It also re-asserts Steams position as the best digital distribution system available. Stopping other new platforms such as impulse that support mac from taking control is a wise move.
On 11 March 2010 19:08, Kerry Dorsey <kdor...@dorseyinc.com> wrote: > Adam, you're absolutely right...as I see it. This is much less about platform > game support than it is about platform distribution support. But the latter > is useless without the former. You accurately described the Mac dev > food-chain so I won't be redundant, but the other key aspect of current ports > to the Mac involves the code itself...native versus virtualization. The > latest Sims 3 port for Mac is emulated. It's PC code thrown on top of a > resource hungry virt environment (that's an over simplification, so don't get > too upset) that runs horribly on all but the latest and strongest machines. > So while some see "support for the Mac" means that it will run on all Macs, > that ain't so. In fact, I'm venturing a guess that EA's support costs for the > average Mac release is INSANE, all because of performance issues. If said > code were native, most of the problems probably wouldn't exist. So I see > Valve's decision to port, natively, their OB engine product to the Mac to be > an effort to a.) throw more sand in Activision's distribution eyes, (go > Steam!!) , develop a previously untapped market segment (Mac), and head off > support nightmares with a little preventative research and development. > > It shows how Valve's business model and management have matured in a very > short time. Good job! > > -Kerry > > > On 3/11/10 10:43 AM, "Adam Buckland" <adamjbuckl...@gmail.com> wrote: > > My $0.02: > > I think a lot of people are missing the point here. Valve only ported > the games because they had to. The real motive here is Steam. > > Selling Mac software is very different to selling PC software. For PC > games, it makes perfect sense to put a boxed copy on a shelf where > people can go to a shop and buy it. > For the Mac, however, their users are much more spread out, and > therefore putting a boxed copy on a shelf isn't such a good idea. Most > Mac software houses realised this a long time ago and sell their > software via digital distribution instead. Most don't even make boxed > copies. Mac games however have never quite got there and still sell > mainly boxed copies. > > The current state of Mac ports of games (with a few exceptions) is > that a developer will develop a game for Windows, release it, and then > pass their code to a third-party developer (Aspyr is an example), who > will then port the game to OS X and sell it. The problem here is that > it can take a team such as the one at Aspyr a year to port a game to > OS X, by which time the game's hype is almost non-existant, and > because the porter, the original developer, and the publisher all need > to make a profit, the game is sold at full-price, while the prices of > the other platforms is significantly reduced, making the OS X port > very unattractive. > > While it make take a third-party porting company a year to port the > game to another platform, the original developer could port the game > much faster and for a much lower cost, especially if the Mac is a > release platform. Problem is, they don't bother because they don't > want to have to deal with trying desperately to distribute it > digitally themselves. > > Valve have spotted an opportunity here. What they're doing is they're > bringing a digital distribution platform that is mature and one that > many developers already have experience using to the Mac. By doing > this, they will (hopefully) entice many other developers to move their > games to the Mac themselves because a distribution method that still > gives them a higher-than-normal (compared to boxed copies) profit > margin is available. > > So, why have Valve moved their games to OS X and not just Steam? > Well, there's a number of reasons > 1) They need something to launch Steam on the Mac with!! > 2) If they didn't, other developers would have no reason to have any > confidence in Steam for Mac. > 3) Valve now have some valuable knowledge and experience in porting to > OS X that they can use to help other developers in porting their games > to OS X. This is useful because while Valve are giving away techniques > that they've spent considerable money trying to develop, more Mac > games on Steam = more profit! > > So, to sum up, the people who are looking at existing market figures > shouldn't be. Valve aren't trying to move in on the existing market. > They're trying to create one. > > _______________________________________________ > To unsubscribe, edit your list preferences, or view the list archives, please > visit: > http://list.valvesoftware.com/mailman/listinfo/hlcoders > > _______________________________________________ To unsubscribe, edit your list preferences, or view the list archives, please visit: http://list.valvesoftware.com/mailman/listinfo/hlcoders
