Quoting: gurv

Quoting: JanLinux needs a huge corporation with a 'real' consumer product like the combination of iPhone + App Store or MacBook (Pro) + Mac App Store to really breakthrough into the minds of possible customers.

That's Valve.
Steam has no future without Linux because every other OS is going the despicable locked App store way (first brought to the world by Apple...).

Quoting: JanFeral's revenue is roughly 50 % Mac App Store and 50 % Steam. They're anxiously waiting for Apple to update Metal so they can finally release Deus Ex, Hitman or Dirt Rally on OS X as well. Because they need the money.

Source?

Quoting: JanIf they would solely depend on Linux/SteamOS: Game Over, mate.

Nonetheless they release more and more Linux-only ports so that must be profitable enough right?

And I think they see where gaming is going : Linux not Mac.
Why? because even Apple's own CEO doesn't see the point in Mac anymore.
Apple only care about mobile and companion devices nowadays. "PC" is dead to them.
(and they're right PC will eventually disappear except for workstation and hardcore gaming because it's becoming irrelevant outside of these use cases)

Feral has built their business over 20 years solely on Mac customers.

They even created their own multiplayer and matchmaking service called 'Calico" exclusively for Mac App Store users -- it's like a proper version of Apple's own (and flawed) Game Center.

Edwin Smith and several other high-profile Feral employees -- even in their official Feral newsletter 'News from the source' and on Facebook -- mentioned that the App Store business is roughly half of their customer base. That's the reason why 'Calico' exists.

Ellie or Edwin, please correct me if I'm totally wrong. ;-)

It's my impression Feral is focusing a bit more on premium AAA iOS ports recently -- like Total War and GRID Autosport.

I'm sure and I hope they will release more big Linux/Mac titles like Rise of the Tomb Raider or Shadow of War -- but I highly doubt they could survive (at least in their current form) without the Apple market.

It's not my intention to start a Mac vs. Linux debate -- both platforms are very important for diversity -- it's just a reality check and we shouldn't be delusional about the commercial state of Linux gaming.

Take a look at Aspyr: Jade Empire Remastered released only for Mac and iOS, Mafia III is only announced for Mac, Civ VI was delayed. Even though the only Mac with a gaming capable GPU are the higher-end iMacs.

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Quoting: wolfyrionNope , Nope , Nope!!!

Please stop this NOW and dont make it a trend!

I will not support any company or any porter who wants to have a separate version of a Game just for its greedy purposes.
This is a total Fiasco!

A game should support from the beginning the 3 OS...
Win , Mac and Linux! End of Story!

If you are a porter and you want to port an existing game then get money from the people who didnt buy the specific game from the start.
I have supported that company and I bought it when it was in windows, its an old version of the game that I already have and I have just switched OS to Linux and if its ported to Linux , yes I should have the right to get it for FREE!

Example 1 :
I am a windows user and have already bought many games on Windows and I want to migrate to Linux!

OHHHH MY GOD!!!!
ALL MY GAMES ARE NOT SUPPORTED ON LINUX AND I HAVE TO BUY 2K GAMES AGAIN JUST FOR LINUX WTF??!?!?!!!!
#@$%@#% THIS!
I AM STAYING WITH WINDOWS!!!!

Please STOP THIS trend and dont support this kind of porters!!!
We want everyone to play their games on their favorite OS!!! Doesnt matter if its Windows or Mac or Linux!
With this kind of practices you are forcing all the people to buy again all the games from the start because at that time there was not a Linux native port!

NOPE NOPE NOPE!!!

At the end we will have 3 separate version of the games

Rocket League for MAC
Rocket League for Windows
Rocket League for Linux

Do you really want this scenario to happen??? I DONT!!!

We want all the games to have 3 versions and buy it only once! that is called a PC - MY PC can have any different OS
Linux , Mac , Windows - I do whatever I want with my PC

PC's are not consoles!

I really disagree with this kind of practises and I am very disappointed because Gamingonlinux supported this kind of ports.

Many companies are giving away many re-mastered versions of their existing games for FREE which now are supporting Linux and Mac.

I demand from this company to merge the existing game into one and refund all the money to the people who have bought it if they already own the existing game!

If you decide to buy a MacBook Pro running macOS Sierra and you buy a game from the Mac App Store -- you are not entitled to get a free Steam or GOG copy of the same title. Why? Because we are talking about different platforms, different programmers and support staff: Apple takes a 30 % cut of your software, there's a different validation and approval process for software, Valve and Microsoft also take around 30 % of each purchase -- just like a "physical" retail company like Best Buy.

There wouldn't be any AAA games on Linux if it wasn't for porters like Aspyr or Feral. Big publishers are not interested in Linux at all, Steam machines failed.

What do you expect?

Feral needs to pay for project leads, programmers, marketing and PR people. They need to secure publishing rights, take care of legal stuff, get in contact with Apple and Valve to get software approved, test and support games, even when they're older and not profitable anymore.

You don't get that for free. Do you work for free? Do you demand free rent from your landlord just because you used to pay for your former flat in a different place?

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As a long-time Mac user and Mac games editor for several (online) magazines also running a high-end Linux box -- my two cents:

You can argue as much as you like -- the market reality is pretty simple: From a publisher's point of view Linux is only an afterthought to Mac porting. Mac porting is an afterthought to Windows porting and the whole 'PC' ecosystem is an afterthought compared to the console and mobile market.

There wouldn't be an AAA games market for titles like Call of Duty, FIFA Football or something like Uncharted 4 if it wasn't for a massive install base of people willing to buy games at 60 $/€/Sterling. Not a single publisher would build such a game with Linux (or Mac) as lead platform.

It's a niche within a niche and it won't change in the foreseeable future if the Linux market isn't changing drastically.

The Mac, even though only 5 % to 10 % of the desktop OS market, is considered a 'viable' platform for software developers. Apple customers are used to (and willing) to pay for top-notch software (like Adobe CC, AutoCAD, Maya and even games).

Where's the desktop Linux market?

I love *nix, but the 'year of Linux' or widespread desktop adoption of the OS has been an urban legend for nearly 20 years.

Linux needs a huge corporation with a 'real' consumer product like the combination of iPhone + App Store or MacBook (Pro) + Mac App Store to really breakthrough into the minds of possible customers. Android is a good example: Google invests heavily in it and there's tons of software for it.

I beg you, please, stop bullshit like: "But I already own the Windows version, I should have a right to SteamPlay everything!". Software development and publishing doesn't work like that.

Just think about it: Aspyr recently released Jade Empire Special Edition exclusively on the Mac and iOS App Store -- not on Steam -- and it's soon coming to Google Play. No Linux version, not even Steam, because they don't make money from "already got it through a sale six years ago".

Feral's revenue is roughly 50 % Mac App Store and 50 % Steam. They're anxiously waiting for Apple to update Metal so they can finally release Deus Ex, Hitman or Dirt Rally on OS X as well. Because they need the money. If they would solely depend on Linux/SteamOS: Game Over, mate.

Sorry to be so pessimistic, but I think some enthusiastic open-source/platform-agnostic evangelists really need a reality check regarding their expectations and market realities.

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From a strict Marketing perspective this makes a lot of sense. Valve wants to turn its Steam application into a gaming ecosystem with a dedicated OS, controller, hardware and games. Just look at current gaming ads. In some cases you won't even see the words PC or even Windows mentioned anywhere, but the tagline "... coming to PlayStation, Xbox and Steam".

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