Mac Game Developers Approaching Boot Camp With Mixed Attitudes
TMO Reports - Mac Game Developers Approaching Boot Camp With Mixed Attitudes
by , 3:00 PM EDT, April 7th, 2006
Mac game publishers contacted by The Mac Observer are approaching Boot Camp with mixed attitudes. Reaction so far ranges from a wait and see attitude to positions that are very positive.
To illustrate this, Glenda Adams, director of development for Aspyr Media, told TMO that "time will tell" what kind of impact Boot Camp has on Mac gaming, while Peter Tamte, who runs MacSoft parent company Destineer, referred to it as "one of the best things Apple has ever done for Mac gamers. It gives Mac gamers access to a huge library of Windows games, plus the library of Mac games."
Ian Lynch Smith, president of Freeverse Software, had a negative spin on the situation, quipping: "As usual, game makers are on the bleeding edge of the latest technology -- this time the emphasis is on the bleeding." However, he added: "It's not affecting our plans yet. We're just keeping a close eye on things." Feral Interactive representatives contacted by TMO said they needed a couple days "to think through the implications" before offering their thoughts on the matter.
While original Mac game development isn't expected to be affected by the release of Boot Camp, which will find a home (possibly under a different name) in Mac OS X v10.5 "Leopard," there's concern that sales of ported Mac games will dry up as users start installing Windows and running games in that OS.
Not only do many ported Mac games see their release months after their Windows counterparts, but sometimes they lack features not found in the original versions, such as support for GameSpy.
Factors
Last year, GameSpy greatly increased its licensing fees for Mac game developers, arguing that it could no longer sell them for the cheaper rates it had been charging. That situation put pressure on the cost of porting games to the Mac, forcing developers to drop that functionality. That left players of such games as Star Wars Battlefront to use direct IP or the Mac-only service GameRanger if they wanted to play online against others.
Some middleware, such as the Havok physics engine, has also proven costly to license, forcing developers to drop their pursuit of games that rely on it. Ms. Adams said, "Whether or not Boot Camp will impact having Mac-specific SDKs [software development kits] for things like GameSpy is something we'll only know with time."
Going forward
Mr. Tamte, whose company over a year ago released the game Close Combat: First to Fight on Mac, Windows, and Xbox nearly simultaneously, and kept GameSpy in the Mac version, noted: "MacSoft/Destineer plans to release Macintosh versions of our future internally developed games simultaneously on the Mac, and we plan to release Mac conversions of specific Windows games where we believe these games are appropriate for people who may not have Windows installed on their Macs. We will be announcing the first of these within the next few weeks."
Aspyr recently shipped Quake 4, and has Call of Duty 2 and Civilization IV on tap for the next couple months. All three are Universal Binaries and are games that have been available for Windows since last year. Ms. Adams said her company plans "to keep an eye on the sales, to gauge how the market is reacting."
Beyond that, she said, "if a large number of Mac gamers just buy PC games and dual boot, obviously there won't be any reason to bring newer games to OS X. But hopefully the majority of Mac owners will still support native Mac games, and if Apple can increase their market share, it will actually lead to more games being sold."
She added: "My biggest fear is it gives a lot of PC-centric developers a good 'out' to killing Mac versions of their products. And decreasing the total number of native OS X apps isn't good for anyone."
If that happens, she agreed, those who have switched to the Mac may wonder why they bothered if they're using Windows most of the time. "At what point does a switcher switch back if they realize they are in Windows 60% or 70% of the time?" she asked. "I guess Apple is really betting the OS X user experience will capture people. I think it is that much better than Windows, but the wildcard Apple is overlooking is third party applications. If those die, it doesn't matter how great the OS is."
Observer Comments
Mon Apr 10, 2006 11:57 pm Subject:
QuoteAnonymous wrote:
I like my Mac-mini but this experience left a bad impression. Please don’t brag about not having to babysit your Mac. Macs are no different than PCs. Just a more expensive and prettier.
On a sample of one Mac you can make this assertion? You'll never make it as a statistician.
Of course Mac hardware is not absolutely perfect. Things fail. Apple generally does a good job of fixing them. It doesn't always get it right.
QuoteGuest wrote:QuoteGuest wrote:QuoteGuest wrote:
http://minimsft.blogspot.com/2006/03/vista-2007-fire-leadership-now.html#c114302448628930798
It appears that the Microsoft employees are panicking. Delicious.
http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=192227
It appears that Mac users are confused as to why Win XP performs so much better than OSX on the same Mac. Delicious.
Hahaha... Vista is goin' down in flames, and the MS-worshippers are cranky 'cuz I hit a nerve. Delicious.
Hahaha... Vista doesn't even need to be released. XP is already outperforming OSX on Mac hardware. Delicious.
QuoteLaurieF wrote:QuoteAnonymous wrote:
I like my Mac-mini but this experience left a bad impression. Please don’t brag about not having to babysit your Mac. Macs are no different than PCs. Just a more expensive and prettier.
On a sample of one Mac you can make this assertion? You'll never make it as a statistician.
Of course Mac hardware is not absolutely perfect. Things fail. Apple generally does a good job of fixing them. It doesn't always get it right.
Yes I make this assertion on my experience with one mac. What do you mean Apple generally does a good job of fixing them?
1. Bad Mac out of the box. Strike one.
2. Apple tech support says they can't replace the power adapter, they tell me to go to a Service Center. Strike two.
3. Apple service says I need a receipt. Apple tech support says thats not true. Strike three.
4. I demand the replacement unit I'm entitled to. Apple changes it's story and agrees to replace the power adapter only. Strike... FOUR??
Apple only fixed the situation after making me jump through many hoops and after I twisted their arm behind their backs. By the way I never claimed to be a statistician. I'm just someone who's trying some work done and doesn't like being lied to.
"Apple only fixed the situation after making me jump through many hoops and after I twisted their arm behind their backs. By the way I never claimed to be a statistician. I'm just someone who's trying some work done and doesn't like being lied to."
Hahah.
Your Mac didn't function right out of the box...
Based on that, you're saying Macs and PCs are the same?
Ouch. Somewhere Bill Gates is crying.
"Hahaha... Vista doesn't even need to be released. XP is already outperforming OSX on Mac hardware. Delicious."
Hahaha... You seem to be retarded.
First of all, OS X on a Mac crushes XP on a Mac in terms of multitasking.
Second, do you even realize how hard you're insulting Microsoft, there?
This thread is GREAT! I'm so glad a few window whores showed up for the fun. So, did longborn turn into wishta? Muhahaha.
Winblows on a mac...NEVER thought I would see the day. But This is just a better option then VPC. It will no dought be faster then VPC which sucks even WORSE then native winblows. But I don't think your average user, around 95+%, is gonna use this. WHY would they?! Winblows suCKS. If someone wants windows that bad, They most likely will not be buying a mac anyway. It's just another option, and options are good. OS X has huge momentum, and software titles will only INCREASE.
As far as games, there are MANY games for mac. If that's not enough, I would suggest a 360, or the coming PS3! Game systems are the way to go. Plus controlers and TVs are much better then contorted twisted hands wrapped on a keyboard and your face 2" from your monitor...
Apple stock is up largely from ipods...but computer sales are UP too. ibooks are freaking EVERYWARE! A macbook is in my future!
Remember...apple rules the universe!! Winblows fools, BOW DOWN before the temple of jobs! Muhahahaha.
It's called Windows XP! I'm happy to see that all of you so excited about running Windows on your Macs. However, I would like to point out that 90% of the world has running Windows on their Intel based PCs for the past 20 years. We, the 90 percenters, welcome you to the fold.
It took you guys 25 years to switch to a real processor (with real benchmark data, not made-up benchmark scores). It took you guys over 20 years to run Windows on your machines. Hell, it took you guys about 10 years to get an extra button and a wheel on your Mac mice/mouses.
QuoteGuest wrote:
Hahah.
Your Mac didn't function right out of the box...
Based on that, you're saying Macs and PCs are the same?
Ouch. Somewhere Bill Gates is crying.
I guess your right, Macs and PCs aren't the same. I've never received a DOA PC. My $150 Compaq with XP Home worked right out of the box. I bought a DOA food processor once. The people at Sears were much more helpful over a $60 appliance than the Applecare people were over a $500 mac-mini. Where's this quality/reliability/simplicity you guys are bragging about and paying a premium for?
QuoteGuest wrote:
First of all, OS X on a Mac crushes XP on a Mac in terms of multitasking.
Second, do you even realize how hard you're insulting Microsoft, there?
First of all, you're just another Mac robot repeating dribble withouth having any proof. Where are the benchmarks proving OSX's superior multitasking capabilities?
Second, ummm... Windows XP, an OS which is designed to run on unlimited PC configurations, is outperforming OSX, an OS which is optimized to run on Mac hardware, on Mac hardware. Do you realize how silly this is?
Steve sure makes some potent cool-aid.
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