Monday, September 24, 2012

Mac Gaming: What You Need To Know

By Mathew Jonathally


More than a decade ago, searching for a game for Mac computers would leave anyone frustrated mainly because in that decade game developers really were not very enthusiastic about making games for the Mac platform. Even though Apple has become popular for the sleek design and the user-friendliness of their Mac line, the closed hardware architecture and their relatively fewer customization options made building games for it considerably complicated.

Apple's rigid thinking to computer development has also prevented many gamers from buying a Mac. One other reason why Macs really were not regarded as a serious gaming platform is that it was only beginning of the 21st century when Apple made a decision to replace their PowerPC processors with Intel-based ones and introduced multiple button support for mice and discrete graphic cards which have long been de facto standards for Windows-based computers since the boom time in the gaming industry in the 1990s.

Macs have been thought of as generally superior at graphics, developing animation, and editing different kinds of media as opposed to Windows-based computers , so a lot of gamers felt that it was such a shame that it was inferior in terms of gaming. The good thing is that Apple has been opening up to the exciting world of video gaming. For instance, the company has introduced Boot Camp with their OSX 10.4 Tiger release that allowed people to partition their computers and use a Windows OS and hence enjoy the best of both worlds - the intuitiveness of a Mac and the excellent customization opportunities of a Windows system.

The introduction of Steam service, which helped bring an incredible repository of gaming titles for Mac, has also raised the appeal of Apple computers as a gaming system. Some game developers are also taking notice and have made games which are natively playable on Mac OSX. There are also games otherwise only available for Windows PCs that are ported to Mac via third-party porting services like MacPlay.

These days, one could already play flight simulators for Macs which in the past were only available to PC owners. The best thing about these simulator games is that they provide people an chance to try something they otherwise would not be able to do in real life, which include flying a plane or driving a race car. Like those playable on Windows computers, these simulator games provide a selection of challenges with primary and secondary objectives.

Physical retail outlets still allot a small shelf space for for games and related apps for Mac computers though because Mac gaming is not yet as popular. That in mind, if you want to play flight simulators made for Macs, your best choice would be to download from the Internet through Steam and other niche websites that supply gaming titles at no cost or for a fee.




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