I can't install or play it yet, but it looks like they may be releasing the OS X port this week.
Last edited:
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
OS X Bioshock Infinite is showing up in Steam OS X Library
- Thread starter blasto2236
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
I wouldn't count on a release this week. Max Payne 3 was in my Steam library for the better part of a month before it became available to download.
Agreed. They often add stuff a long time before it sees release on Steam. I've heard of stuff being added a long time ago now that still has not seen release, I think it might have been the Infinity Engine games for example.
I have seen a few Steam games appear on the Mac client that definitely will not be ported to the Mac. The fact it appears means nothing really, potentially it means someone at Aspyr has done the initial setup for the Steam release but sometimes they just appear before that happens. However that could be done a day before or months before the actual release they are not related.
As Aspyr have not said anything about a final release date I doubt it will be in the next month.
Edwin
They have said it'll be SteamPlay, and news on a release date is coming soon. I don't think it'll be any later than mid-August.
Correct but notice my answer did not say that they had not announced it just that a game appearing on Steam in the Mac area means absolutely nothing. In this case we know it will be coming but I was pointing out that it appearing is not any indicative sign of a Mac project never mind imminent release.
In this case I know it's coming (I will buy a copy once it ships on Mac using a Mac so Aspyr get their cut of the payments) however this is no real clue as to when. I have no evidence but I would guess end of August / September best case.
Edwin
Bioshock Infinite is currently 50% off in the Steam Sales - never done this before but if you buy the Windows version can you automatically download the Mac version when it's released?
I'm assuming you can because its the exact same game but I've never done it before so could use some advice
I'm assuming you can because its the exact same game but I've never done it before so could use some advice
Bioshock Infinite is currently 50% off in the Steam Sales - never done this before but if you buy the Windows version can you automatically download the Mac version when it's released?
I'm assuming you can because its the exact same game but I've never done it before so could use some advice
Last I heard, Aspyr was "hoping" it would be Steam Play compatible (meaning that purchasing the Windows version would open up the OS X one), but they haven't guaranteed that yet.
I doubt I'll buy it a second time, so I have my fingers crossed as well. The fact that it's already showing in my library suggests this will be the case.
To everyone else, I guess this is my first rodeo when it comes to a highly anticipated OS X port. I wasn't aware that they showed up so soon. It has to come within the next month-ish if they want to hit their vague release target of "summer". We'll see.
Agreed, Edwin is awesome...period.
Blasto, no worries. You wont have any issues accessing the Mac version when we ship later in the Summer
Agreed, Edwin is awesome...period.
Blasto, no worries. You wont have any issues accessing the Mac version when we ship later in the Summer
Wish there was some way you (collective you meaning, Aspyr, Feral, etc) could get compensated for the games that I've already bought and played in Windows. While your hard work should be rewarded, I think you can understand from the customers' point of view that it doesn't make too much sense to buy the game again when we already have it. I don't have the foggiest idea of how such a thing could be implemented, but it would be nice.
They confirmed it over on the Inside Mac Games forums, so it's safe to buy it during the sale. And as long as you don't run the game in Windows beforehand Aspyr will get compensated.
Summer technically lasts til mid September, so they have a while. I think it'll be within the month though.
That brings up a very important point. I thought I'd read before that you should buy within the Mac client to ensure Mac developers get credit and get paid for the sale so I always make sure to do that. Everyone on a Mac buying Steamplay titles who might also run in Windows via bootcamp or virtual machine needs to remember to do that to support you guys on Steam.
----------
Bioshock Infinite is currently 50% off in the Steam Sales - never done this before but if you buy the Windows version can you automatically download the Mac version when it's released?
I'm assuming you can because its the exact same game but I've never done it before so could use some advice
Probably but I would consider it better to wait until Thanksgiving or Winter Holiday sales if you want to get it on sale so that Aspyr gets credit rather than the Windows publisher.
That's my preferred way to go and it isn't hard to wait when you have a backlog of stuff to play anyway. To me, the only reason to buy right now is if I know I want to and will play something right now. In the case of Bioshock Infinite, that wouldn't be true since there is no Mac version right now anyway and I know one is coming.
----------
So, do you know if that always applies to Steamplay titles? I have a number of games by Aspyr that I've owned for a long time but never installed or played yet and I bought these before I had a Mac, so they were bought within the Windows client of course. For example, Call of Duty 2, Call of Duty Modern Warfare and Civilization IV come to mind. I've yet to get around to them and when I do, it will be playing the Mac versions now. I would like it very much if Aspyr got credit for those because it is their versions I will actually be playing.
I thought I read one time that there was some time limit on that, that you needed to fire it up on OS X within a certain number of weeks or something but I could easily be wrong there. I don't even recall where I read that now.
It would be nice to have some official confirmation on how this stuff works because I certainly want my money to go to Mac developers always. Anything Steamplay, I will always want to play in OS X.
The platform that gets the most playtime the first week of play gets compensation--it has nothing to do with the platform you buy it on (which makes sense, as you can buy on web browsers and the iOS app!). I was just wondering about this the other day, I thought I remember reading that this was the case, and I finally found it here. (In the comments.)
Thank you for the link. I read that and also the blog link contained there. Unfortunately, it is still clear as mud to me after doing that. For example, here is a quote from a mod there:
"make sure to buy and play it on your Mac to support Aspyr"
So this guy is saying to BOTH buy and play on your Mac which is fine by me.
Also, it is stated that compensation is calculated according to which OS the game is played on in the first week of purchase by a different mod. This begs the question, what happens when it doesn't get played during the first week at all in either OS? What if I buy several Aspyr titles using the Mac client but I do not play them for six months? Do they get paid? Who knows? Not me.
I would think that making the purchase in the Mac client or with a browser that is running on a Mac since I believe this can be detected, ought to be enough to resolve who gets paid. Maybe it isn't though where there seems to be some further qualification related to what OS the game is played on in the first week following purchase as was also mentioned in the linked text.
What if I do not buy the game on my Mac but rather with the Steam Android app on my Kindle Fire? Again, assume I do this and then don't get around to actually downloading and playing the game for months. This is common for me and I am sure many others, particularly following the big sales in Summer, Fall and Winter. I buy up a bunch of stuff then on sale and get to it when I get to it. Do they get paid if I do this? Who knows? I don't know who gets paid in this scenario.
I have yet to read a crystal clear response to this simple question:
What EXACTLY do I need to do when I buy a Steamplay game to ensure the Mac developer is compensated?
It would be nice to get the answer to this question from either Valve, Aspyr of Feral since they would know the actual details. I am skeptical of responses from forum moderators wherever they may be because I have no way of knowing what their real standing is within the company's organization and if they are in fact truly qualified to answer the question accurately. For example, Steam's forum mods are all volunteers for the most part if not entirely. So their word on a question like this would carry little weight for me personally. I'd want to see a post from a Valve employee. I could post this question on the Steam forums asking for someone at Valve to answer but I will probably have better luck hoping either Blair or Edwin can give us the real and exact scoop on this here.
I need to know exactly where it is okay to buy the game and exactly what requirement there might be to play it within some particular timeframe. If I had to install something and run it for 5 minutes so they got paid, I would, even if I had no intention of playing it any time soon and immediately removed it after that little validation. That would be a ridiculous thing to have to bother with so surely that must not really be required but maybe I am wrong?
This really should be crystal clear right on the Steam Store page actually so customers know what to do so their money goes where it rightfully should. Considering Valve/Steam is the retailer here, I hold them accountable for failing to make this absolutely clear for Mac customers. Being a realist, I am sure nobody at Steam is going to lose any sleep over my desires not being fulfilled but still I do wish they would take care of this somehow to provide a better selling place for Mac developers where they get paid every single time a Mac user buys a game for Mac. There's got to be a better way than the current process, shrouded in mystery for many.
It might be nice if I was prompted on checkout to indicate my preferred operating system for any Steamplay title I purchase and better still to allow me to save that preference as a default response when asked for the first time.
Last edited:
I love where this thread has gone. If Aspyr getting paid depends on whether or not I play the OS X version first, I can't see any reason why a 3rd party would port any AAA title. It's a beloved franchise of mine for nearly 6 years now, of course I played it at my earliest opportunity. I wish it was worth the wait to play it natively, but I pre-ordered and played it at midnight pacific. Now, I'm mostly just hoping I CAN play it on Mac.
If you're a fan of a particular game, though, that's not really an option considering it's months, at best, before a AAA titles sees a release on OS X. Buying the game at release and getting it again for OS X during a sale is feasible, I suppose, but that's hardly ideal since the developers would receive less of a cut.
There has to be some way to compensate the Mac developers without having to resort such a tactic. Maybe they could set up something within their stores to allow for a voluntary contribution if someone has already bought the Windows version. At checkout they could provide their Steam IDs. They would just have to make it explicitly clear that you are not getting a copy of the game, but rather you're contributing to the continued development of games for Mac.
Just a thought.
If you're a fan of a particular game, though, that's not really an option considering it's months, at best, before a AAA titles sees a release on OS X. Buying the game at release and getting it again for OS X during a sale is feasible, I suppose, but that's hardly ideal since the developers would receive less of a cut.
There has to be some way to compensate the Mac developers without having to resort such a tactic. Maybe they could set up something within their stores to allow for a voluntary contribution if someone has already bought the Windows version. At checkout they could provide their Steam IDs. They would just have to make it explicitly clear that you are not getting a copy of the game, but rather you're contributing to the continued development of games for Mac.
Just a thought.
Thanks for the suggestion! It's an idea, I don't know how it would work but I will throw it into the ideas area for internal debate when the time is right.
Another thought that came up when I was in the bathroom (and isn't that where the best ideas are generated? ), perhaps some kind of subscription model where you could pay a monthly fee and depending on your contribution you could get a game of your choice from Steam, Origin, the MAS, or directly from the developers. Maybe for $2/month you get a game once a year, $5/month every six month, $10/month every three months, etc.
Something akin to Gamefly but for Mac only. It would probably require a third party to administer, and it's something that could be useful to not only big-time developers such as Feral or Aspyr, but also to smaller indie folks as well.
Again, this is just throwing the brown stuff against the wall and seeing what might stick.
), perhaps some kind of subscription model where you could pay a monthly fee and depending on your contribution you could get a game of your choice from Steam, Origin, the MAS, or directly from the developers. Maybe for $2/month you get a game once a year, $5/month every six month, $10/month every three months, etc.Something akin to Gamefly but for Mac only. It would probably require a third party to administer, and it's something that could be useful to not only big-time developers such as Feral or Aspyr, but also to smaller indie folks as well.
Again, this is just throwing the brown stuff against the wall and seeing what might stick.
Its basically based on the first 2 weeks of use so if someone buys it on a PC but then plays it most on a Mac for first 2 weeks then it gets allocated as a Mac sale or vice versa etc.
If someone buys the game but never plays it what happens? I assume that at the end of two weeks the money is assigned to the platform the title was bought on, if this was via android then I assume it will default to Windows. However I am not certain of these more unlikely "what if" scenarios off the top of my head as I am not primarily a contracts person.
A simple rule would be if you want the revenue to go to the Mac development team buy the game when it is SteamPlay then for the first two weeks play it none stop on your Mac.
Edwin
Its basically based on the first 2 weeks of use so if someone buys it on a PC but then plays it most on a Mac for first 2 weeks then it gets allocated as a Mac sale or vice versa etc.
If someone buys the game but never plays it what happens? I assume that at the end of two weeks the money is assigned to the platform the title was bought on, if this was via android then I assume it will default to Windows. However I am not certain of these more unlikely "what if" scenarios off the top of my head as I am not primarily a contracts person.
A simple rule would be if you want the revenue to go to the Mac development team buy the game when it is SteamPlay then for the first two weeks play it none stop on your Mac.
Edwin
When even you don't know what happens in some scenarios, it says a lot to me about Steam's need to communicate the specifics to customers.
I have a feeling your guess about buying on Android and not getting around to a game for months does cause the sale to default to the market leading OS, etc. but this is wrong. During a sale like the one currently underway, many people do purchases while away from home, at work, etc. These same people like myself are often stocking up on the great seasonal deals and will wind up with more games than they could possibly play in two weeks or two months for that matter. That means that during a sale like this, the odds for a Mac developer to get screwed are unacceptably high, especially since ideally there should be zero chance of this happening.
This is just as true for purchases made in the Windows client but not played. Granted, I see this as a less likely scenario too but the fact it can happen at all is not cool. People do reboot to Windows a lot for games even though they may prefer Mac versions whenever possible. So it isn't much of a stretch to imagine someone in Windows during this sale not rebooting to make a purchase but just buying it in the Windows client and it is also not a stretch to imagine them not getting around to the game for a month or more.
I can only speak from my own personal experience and observing the buying behavior of 60+ friends during the current sale (and previous ones for that matter) but what I see people doing is buying tons of games now. People are buying a half dozen or more a day depending on what is on sale. There is just absolutely no way anyone is going to play so many games in two weeks. So I think there is a lot of potential for lost revenues to Mac developers there. Hopefully this is at least offset by increased unit sales there that they do get credit for overall but my feeling is the system needs significant improvement so proper compensation is always guaranteed. Frankly, I would not mind separate SKU's at all myself. I don't need or want the Windows version of anything when there is a good Mac one to play. I did not mind for example that Aspyr sold Call of Duty Black OPS as a separate SKU or that it runs more money than the Windows version and I am not made of money by any stretch but it is only fair in my eyes.
I probably sound like such a fanboy but to be completely honest it isn't like I do not have a personal vested interest in the success of Mac developers. Without you guys, bootcamp would be the only way to play for the most part and my own goal is to not do that at all in the future.
Anyway, I hope being on Steam winds up being a really good thing for Feral. I will certainly buy my Feral games there when possible and I will do it in the Mac client. I hope that is right that after two weeks payment would default to you. I'd feel a lot better if I knew for sure about that.
By the way, I have to admit that if I were a more sane person I would buy one title at a time and immediately play that game until done before buying the next one to play. In this digital age of crazy sales and an endless parade of appealing titles it is easy to get sucked in though I will say in my insanity defense that I know I am not alone in doing this stuff. There is a big Steam sale thread on gog.com for example and very many people are going nuts buying stuff during the Summer sale, just like last year and the year before that. The funny thing is, I'd bet good money a lot of them still have games from two summer's ago that they haven't touched. As for me, I'll plea my country's 5th amendment here. I will get to all my games eventually, if the good Lord is willing and I live long enough. ;-)
Last edited:
It's a pretty rare edge case and as I said I am not a contracts guy
Usually nothing is made public as most of the time revenue deals are completely verboten so I guess it's more open than some other stores like Amazon for example Thanks, I have been told the Mac/PC dual boot crowd who redeem a "free" Mac copy of a PC release is a very small percentage, the majority of Steam users are Mac or PC only a small number use both platforms regularly playing the same game on both platforms. This reduces the edge cases to a small percentage of the overall sales.
If you buy it on the Mac and play it on the Mac (predominately) for the first two weeks I can confirm the sale would be flagged as a Mac sale.
Edwin
Thanks. That's nice to hear that for the most part what I worried about isn't much of an issue.
You guys are awesome! The fact that you are this passionate in an attempt to make sure we and the talented folks at Feral get paid means the WORLD to us. Simply put, we have jobs in part because of gamers like you all. 
Edwin is correct. Make sure you play on a Mac within 2 weeks of purchase regardless of the platform you used to purchase, and we are golden.
Edwin is correct. Make sure you play on a Mac within 2 weeks of purchase regardless of the platform you used to purchase, and we are golden.