Losing Mac games and thinking about switching to Windows

[thacan]

The Macintosh turns 40 in February and I was there from the very beginning. I recall my amazement toward the Lisa in 1982 after reading the Byte magazine review (but at $10k ouch!) and when the Macintosh debuted I knew it was the machine I wanted; my very first computer. I recall the reaction of many people at the time, they said ‘that machine looks like a game computer.’ Apple must have taken that as an insult and narrowly focused on the business world, because fast forward to today and Windows is the gaming machine by a long shot. Having enjoyed gaming as much as working spreadsheets, word processing, engineering drawings, etc. in my lifetime and now retired, I am more interested in a gaming machine. So many titles are dropping MacOS, even Diablo! And as much as I absolutely abhor Windows (seriously I hate it with passion) I am considering a Windows gaming machine, because we no longer have the bootcamp option on the Mac. Plus I’ve always been interested in VR and a new 3D windows machine with VR isn’t that expensive compared to Apple’s new VR offering. I’m not sure this is an appropriate place to post, but I am looking for some alternative perspective that might steer me another direction. Thanks in advance.

 

[Raz0rEdge]

If you are looking to gaming, you can do it on a Windows computer or XBOX/PS if you wish. I am a long time gamer that started with PCs until about Windows 2000 when I switched to Linux/Mac and gave up on Windows. Around this time I slowly transitioned to console gaming and never looked back.

Forget the BS around these systems. You want to use what is the best at doing what you want. If you want to build/buy a gaming PC with Windows for your gaming needs, go ahead. If you want the ease you get with Console and aren't hung up on all the setting tweaking (like me) then go with consoles.

 

[Rod]

While I agree with a lot that Aswin says, console gaming has not been a viable option for me and I have always preferred the personal computer as a gaming machine.


In the very early days that meant Prince of Persia, Duke Nukem, the Marathon Trilogy and Doom. A little later came Halo, Quake, Rage and Borderlands, Borderlands the Pre-Sequel, Borderlands 2 and most recently Borderlands 3 I played on Epic games launcher with a 14" M1 MBP. There are a few porting options here, Epic, Steam and GOG being three and a number of browser run options.

Here is the full list of alternatives for now;

5 Ways to Run Windows Software on a Mac

You don't need a PC to use Windows apps on your Mac.

www.howtogeek.com

The hope for the future comes in the form of Apple's new game porting tool;

Apple’s new Proton-like tool can run Windows games on a Mac

Developers now have some serious tools to get Windows games on Mac

www.theverge.com

 

[Jimmysb]

My gaming days are long gone, my games were Donkey Kong, Wizards of War and Worms, I am sure some of you will remember these.

 

[Randy B. Singer]

If you have an Apple Silicon-based Mac, or are thinking of getting one for your next computer, and you want to play high-end Windows games, NONE of the ways to run Windows on a Mac are going to be acceptable for that purpose. They are all flawed in some way, and high-end gaming is never going to work well (if at all) on them.

Game consoles are an excellent choice to play games on, as long as you are willing to forego the high-end games that you can play on a dedicated Windows game machine. If you can make that compromise, getting a game console and keeping your Mac is a decent solution.

A low to medium priced Windows computer isn't going to cut it for playing high-end games. We are talking about a minimum of about $1,500, if you put one together yourself, and much more for one that is pre-assembled and ready to rip.

If you don't care about having to learn to use Windows, and replace all of your Macintosh software, and your priority is to play high-end games, then a Windows gaming machine is the only way to go.

My son and I put together a Windows gaming tower for him. It took a couple of months of planning and ordering parts, and then we assembled it in a few hours. It was in the $1,500 range, buying parts that were on sale. Actually, most of the time he runs Linux Mint on it for doing his work. And he still uses a MacBook Air for work too.

 

[Rod]

I resurrected a 2010 White Unibody MacBook 250 GB 8 GB RAM of my daughter's and found to my surprise that it can play a number of previously downloaded games (in my Purchase History) from the App Store.

Games like Doom, Quake, Rage, Deus Ex, Borderlands 1 & 2, Prey, Bioshock all of which are First Person Shooters (FPS) but most have engaging characters, complex story lines and plots.

Rage in particular is an incredible game, along the lines of Borderlands it has beautiful graphics and sound, solo play mode (as do all of the above) and combines stealth and open combat with competitive car track racing, a great range of weapons and equipment, flexible missions and more. A much underrated game Rage combines all the best elements of an immersive FPS that I'm very happy to play again.

So, if you are pining for the old 32 Bit games you used to play 10+ years ago get yourself an old MacBook and you can return to the past era of early Mac games.