Plus Steam is bigger than any Mac platform, so more people will download it, more people will buy Mac games, more developers will make Mac games and port games, and Apple might make the Mac lineup serious gaming machines.
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Rejoice, Steam is coming to OSX!
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Plus Steam is bigger than any Mac platform, so more people will download it, more people will buy Mac games, more developers will make Mac games and port games, and Apple might make the Mac lineup serious gaming machines.
Well I use steam and play CSS and Wolfenstein (some others) in OSx, through Crossover Games.
Works well enough, able to play most of my favorite games in Snow Leopard just like im on a PC.
however the Steam GUI is very low FPS (Games themselves run at native speed but the GUI itself), and there is no in game chat or menu.
So if they make a native Stream App, what about the games??
CSS runs in CXG version of Steam, so if the steam version of steam for OSx, doesn't have conversions, ill be sticking with CXG.....
They should know that
Works well enough, able to play most of my favorite games in Snow Leopard just like im on a PC.
however the Steam GUI is very low FPS (Games themselves run at native speed but the GUI itself), and there is no in game chat or menu.
So if they make a native Stream App, what about the games??
CSS runs in CXG version of Steam, so if the steam version of steam for OSx, doesn't have conversions, ill be sticking with CXG.....
They should know that
I hope this means Valve will port some of their games whilst they're at it... It'd be nice to have the half life 2 engine ported... I don't know much about game development but I assume that would be the biggest task out of porting games like HL2, Portal, TF2 or mods like gmod.
I look forward to not dual booting!! =D
I look forward to not dual booting!! =D
Because Steam is not only the biggest digital distribution platform for PC Games, it also has a lively community behind it and the platform itself offers features like Achievements and Stats Tracking, a Networking Infrastructure games can use to allow users to know in which server their friends are playing among other things (Steamworks), chats and IM features, a Steam Cloud service developers can use to let their games store settings or even savegames remotely, and the list goes on.
It's more like XBOX Live or the PlayStation Network, while the other online stores you mentioned are just that, online stores.
Best of Both platforms
Mine are too ... so I play games on my Windows PC and do other work and email on a Mac. I am grateful to be able to afford both and own a bigger desk on which to put them.
Mine are too ... so I play games on my Windows PC and do other work and email on a Mac. I am grateful to be able to afford both and own a bigger desk on which to put them.
I think the current and previous iMac generation was pretty serious. The problem with the current is the extremly high native resolution that EATS the GPU (CPU and Ram are fine).
It's similar but I think it goes way beyond what XBL and PSN accomplish, just because there are more features and its more open nature (custom avatars, fewer limits on profile data, installation of mods/non-steam games).
I wonder with the success of 'Crossover Games for Mac' whether they're actually making a native OSX frontend for Steam, but using the Crossover engine in the background for the actual games themselves to work.
Ridiculous idea perhaps, but Crossover Games actually makes Steam games work very well so far. I get great quality and speed on Snow Leopard with CSS, Half Life 2 etc....
You do have to laugh at the fact though that games like CSS and HL2 have been out since 2004 and (if the games coming out for the Mac story is true) are only just being developed for Mac 6 years later
Ridiculous idea perhaps, but Crossover Games actually makes Steam games work very well so far. I get great quality and speed on Snow Leopard with CSS, Half Life 2 etc....
You do have to laugh at the fact though that games like CSS and HL2 have been out since 2004 and (if the games coming out for the Mac story is true) are only just being developed for Mac 6 years later
Don't kid yourself.
The Mac market is far too small for most developers to even bother with porting games. Add to that the large number that protest "we don't need to play games".
The Mac market is far too small for most developers to even bother with porting games. Add to that the large number that protest "we don't need to play games".
Oh, just had a thought..
It would be interesting if the apparent "publishing issues" with launching the mac native version of Torchlight is related to the launch of an OSX Steam Store.
They might have belayed the launch so they have a more robust launch lineup?
It would be interesting if the apparent "publishing issues" with launching the mac native version of Torchlight is related to the launch of an OSX Steam Store.
They might have belayed the launch so they have a more robust launch lineup?
I have said on the MacRumors Steam Group (very small since Macrumors doesn't seem to have a huge amount of gamers) that Steam should at least be ported natively to run so we can chat with friends and see what games friends are playing.
Merely being able to see when X, Y, and Z friend are playing Left 4 Dead 2 would be a godsend. I'd know when I should reboot into Windows and when I should not.
Merely being able to see when X, Y, and Z friend are playing Left 4 Dead 2 would be a godsend. I'd know when I should reboot into Windows and when I should not.
Even if this is true for major developer houses, most independent developers release their product across multiple platforms, and steam is a very popular and powerful avenue for independent developers, i'd willingly bet its responsible for a very high percentage of their sales.
Steam on OSX could become a valuable revenue stream for them.
Not a valid argument anymore.
And don't forget that the Mac has been seeing a huge rise in adoption rate by college students (myself included) who are also very likely to be gamers.
So, making a Mac port of Steam and Source-based games at this point in time is a really, really good move by Valve. One that'll help sell games and Macs at the same time.
I would hope that if they really are going to be doing this (guessing a OSx release in the next 2-3 months) they had better port some pretty popular games first. Otherwise it will be useless and everyone will stick with CXG.
If they do start porting in mass, CXG will be out of business.
If they do start porting in mass, CXG will be out of business.
I don't think the 9400M G is going to outshine the masses with an 8800GT or a HD 4800.
Merely being able to see when X, Y, and Z friend are playing Left 4 Dead 2 would be a godsend. I'd know when I should reboot into Windows and when I should not.
I think there's a way to do that already, granted its not as easy as checking the steam client. If you log into your Steam account from a browser, it will show (I think) what friends are online and if they're in a game. You can't talk to them but you can at least see where people are.
hmmm
don't know much about this other than looking at that screenshot reminds me of how BUTT ugly Windows is! My god how can people look at that all day?
Just my opinion.
And as far as games, that's not why I own a Mac. I CREATE. To each his own I guess...
don't know much about this other than looking at that screenshot reminds me of how BUTT ugly Windows is! My god how can people look at that all day?
Just my opinion.
And as far as games, that's not why I own a Mac. I CREATE. To each his own I guess...
Yep, it's amazing to see how butt-ugly Windows is, in any version...not to mention its low-quality, low-res aliased UI bitmaps and screens. Everytime I return to my Mac at home I realize how superior Apple products are in comparison to the ordinary PC world.
Luckily I own a mac that doesn't just create
. My whole computer life is split; 75% creating games, 25% playing them.Thats what I came here to say. You are the only other person in this thread that gets why steam would port to OSX. Eventually apple will open an app store for Mac OS X Applications, if this happens steam might lose out and even take away their windows customers.