Zmonk’s Game Cage
Dysfunctional family: Apple’s relationship with its game developers
By Zmonk (zmonkey@macedition.com), 14 July 2000
Part 2: Looking forward
So what does the Mac gamer have to look forward to in the next few months? Quite a bit, actually. As mentioned, Diablo II, Deus Ex and Baldur’s Gate are soon to be released, as well as ports of Driver, The Sims, and literally dozens more. There’s never been more A-list games out there for the Mac than right now. In fact, I’d go so far as to say that there are more games out right now than anyone could possibly find time to play. That’s not even including great games from shareware game houses like Ambrosia and Freeverse. This is a fantastic time to be a Mac gamer. If you take the long view, it is astonishing how much ground has been regained over the past several years.
Things are looking up on the hardware front as well. nVidia’s rumored interest in the Mac graphics card market is a definitive nod to the Mac as a viable platform for games. It’s one thing to get game developers to port their titles to the Mac; to get hardware vendors like 3dfx and nVidia to spend the necessary engineering dollars and develop Macintosh products is quite another. Hardware costs money; the average port’s budget is chump change compared to what it costs to develop and market a new graphics card. Of course, these cards are cross-platform (as they should be), but designing Mac compatibility into 3dfx’s and nVidia’s latest round of designs is nonetheless a stamp of approval for the Mac. Keep in mind that nVidia designs 3D cards, and licenses these to third-party vendors, but still, this is a significant hurdle.
The rumored entry into the Mac market by nVidia and 3dfx’s new cards mirror the increased competition running rampant in the PC graphics market. But these moves are more of a spillover into the Mac market space than a sign that our market is anything like the volume these companies are used to. Still, it is refreshing to see them building Mac 3D tech. ATI, with their recent run of bad press over late, buggy drivers, may eventually be challenged for the Mac video card throne by one of these two new companies. Don’t forget, the new GeForce MX2 chips are low-voltage cards – perfect for laptops or machines without fans, such as the iMac. How would you like to play Quake IV on your PowerBook over AirPort? Also, Apple’s recent acquisition of the Raycer group has yet to bear public fruit. Could they be involved in the game equation somehow? Only time will tell, but it is certainly interesting to think about. While plenty of other uses could be found for a top-notch group of graphics card developers, improving the Mac’s gaming specs is bound to be on the short list.
So next week’s Macworld Expo in New York should be worth watching for game-related news, despite the fact that few game developers will be exhibiting in booths, the Macworld Game Championships are canceled, and the whole game pavilion is not going to be there. I’m predicting an iMac with enhanced graphics, and a major announcement involving games during the keynote. Maybe Bungie will announce that it was all a hoax, and that they will be doing Halo for the Mac after all. Talk about a PR stunt, eh?