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Steam for Mac update brings new games and cross-platform action

by Parm Mann on 20 May 2010, 15:34

Tags: Valve

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PC users have always enjoyed the occasional quip about gaming on Macs - or the lack of it, rather - but it seems Apple devices are quickly becoming big players in the gaming arena.

The iPhone and iPad are already on their way to becoming gaming powerhouses, and it looks as though Mac computers are catching up too.

Following last week's launch of the Steam client for Mac, developer Valve has announced that more than eleven per cent of all Steam software sales are now occurring on Mac computers. It's possible that Apple users are simply over-eager after years in the gaming wilderness, but the first week figures are impressive.

According to Valve, roughly two thirds of all Steam Mac users are running on some form of MacBook, and early statistics suggest Portal - a title that's being offered for free until May 24th - is five times less likely to crash on a Mac than a Windows PC.

Valve - who clearly has plenty of love for the Apple ecosystem - has previously stated that Macs are "a great platform for entertainment services," and will no doubt be buoyed by first-week sales.

Hoping to maintain the momentum, the developer has kept to its schedule of new games each week by adding the following twelve titles to the Steam for Mac library:

Altitude
Caster
Chains
Eschalon Book 1
Europa Universalis 3
Hearts of Iron 3
Killing Floor
Madballs in Babo: Invasion
Sam & Max Season 2
Sam & Max Season 3 - Ep. 2
Simplz Zoo
Windosill

Of the twelve new additions, Altitude, Killing Floor and Madballs in Babo: Invasion offer support for cross-platform multiplayer - making them the first Steam games to allow PC and Mac users to virtually play together kill one another.



HEXUS Forums :: 2 Comments

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Considering that there's quite a few macs out there which had no prior access to this kind of service, could be just be down to a launch stampede? We'll have to see how it stacks up after a while.
Not to mention there are plenty of other channels via which to get the PC games, and many more PC games.

Because no one else caters for the Mac market, and why would they knowing how bad their graphics performance is, I think this might just be the honeymoon period.