.
Having AI driven NPC could blow open the doors on meaningful player-NPC interactions, making them more natural feeling. My concern would be if this technology was tied to an online server, or if it added to game size install bloat.Some interesting developments in game design.
Ubisoft, Nvidia, and Inworld AI partnership to produce "Neo NPC" game characters with AI-backed responses
Speaking to NPCs a la the infamously-faked "Project Milo" may be coming to future Ubisoft games, for real.