Steam for Mac is official

Doctor Glyndwr · **Joined:** 30th Mar, 2008 **Posts:** 32624

http://gizmodo.com/5484987/valves-mac-t ... e-my-pants

Rumours of a Mac Steam client have been circling for a while, and now these teaser images imply Macs are getting TF2, L4D, and HL2. Quite a significant milestone for the Mac as a viable gaming platform.

WTB · **Joined:** 27th Mar, 2008 **Posts:** 14497

Right then, that's pretty much it, isn't it? I'm getting a Macbook Pro.

WTB · **Joined:** 27th Mar, 2008 **Posts:** 14497

Fantastic!

kalmar · **Posted:** Wed Mar 03, 2010 23:29

AHA! That's what I'm talking about. Finally!

LewieP · **Joined:** 29th Apr, 2008 **Posts:** 7600

List of all the games that are on Steam that already have a native OSX port.

Zio · **Joined:** 31st Mar, 2008 **Posts:** 6093

A lot of those have different publishers on the Mac though, so I imagine that could be tricky.

LewieP · **Joined:** 29th Apr, 2008 **Posts:** 7600

Zio wrote:

A lot of those have different publishers on the Mac though, so I imagine that could be tricky.

Certainly, those are just a list of games that would be possible to have on mac at launch.

Although money can be quite a good lubricant for publisher relations.

Anonymous X · **Joined:** 30th Mar, 2008 **Posts:** 2046

LewieP wrote:

List of all the games that are on Steam that already have a native OSX port.

I have to admit as a long-time Mac user I'm surprised there were that many commercial Mac games! Then again, I seemingly can't shake associating Macs with monochrome adventure games. And Marathon. Bit set in my ways, I am.

Doctor Glyndwr · **Joined:** 30th Mar, 2008 **Posts:** 32624

Anecdotal evidence from indie Mac devs is that it's easier to make a living selling Mac apps than it is PC ones, despite the (obviously much smaller) target market on the Mac side. Mac owners tend to be more wealthy and honest, is the theory -- so more willing to buy small download games, and you're entering a much less crowded market.

I would imagine this move, for Valve, is probably more about becoming a de facto standard for indie game distribution on the Mac than it is about AAA games from major publishers. Notwithstanding that they've ported their own major games for a splashy launch, of course.

Note that in Valve's eyes, this suggests the Mac is a more viable gaming platform than the PS3.

Doctor Glyndwr · **Joined:** 30th Mar, 2008 **Posts:** 32624

Mohh:
http://www.crunchgear.com/2010/03/03/wi ... -for-os-x/

Quote:

Steam doesn’t really fit in well with OS X

This may sound like a superficial complaint, but no one has yet successfully overestimated the superficiality of Mac users.

myp · **Posted:** Thu Mar 04, 2010 11:02

Doc: I believe they're changing their stance on the PS3. I wouldn't be surprised to see Left 3 Dead, Portal 2 and HL Ep 3 on there.

Doctor Glyndwr · **Joined:** 30th Mar, 2008 **Posts:** 32624

Citation? That's quite a u-turn; they've been extremely condemning of it (and note that the PS3 Orange Box was a conversion done by someone else, and it was awful too).

myp · **Posted:** Thu Mar 04, 2010 11:08

Nothing incredibly concrete, I'll admit, but they've gone from saying 'horrible system' to 'we'll have a look at it', which is a change in stance.

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/falis ... s3-support

Zio · **Joined:** 31st Mar, 2008 **Posts:** 6093

Doctor Glyndwr wrote:

Mohh:
http://www.crunchgear.com/2010/03/03/wi ... -for-os-x/

Quote:

Steam doesn’t really fit in well with OS X

This may sound like a superficial complaint, but no one has yet successfully overestimated the superficiality of Mac users.

Speaking as an ex long time Apple fanboi, that column seems largely bollocks to me.

Cras · **Joined:** 30th Mar, 2008 **Posts:** 49252

When I see this thread, I imagine phone called to Apple tech support:

"Oh, hello. I have a Mac, and I want to play my GAMES, but I can't play my GAMES. Why can't I play my lovely, lovely GAMES?"
"Boss, Boss! It's those wankers from Valve! They're being mean about Macs again!"

Dr Lave · **Joined:** 30th Mar, 2008 **Posts:** 5979

Having just bought a new macbook this pleases me. I've always wondered why people go giddy over steam. Now I get to find out.

Bobbyaro · **Joined:** 18th Apr, 2008 **Posts:** 11915

Those adverts are excellent.

kalmar · **Posted:** Thu Mar 04, 2010 14:27

Doctor Glyndwr wrote:

Mac owners tend to be more wealthy and honest, is the theory -- so more willing to buy small download games, and you're entering a much less crowded market.

Can't imagine that remaining true once hordes of average Steam users turn up on the platform though

Zio · **Joined:** 31st Mar, 2008 **Posts:** 6093

Dr Lave wrote:

Having just bought a new macbook this pleases me. I've always wondered why people go giddy over steam. Now I get to find out.

I'd have been chuffed to bits if Steam had been ported to Mac whilst I still owned one. I love Steam because the pricing is usually excellent, or at least they often do some fantastic sales and special offers, plus everything you buy goes into your account, which you can access from anywhere. So if you have two or more computers (say, a desktop and a laptop), you can log into your account, install whichever game you want and play it. There are a few exceptions to this where a publisher's own shitty DRM won't allow it, but the vast majority of games on Steam drop their disc version's DRM in favour of the the way Steam itself works.

All the games in your account are auto-updated too, so if a patch gets released for a game, the Steam client will automatically download and apply that patch for you when you go to launch the game.

Plus, Steam is developing a lot of social-networky things and basically becomming more and more like a PC version of Xbox Live.

Anyway, there are plenty of people that hate it, but I personally think Steam is a pretty fantastic service.

Doctor Glyndwr · **Joined:** 30th Mar, 2008 **Posts:** 32624

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/steam ... d-detailed

Quote:

Valve has confirmed its not entirely secret plans to bring Steam to the Mac, and revealed the extent to which the Apple platform now weighs on the studio's thinking. Steam will launch on Mac in April, and Valve's games - including Counter-Strike, the Half-Life series, Left 4 Dead 2, Portal and Team Fortress 2 will be ready then too.

But Valve will also make its future games available simultaneously on Windows and Mac, starting with Portal 2 this Christmas. Valve's biz dev director Jason Holtman said the firm had a new feature called "Steam Play", which allows you to buy a game once and then play on either Windows or Mac. "For example, Steam Play, in combination with the Steam Cloud, allows a gamer playing on their work PC to go home and pick up playing the same game at the same point on their home Mac," he said. "We expect most developers and publishers to take advantage of Steam Play."
...
"We are treating the Mac as a tier-1 platform so all of our future games will release simultaneously on Windows, Mac, and the Xbox 360. Updates for the Mac will be available simultaneously with the Windows updates. "Furthermore, Mac and Windows players will be part of the same multiplayer universe, sharing servers, lobbies, and so forth. We fully support a heterogeneous mix of servers and clients. The first Mac Steam client will be the new generation currently in beta testing on Windows."

Plus, to confirm, http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/l4d-m ... s-platform

Quote:

Valve has said that Left 4 Dead owners on Windows and Mac will be able to join forces or go head to head cross-platform in multiplayer.
...
Thanks to Valve's "Steam Play" feature, Windows players who also have Macs don't have to worry about forking out for a separate version either. As the Left 4 Dead blog points out, "if you own Left 4 Dead 2 for Windows, then you already own it for the Mac."

That's about as good as it can get, I reckon. Single-purchase across platforms, cross-platform network play, and savegame syncing.

Zio · **Joined:** 31st Mar, 2008 **Posts:** 6093

It's almost making me wish I had a Mac again. Half-Life for Mac was an ever-popular April fool gag on the Mac gaming forums I used to go to (population: 3). Certainly the Mac community back then would never have imagined that they might also get Steam one day, particularly with as good an arrangement as this appears to be.

Malabelm · **Posted:** Tue Mar 09, 2010 11:28

That's brilliant stuff. I can't see me ever making any use of it, but that's not the point.

Doctor Glyndwr · **Joined:** 30th Mar, 2008 **Posts:** 32624

Also note:

Quote:

We are treating the Mac as a tier-1 platform so all of our future games will release simultaneously on Windows, Mac, and the Xbox 360

No mention of the PS3 in there!

metalangel · **Posted:** Tue Mar 09, 2010 11:35

Doctor Glyndwr wrote:

Also note:

Quote:

We are treating the Mac as a tier-1 platform so all of our future games will release simultaneously on Windows, Mac, and the Xbox 360

No mention of the PS3 in there!

Nobody plays games on PS3!

Zardoz · **Posted:** Tue Mar 09, 2010 12:05

This is quite good.

Grim... · **Posted:** Tue Mar 09, 2010 12:08

Doctor Glyndwr wrote:

That's about as good as it can get, I reckon. Single-purchase across platforms, cross-platform network play, and savegame syncing.

Fuck yeah!

Dr Lave · **Joined:** 30th Mar, 2008 **Posts:** 5979

This is awesome. Its made me ponder if I will even need to install windows at all on my new mac. (IF IT EVER ARRIVES).

I don't like gaming on PCs as I like to keep 'creating things' and
'consuming things' seperate (if that makes sense).

Damn well hope portal 2 runs on my macbook and its rubbish 3D card.... :S

Grim... · **Posted:** Tue Mar 09, 2010 12:32

Bear in mind that this is just Valve. Hopefully others will follow, though.

Pod · **Joined:** 30th Mar, 2008 **Posts:** 2568

How soon can we see Linux support?

Doctor Glyndwr · **Joined:** 30th Mar, 2008 **Posts:** 32624

Pod wrote:

How soon can we see Linux support?

I'm going to continue to go with "never" for that.

Zardoz · **Posted:** Tue Mar 09, 2010 13:37

Still no cheevoz though.

Grim... · **Posted:** Tue Mar 09, 2010 13:49

Zardoz wrote:

Still no cheevoz though.

Except for the Achievements, you mean?

Bobbyaro · **Joined:** 18th Apr, 2008 **Posts:** 11915

When can I download HL which I bought for my PC onto my Xbox? Make this happen.

Zardoz · **Posted:** Tue Mar 09, 2010 14:05

Grim... wrote:

Zardoz wrote:

Still no cheevoz though.

Except for the Achievements, you mean?

I didn't think they'd support the Windows live service for Steam for Mac!11????1111????

Cool if they do then. I needs Mac DoW2...

DavPaz · **Joined:** 27th Jun, 2008 **Posts:** 38704

Steam has it's own cheevs, man.

Zardoz · **Posted:** Tue Mar 09, 2010 14:08

NOT. THE. SAME.

Pod · **Joined:** 30th Mar, 2008 **Posts:** 2568

Doctor Glyndwr wrote:

Pod wrote:

How soon can we see Linux support?

I'm going to continue to go with "never" for that.

Really? That's odd because 3 months ago I would have confidently said that Valve would never make games for Mac.

Doctor Glyndwr · **Joined:** 30th Mar, 2008 **Posts:** 32624

Pod wrote:

That's odd because 3 months ago I would have confidently said that Valve would never make games for Mac.

I wouldn't have taken that bet, though. The Mac platform, whilst small, is lucrative; its users are wealthy and willing to spend. Whereas Linux? I've been hearing that "next year will be the year of Linux on the desktop" since 1997 and it's never come true. And most Linux users, by definition, are unwilling to spend money on software. It's too niche to be worth chasing.

Dimrill · **Posted:** Tue Mar 09, 2010 15:17

Wait.

Dimrill · **Posted:** Tue Mar 09, 2010 15:17

Hang on.

Dimrill · **Posted:** Tue Mar 09, 2010 15:17

Nearly there.

Dimrill · **Posted:** Tue Mar 09, 2010 15:17

Dimrill · **Posted:** Tue Mar 09, 2010 15:18

Appilz runs on Steam?! LOLZ! THey so old and cranky!

Grim... · **Posted:** Tue Mar 09, 2010 15:18

Eh?
[edit]Oh.

Dimrill · **Posted:** Tue Mar 09, 2010 15:18

Dimrill · **Posted:** Tue Mar 09, 2010 15:18

OH ME! I am such a scamp.

Pod · **Joined:** 30th Mar, 2008 **Posts:** 2568

Doctor Glyndwr wrote:

Pod wrote:

That's odd because 3 months ago I would have confidently said that Valve would never make games for Mac.

I wouldn't have taken that bet, though. The Mac platform, whilst small, is lucrative; its users are wealthy and willing to spend. Whereas Linux? I've been hearing that "next year will be the year of Linux on the desktop" since 1997 and it's never come true. And most Linux users, by definition, are unwilling to spend money on software. It's too niche to be worth chasing.

But next year will be the year of Linux on the desktop!

devilman · **Posted:** Thu Mar 11, 2010 13:08

Pod wrote:

Doctor Glyndwr wrote:

Pod wrote:

That's odd because 3 months ago I would have confidently said that Valve would never make games for Mac.

I wouldn't have taken that bet, though. The Mac platform, whilst small, is lucrative; its users are wealthy and willing to spend. Whereas Linux? I've been hearing that "next year will be the year of Linux on the desktop" since 1997 and it's never come true. And most Linux users, by definition, are unwilling to spend money on software. It's too niche to be worth chasing.

But next year will be the year of Linux on the desktop!

And the year that linux becomes a top gaming platform too!

As long as you like games with penguins in them.

metalangel · **Posted:** Thu Mar 11, 2010 13:21

devilman wrote:

And the year that linux becomes a top gaming platform too!

As long as you like games with penguins in them.

Hey, f-pr0tting your tarball is more exciting than getting a titfuck from Gianna while playing God of War on 70 inch HDTV!

Dr Lave · **Joined:** 30th Mar, 2008 **Posts:** 5979

I've just realised that 'coming out in April' is a valve statement.

Bah, I expect to see it just after Episode 3. :(

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