Mac as a Gaming Platform?

[Ashley Aitken]

Hi again David,

Thanks for you considered reply.  I understand and agree with a lot  
(most) of what you say.

On 28/12/2006, at 11:23 AM, David Zhou wrote:

> ...
> Put simply, players who are interested in games that use a gamepad  
> have moved to consoles, and players liking games that a keyboard  
> and mouse caters to have migrated to PC games. ...

Again though, I would say it doesn't have to be the case.  Mac/PC  
games don't have to be a hassle or only use keyboard/mouse, and I  
would think a standard controller would be one step in that direction.

>> As Microsoft aims to develop Windows as a gaming platform (more  
>> than just a PC that can run games) and Apple courts games, I think  
>> having a standard controller for the platforms would be a good idea.
>
> I don't think this would be beneficial at all.  This would put PC/ 
> Mac gaming in direct competition with home console systems -- and  
> in the case of Microsoft, in competition with their own product.

One can look at it that way, but one can also see it as growing the  
whole market.

I read a news article recently about Microsoft doing just this -  
trying to development the PC further as a gaming platform alongside  
(and integrated with) the XBox.  I can't find the article I read but  
these are similar:

<http://news.softpedia.com/news/Microsoft-Introduces- 
GamesForWindows-40835.shtml>
<http://www.microsoft.com/windowsvista/community/gamingplatform.mspx>

and here's Microsoft's spiel:

<http://www.gamesforwindows.com/>

And I guess/bet that Apple will do something similar in the future.  
Especially considering the GPU and other hardware (multicore) we have  
in Macs/PCs these days.

Cheers,
Ashley.