Apple has tried very hard to get past the "Macs are toys" stigma for decades. Mac users are called zealots and all sorts of nasty things because we like our platform (as opposed to the Wintel crowd who are NEVER zealous about their platform). It's almost a cliche how Mac users are treated like we threaten the natural order of the world or something.

So, if Apple did consider getting into gaming, of which I could care a less as I have much better things to do with what little spare time I have in my life than sit at my workhorse any more than I do now, it would be a strange thing for them. Would it help them grow sales? I'm not sure. The majority of the existing Mac user base probably could care a less about gaming because we haven't had it for 20 years, so those who do care for gaming have a console. Would it attract users? Maybe, but are those the users we want? Macs are serious work machines. They have entertainment value yes, with music, movies, etc., as a controller, but I'm in my 30s now. I grew up a LONG time ago. Video games? It just seems so 1980.

Well, I'm 40 now and I still play games. I've been picking and choosing pretty sparingly over the past years, but I like to have my fun on the computer as well as my work and hobbies.

If Apple could do some more to push games, I say go for it. I don't think it can hurt at all. Any PC user who points and yells "toy!" now would just be ridiculous considering the number of games on PCs compared to Macs. (And that's even before considering consoles outsell PC games now anyway; even Windows users are waiting for conversions now.)

Looking at the list of forthcoming games, I'm going to be just fine. They include The Movies, Heroes of might and Magic V, and the ongoing updates and forthcoming expansion pack for WoW. And then there are games I'm not interested in like the Call of Duty wargames and such.

Apple has a Games page they don't even link from anywhere prominent on their website. If they just linked that from their homepage, it'd be a step in the right direction.

http://www.apple.com/games

I could care less about computer games, as Tiger said I have better things to do with my Mac. However, Apple could probably make some fine games. I am going stick my neck out and pretend to be a columnist; Windows software publishers should make iLife type of programs.

Sorry to say this, but I have no doubt that the primary reason for Boot Camp was to overcome the lack of gaming on the Mac, and to make that as much of a non-issue as possible for people considering a Mac for the fist time.

Sure there were plenty of other reasons and uses for Boot Camp, but I believe gaming was at the top of the list. So I do not in any way whatsoever expect Apple to put any further effort toward gaming on the Mac (the iPod remains to be seen). And I think this is the wisest solution possible, although it will mean abandonment of the Mac by even the long-standing, loyal Mac game houses.

I've written about 95% of the articles on Apple's Games site, and I agree with Dean Lewis RE linking from elsewhere on apple.com

Apple does, however, link to recent games stories from the Hot News page. So that's a start.

http://www.apple.com/hotnews/

But I've never understood why they don't link to apple.com/games from the tab at the top. There's certainly room there.

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Tiger wrote:
The majority of the existing Mac user base probably could care a less about gaming because we haven't had it for 20 years...
...but I'm in my 30s now. I grew up a LONG time ago. Video games? It just seems so 1980.

The state of Mac gaming was infinitely better 10-15 years ago. Most of my favorite games were Mac-only or Mac-first. Glider, Myst, Myth (remember before Bungie turned evil?), all of Ambrosia's stuff. Good times.

And...um, y'know, not everyone is 30. And not everyone who is shares your apparent disdain for gaming. I started using Macs when I was 10. If it wasn't for the great games available around then, I probably never would have really gotten into Macs. I wouldn't have learned to write software, or design graphics, or do any of the "serious" work I do on my Mac today. So to me, the line between "gaming" and "serious work" is not so clean.

Even the shareware/freeware gaming scene is nothing compared to what it used to be. It's really sad.

I remember a few years back PC Gamer magazine used to regularly run features on Halo - which was at that point a Mac only title. It was the only occasion I've ever seen that magazine jealous of a Mac game.

Of course we all know what happened - Apple passed on Budgie and Microsoft recognised Halo as exactly the sort of game they needed to sell a platform.

What they should do is have several "hit" teams that go out and subsidize the porting during development of likely to be big games. One team should be dedicated to making cross-platform developer tools that are better than DirectX and easier to use in every single way.

They could even pay companies to maintain some Mac exclusivity for a couple of months before releasing to another platform. They should also focus on getting several platform games that might not normally make it to any PC to create a good cross-section of games.

Imagine if they worked out a deal to port Crysis to Mac with same date release. Or maybe Assassin's Creed from the PS3 a few months after the console release but before any other platform. Literally just take 4-5 of the most likely "top" games and subsidize their porting until the developer tools are there that it is no longer necessary.

Nobody thinks of Macs as children's toys anymore, they are too expensive for that anyway. However, there are plenty of people who buy Windows machines for blockbuster games.

I was recently briefed on Apple's secret games strategy. The briefing was under an NDA, so there's only a little I can reveal. Like many of you, I thought, "you're kidding me, they have a games strategy?". And the funny thing was, before I could get the sentence out of my mouth, the gentleman giving the briefing said, "No, we are not kidding you, Apple has a games strategy!".

I knew something was up. The man had just read my mind and replied to my question before I could get it out of my mouth. Perhaps they had some new mind-reading technology. But still, to read my mind and then devise a coherent answer in less time than it takes to flex my vocal chords... It could only mean one thing... They had the ability to travel back in time, if only a few minutes.

But it turns out that wasn't it. The gentleman had done this briefing a couple times before and both times, the person being briefed had uttered, "you're kidding me. Apple has a games strategy?". After establishing that time travel wasn't part of the games strategy, I asked the gentleman to continue. He said that Apple has long been associated with cutting edge games, and that they were going to return to their proud history.

Yes, this coming Tuesday, Apple plans to announce the immediate availability, in Fat Binary form of course, of Mastermind, Dragons Maze, Lemonade Stand, and Little Brick Out. All in 16 color low res graphics. Additionally, Apple will release USB paddles, essential for playing Little Brick Out. It is sure to be a truly great day in Apple history.

I hate to be a net nanny but those of you saying you "could" care less might want to rethink your terminology. That you could care less suggests that you care at least a little, although it might also mean you care a great deal. On the other hand, if you couldn't care less, that would indicate the issue means absolutely zero to you and you don't care about it at all - which, I think, is your point.

Again, apologies for the OT and flame away if you wish.

As for Apple developing games - I say do whatever brings in more Mac users, as long as it doesn't compromise the Mac experience.

One other thought - I don't understand equating computer gaming to "toys". It's simply entertainment, IMO.

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Philbert wrote:
I hate to be a net nanny but those of you saying you "could" care less might want to rethink your terminology. That you could care less suggests that you care at least a little, although it might also mean you care a great deal. On the other hand, if you couldn't care less, that would indicate the issue means absolutely zero to you and you don't care about it at all - which, I think, is your point.

Maybe what they are trying to say is that they could care less than you. I tell that to people at work who try to dump their stuff off on me and then end their involvement - "I can care even less about this than you obviously do!"

Columnist: I am a moron.

It is odd, though at one point one of the primary weaknesses pointed to about the Apple computer platforms was that it was ONLY a "game machine" and not to be taken seriously by business people. In fact Apple countered that by an advertisement later on to show that even Macs could be serious business machines. Now the PC world has come full circle and you have the PC world saying there is not enough in terms of games for the Mac platform. Well they obviously haven't done their research. I have posted what I think is a good start to getting people to see the games available for the Mac:

http://www.macmaps.com/macgamepages.html

I've also tried posting it to Business Week showing them they don't know what they are talking about.

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Tiger wrote:
Mac users are called zealots and all sorts of nasty things because we like our platform...
Would it attract users? Maybe, but are those the users we want? Macs are serious work machines.

Sorry, Tiger, but I had to point out your two sentences. I generally agree with your posts... but you seem to NOT want to be called a zealot in once sentence, then pick out who you would like to be a mac user in another sentence.

Personally, I would like to see as many people as possible switch to Mac because I really believe they are better. I don't care who they are or what they do with their mac, or why they switch.

As for games on the mac... I don't get why people say Macs shouldn't be used for games. Should cars be used only drive to work and back, and not to the grocery store?
It seems like a self-centered argument. Just because someone doesn't play games on the mac, they seem to think that nobody else should spend their time that way.

Gaming on the Mac can only make things better for us all. If Apple could get some really strong titles on board, it would push development for the whole platform. Not just software, but hardware as well. Nothing pushes a machine like games do (with few exceptions). If Macs ever did become a strong gaming platform we would undoubtedly see a wealth of 3rd party options. Accelerated sound cards, Video cards and even CPU upgrades would become more popular (provided Apple doesn't solder them to the logic board).

Just my opinions.

Anyone who thinks games are just kid's stuff, or a waste of time, look at the revenues games produce, then think again.

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Tiger wrote:

Would it attract users? Maybe, but are those the users we want? Macs are serious work machines.

Microsoft sure seems to like these types of users!

Furthermore an avid game player is usually willing to spend some serious money on hardware and replace old hardware sooner than your average user. If Apple would provide the hardware and put some backing into some serious and timely game software, they might see some reasonable profit.