“Exploring Apple’s Plan to Revive Mac Gaming: Will It Succeed?”
If you’re a gamer, there’s one truth that seems obvious: Macs aren’t good gaming machines. However, a new interview suggests that Apple wants to turn that conventional wisdom on its head.
When TechCrunch’s Matthew Panzarino sat down with Tim Millet, Apple’s vice president of Platform Architecture and Hardware Technologies, and Bob Borchers, the company’s vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing, he asked what Apple was doing to address the situation for Mac gamers to improve. Their answers shed a lot of light on how Apple sees the future of gaming on its platforms.
Dan Baker/Digital Trends
For one, Millet said Apple understands the challenge it faces when it comes to convincing gamers to switch to its systems: “Gamers are a serious bunch. And I don’t think we’re going to fool anyone by saying that we’re going to make Mac a great gaming platform overnight. We will keep an eye on that for a long time.”
Millet explained that Apple is trying to make it as easy as possible for developers to port their games to macOS by improving its own graphical API Metal. When developers have a ready-made API that supports everything modern games need, porting games to Mac will seem more appealing. That’s the hope anyway, but big-name games like Resident Evil Village show it’s possible.
As Millet put it, “My team spends a lot of time thinking about how to make sure we stay on that API curve to make sure we give Metal what it needs to be a modern gaming API. We know this will take some time. But we’re not at all confused about the opportunity; we see it. And we will make sure we show up.”
Break the cycle
But while software is one side of the equation, hardware must also be considered. Apple silicon has made gaming a much more viable prospect than the Intel chips in previous Macs ever did, but Millet says there’s another aspect to consider.
“Game developers have never seen 96 gigabytes of graphics memory now available to them on the M2 Max. I think they’re trying to explore it because the possibilities are unusual.” It’s an “interesting opportunity” for developers, he says, and leaves a lot of room to push the boundaries in the future. But it could be a reason why AAA games have taken their time to come to the Mac, even when Metal and Apple silicon come into play.
Right now, Mac gaming suffers from a vicious circle that seems hard to break. Gamers are reluctant to switch, as many well-known titles don’t work on Macs. Developers are being held back because the Mac gamer base is low. Each problem feeds the other.
If Millet and Borchers are right and Apple can convince more developers to bring their work to the Mac, the best Mac games could have new company of heavyweight titles. Mac gamers will hope this doesn’t end in misplaced optimism.
Today’s tech news, curated and condensed for your inbox
Check your inbox!
Please provide a valid email address to continue.
This email address is currently on file. If you don’t receive any newsletters, please check your spam folder.
Sorry, there was an error subscribing. Please try again later.
Editor’s Recommendations
Source: www.digitaltrends.com
Don’t miss interesting posts on Famousbio
