Saturday 19 January 2008

More comment on Apple, gaming, and the future of MacRaider

GameDaily have posted an article asking whether Apple will ever get serious about gaming. The Mac isn't totally bereft of games, but despite some Apple staff's enthusiasm for gaming over the years, that enthusiasm isn't followed up by much in the way of official Apple support. Check it out, it's an interesting read!

Those who've been following MacRaider for some time will know that I've long hedged my bets when it comes to Mac gaming, as the Mac has long been marginalised with a limited game catalogue. Up to 2003/4 Mac gaming was fine for me as those games I really wanted to play on the Mac were available. Since then though it's been increasingly difficult, and even though TR Anniversary is coming to Mac it's likely that I'd have to upgrade my Mac to play it. For any future TRs I'd certainly have to upgrade, but with the ongoing Mac limitations it would be a poor choice for gaming (Apple's obsession with thinness, with the latest manifestation the MacBook Air, is seriously compromising the Mac as a gaming machine anyway...)

I bought an original PlayStation (now known as the PSX) in 2000, and an original PlayStation 2 in 2001. Last year I upgraded to a slimline PS2, and I still have my original PS2 stored away in case it's needed. Then, last Boxing Day, I bought an HDMI equipped Xbox 360 Pro bundle. Lastly, I've now switched to a 66cm HD LCD TV which rounds out my console gaming rig nicely, giving me access to the high def X360 gaming catalogue, a wide selection of original Xbox games, as well as the gigantic PlayStation/PS2 catalogue! Consoles have given, and will continue to give me, a far wider gaming choice than was ever available on the Mac, although there are those Mac classics I already own to make it even better, such as the classic TRs and Myst IV Revelation among others :)

Considering that my current dual G4 MDD Power Mac is still very capable for all but gaming (and will be for some time to come), and that I could get a lot better value for my very limited gaming money by switching to console gaming, the purchase of the X360 and the LCD TV mean that I've now effectively finished with the Mac for my future gaming. However, all my classic Mac games are still covered with my old MDD Mac, so I get the best of both worlds, and can still provide Mac-specific support for all the TRs up to at least Angel of Darkness! And in the future I intend to continue my TR walks from the X360 game, so MacRaider lives on a while yet :)

Those of you who are disappointed in my switch to console gaming should remember that I've long been on a very limited income but I've never tried to turn MacRaider into a fund-raising exercise. I've never had a single ad on the site, and although I did test out a PayPal donation link for 12 months, it failed to bring a single cent in so I canned it. For me MacRaider was never about money - it was always about sharing my love for Tomb Raider, and to help people as best I could. I'll continue to do that, in my own way, and I look forward to a lot of fun in the future!

I hope you'll all come along for the ride :)

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I have enjoyed all the Tomb Raider games on my various Macs up until TR7 and, while I have tried TR Legend on my MBP under Bootcamp/XP and on my Cube, I found both experiences much less enjoyable since they had only designated save points and also required controllers other than my favorite CH joystick (well, XP allowed me to use my stick but the method of combining both the turning and the movement into one control pretty much sucked for me). I now am anxiously awaiting the arrival of TR Anniversary to once again play on my MBP.

I have also enjoyed your site over these many years. It is obviously a work of love and not commerce and applaud your contributions to TR gaming on the Mac. I respect your right to move to a console but I am not ready to call it quits on my Mac yet. I will send you my take on Feral's port of TR Anniversary as soon as it arrives.