BioShock 2 Arrives On the Mac App Store

[50548]

Bless.....

So you are not aware that the forum section for gaming on MacRumors is entitled

MAC AND PC GAMES
computer-based games

View attachment 333441


Added to the additional forum sections available

WINDOWS ON THE MAC
Boot Camp and Windows discussion


So if you are really anti PC gaming then maybe it's actually you who needs to find a new home for that discussion, because Fanboy nonsense doesn't generally go down very well on MacRumors and as a user who has been here since 2005 you should know that and know better.

If you had taken a little time to research through these forums, you would have already noted that there is a specific feedback provided to the admins of this site on this very aspect of MR.

Besides, to call my opinion as that of a "fanboy" is childish, to say the least. My point is that, in order to avoid this stupid confusion where people think that a game is always compatible with Mac, a SEPARATE SUBSECTION should be created to deal exclusively with Windows games, EXACTLY as it is done today with consoles (which can also be emulated on the Mac, by the way).

Again, for the uninformed out there: what makes a Mac a Mac is its operating system, not the hardware per se.

I do NOT, as a Mac user, want to delve into Mac gaming threads just to find that I need to spend 200 extra dollars just to install a different, inferior, effing system called Windows.

And you, more than anyone else, should know better as a MR "demi-god". There are 100 to 1 Windows sites out there - don't make it look as this should be another one of them. And if this is the case, please ask Arn to change its name to PC/Mac Rumors.

 

[roadbloc]

Again, for the uninformed out there: what makes a Mac a Mac is its operating system, not the hardware per se.

I disagree.

I do NOT, as a Mac user, want to delve into Mac gaming threads just to find that I need to spend 200 extra dollars just to install a different, inferior, effing system called Windows.

Okay. But nobody here is breaking any rules that I can see, so it looks like you might have to put up with it.

And you, more than anyone else, should know better as a MR "demi-god". There are 100 to 1 Windows sites out there - don't make it look as this should be another one of them. And if this is the case, please ask Arn to change its name to PC/Mac Rumors.

 

[mikeo007]

If you had taken a little time to research through these forums, you would have already noted that there is a specific feedback provided to the admins of this site on this very aspect of MR.

Not everybody wants the same thing, one person's feedback is not representative of everyone.

Besides, to call my opinion as that of a "fanboy" is childish, to say the least. My point is that, in order to avoid this stupid confusion where people think that a game is always compatible with Mac, a SEPARATE SUBSECTION should be created to deal exclusively with Windows games, EXACTLY as it is done today with consoles (which can also be emulated on the Mac, by the way).

Emulation of a console is not the same as installing a native OS.

Again, for the uninformed out there: what makes a Mac a Mac is its operating system, not the hardware per se.

100% incorrect. If I install OSX on my PC, that does NOT make it a Mac. You are the one who is "uninformed".

 

[flindet]

For those waiting for this to come to Steamplay, I don't think it's going to happen. From what I can tell and the few comments from Feral that I've seen, I don't think they tend to put their ports on Steam, if ever. I know Aspyr's done it for a number of their games, but I thought I saw Feral saying they were concerned about knowing when said games were purchased for Mac vs. Windows. So, I don't know, I got the impression it wasn't easy for them to get what they thought was their fair cut. It adds to the point when you consider many of us bought this game for Windows long ago. You'd think Steam would count downloads or something maybe, but I can see how it can get complicated.

Anyway, the above may be entirely wrong. I thought I remember something like that. The point is, I'd be very surprised if Bioshock 1 or 2 became Steamplay. (But I'd love to be wrong.)

If Feral did put their games on Steamplay, I'm certain I'd have purchased many of their games already. I've already purchased several games on sale at Steam that they later ported because I had no idea they would eventually port it. And now, even though I haven't had time to play those games, I still feel silly purchasing them again from Feral at higher prices.

But, if we want Mac gaming, I'm thinking we have to buy the games. So, I will eventually buy many of the Feral games, I'm thinking. I've already re-bought Borderlands and Lego Star Wars. I'll probably buy the Bioshock games and a number of others.

Of course, that said, I did that as a GNU/Linux geek before finally joining the Mac camp. Bought nearly all the GNU/Linux games in an effort to support GNU/Linux gaming. hahah... Let's hope the strategy works better for Macs. At least Mac market share hit double digits. hahaha

So, I did resist the glorious Deus Ex sale the other day on Steam just because I knew that Feral was porting it. To me, the Windows partition on the iMac is just like an Xbox or whatever. I don't do anything but play games there. It is a hassle to have to reboot, and I do believe we should vote with our money, but I also think it's sort of silly to blow up on folks for installing Windows on their Mac. Hell, I have two Macs running just GNU/Linux natively. It's hardware. You paid for it. Use it how you like while you still can.

 

[lilcosco08]

I don't already have a cheaper version from Steam.

I don't run Windows.

I don't game on a "vasty superior Windows box".

Hmmmm, odd that I mistakenly thought we were on macrumors forums, talking about a Mac version of a game.

Weird.

riveting tale, chap.

 

[Icaras]

Can they both play online at the same time too?

I don't see why not. There's no DRM that I can tell. Though I have not yet tried personally myself.

 

[Derpage]

Bioshock is 20 dollars NEW on Steam. Total rip off, to debate otherwise is plain ignorance.

 

[flindet]

I don't see why not. There's no DRM that I can tell. Though I have not yet tried personally myself.

Confirmed. Doing this now with Feral's Borderlands. Feral's support even confirmed for me before purchasing. It works and definitely permitted by the license.

 

[thai4life]

Wirelessly posted

Yawn. Oh I'm sorry I thought these were rumors related to the next iPhone. I'm going back to sleep. Gonna be a looooong summer, folks. Sigh.

 

[MythicFrost]

You know Valve take a 30% cut of Steam sales too?

No, I wasn't aware they took that much.

 

[Icaras]

Confirmed. Doing this now with Feral's Borderlands. Feral's support even confirmed for me before purchasing. It works and definitely permitted by the license.

Awesome, great value then!

Bioshock is 20 dollars NEW on Steam. Total rip off, to debate otherwise is plain ignorance.

As mentioned above, games purchased in the Mac App store allows you to install and play on all your machines in your household (or at least to the bare minimum of 5). Steam does not allow you to do that. If you had 5 people in your household who wanted to play Bioshock 2 separately, you would have to purchase BS2 5x, so you would be spending $99.95 on one game.

Mac App store allows you buy once and share it across all your household Macs with one purchase. I'd say that $30 is a great deal when you factor home sharing in. So no, to debate is not ignorance at all.

 

[BornAgainMac]

Of course you did, because they were on sale at the time. Just like stuff on the Apple store tends to go on sale from time to time. Right now (today) there isn't much of a price difference between this and the steam version. Know what makes up for the extra $10? The fact that this version isn't ruined by GFWL

http://www.reddit.com/r/gaming/comments/hskr0/thats_it_im_done_from_now_on_i_am_checking_every/

I agree with Windows Live making the gaming experience on a PC terrible. Much rather pay more for it without Windows Live.

 

[lilcosco08]

Awesome, great value then!



As mentioned above, games purchased in the Mac App store allows you to install and play on all your machines in your household (or at least to the bare minimum of 5). Steam does not allow you to do that. If you had 5 people in your household who wanted to play Bioshock 2 separately, you would have to purchase BS2 5x, so you would be spending $99.95 on one game.

Mac App store allows you buy once and share it across all your household Macs with one purchase. I'd say that $30 is a great deal when you factor home sharing in. So no, to debate is not ignorance at all.

Steam definitely allows you to install on multiple machines.

 

[Icaras]

Steam definitely allows you to install on multiple machines.

Of course it does, but try playing the game simultaneously on multiple machines using one Steam account. You can't, because Steam only allows you to use your account on only one machine, at any given time.

And before you ask why you would do that, the context is about multiple users in your household: Siblings, roommates, etc. Read Flindet's post above. Two or more users can play together on Borderlands at the same time with the Mac App store version. For Steam, you would need to purchase two separate copies to do that.

 

[Derpage]

Awesome, great value then!



As mentioned above, games purchased in the Mac App store allows you to install and play on all your machines in your household (or at least to the bare minimum of 5). Steam does not allow you to do that. If you had 5 people in your household who wanted to play Bioshock 2 separately, you would have to purchase BS2 5x, so you would be spending $99.95 on one game.

Mac App store allows you buy once and share it across all your household Macs with one purchase. I'd say that $30 is a great deal when you factor home sharing in. So no, to debate is not ignorance at all.

I know this is hard to fathom, but most people have already played and are over the game. It's got a limited user base as it is. It's really not worth 30 bucks if they give you a cyber donkey in scuba gear to follow you around and remind you that the game isn't amazingly dated.

 

[Icaras]

I know this is hard to fathom, but most people have already played and are over the game. It's got a limited user base as it is. It's really not worth 30 bucks if they give you a cyber donkey in scuba gear to follow you around and remind you that the game isn't amazingly dated.

Most people? What does that mean? How many people in the world do you think have played Bioshock 2? Since you think "most people" have played this game, please do share us as statistic of PC/Mac users who have played this game. Emphasis on the latter user group of course.

 

[robertjones]

30$? Are you joking ?

Got both games for 10$ on Steam, i'm not saying they should sell it for 5$ but 30$ is way too expensive

yes, it is too expensive!

 

[roadbloc]

please do share us as statistic of PC/Mac users who have played this game..

Take-Two announced new sales figures today during its fiscal 2010 first quarter results. The company's first major title in 2010, BioShock 2, has shipped 3 million copies.

That was two years ago. Dunno how that relates to what point you or Derpage's points, but there we go. It sold 3 million copies in it's first quarter.

Just so you know, Steam allows you to install and play the same game on two different computers at the same time. I do it often. The Mac App Store price is very over priced for a two year old game that many people describe as disappointing compared to the first.

But hey, if you want to pay that sort of money for a 'disappointing' two year old game on a platform that can't process graphics as well as Windows, then be my guest.

 

[Derpage]

Most people? What does that mean? How many people in the world do you think have played Bioshock 2? Since you think "most people" have played this game, please do share us as statistic of PC/Mac users who have played this game. Emphasis on the latter user group of course.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BioShock_2#Sales

Prior to the game's release, the chairman of Take-Two, Strauss Zelnick stated that he expected the game to sell 5 million copies across all platforms.[74]

In its first week of release, BioShock 2 was the best-selling Xbox 360 game in the UK and North America.[75] In the U.S., NPD recorded it as the top selling game of February with 562,900 units sold on the Xbox 360, and 190,500 on the PS3. Gamasutra state a possible reason for the Xbox 360's greater sales was the original Bioshock's 14 month exclusivity on the platform.[76] It also managed to hold both the first and second positions on the Steam release charts.[77]

In its first month of release, BioShock 2 was number 1 in sales for the Xbox 360 and number 12 for the PlayStation 3. PC sales are not tracked by NPD for top 20 results, and is therefore unknown.[78]


So yup, it's been played to death as a console and ported to PC and now in it's final death throw, to Mac. It's a two year old title. Two years might as well be a decade to anybody who is interested in games.

 

[AppleHater]

It's a pretty ****** game that borrowed the original game's name recognition, which was an excellent game. A good example why director matters.

 

[darkplanets]

It's a pretty ****** game that borrowed the original game's name recognition, which was an excellent game. A good example why director matters.

I personally rather enjoyed it -- the new levels and abilities were refreshing, especially defending little sisters.

That said, my biggest gripe was how easy it could be -- drill dash + freezing drill + drill damage + ice blast = no alpha unit or big sister lives. Second to that is that the atmosphere was a little... happier? Not quite sure how to describe it, but 1 had a darker feel to it.

 

[flindet]

Just so you know, Steam allows you to install and play the same game on two different computers at the same time. I do it often.

Wow, really surprised by this one. I know Steam allows you to download and install on multiple computers. And you can play on multiple computers at different times if you log into those computers with the same Steam account. They even have "Steam Cloud" to sync your preferences and the like to promote this.

However, I wasn't aware that you can play simultaneously. Trying this, my experience has been that one of the logged in Steam accounts will be kicked out when the second one joins. This happens to me often when switching from my iMac to goofing around on the Air. Heck, you don't even have to be playing a game to get kicked out. You could simultaneously play a game on two computers that were installed by the same user if PLAYING the game was done with separate accounts and both accounts own the game.

The only way I can think of you doing this with Steam is if you're playing Steam in "offline" mode. Meaning you're playing the game, but not signed in to Steam. I know the ability to do this varies by game. I'm not sure if this is allowed by the license or not. I'd bet that could vary by game as well.

That said, the Mac App store explicitly allows you to do this, whether online or not. I want to say it was for up to 5 computers in the same household, but I may be wrong about that. So, that's a difference.

Typically, for single player use, my experience is that Steam is going to crush the MAS on price, especially if you're willing to wait for a sale, which are pretty often. However, if you plan to play the game with friends/family simultaneously in the same household, often the MAS pricing will become the ideal choice.

So, both are good depending on your circumstances. The good news is that it's not an either/or situation.

 

[Icaras]

That was two years ago. Dunno how that relates to what point you or Derpage's points, but there we go. It sold 3 million copies in it's first quarter.

Impressive numbers for sure, but hardly mainstream numbers considering how many Mac users are out there today that have never been exposed to this game.

Just so you know, Steam allows you to install and play the same game on two different computers at the same time. I do it often. The Mac App Store price is very over priced for a two year old game that many people describe as disappointing compared to the first.

Wow, really. How are you able to do that? This limitation of Steam is spelled very plainly on their website:

https://support.steampowered.com/kb_article.php?ref=8963-EIKC-3767#simultaneous

Can multiple users play simultaneously on one Steam account?

Steam does not support multiple players using one Steam account simultaneously - games associated with a Steam account are licensed for the sole use of the account holder.
If multiple users attempt to log in and play simultaneously with one Steam account, the user who logged in first will eventually receive an "Invalid Steam UserID Ticket" error message and be forced to log back in to continue playing (if the first user logs back in, the second user will receive this error message).

But hey, if you want to pay that sort of money for a 'disappointing' two year old game on a platform that can't process graphics as well as Windows, then be my guest.

I'll definitely be picking this up (once a sale hits) thank you very much. Love to own this on the Mac, natively finally.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BioShock_2#Sales

Prior to the game's release, the chairman of Take-Two, Strauss Zelnick stated that he expected the game to sell 5 million copies across all platforms.[74]
[78]


So yup, it's been played to death as a console and ported to PC and now in it's final death throw, to Mac. It's a two year old title. Two years might as well be a decade to anybody who is interested in games.

Really, those are nice numbers, and I truly applaud Take-Two for their hard work. They've earned it.

But how many of those numbers were Mac users? My point is even two years into the market, a game like BS2 can still be exposed to a huge untapped market. Thanks to the Mac App store, which comes shipped and built in every new Mac, and which also does not require Windows or bootcamp, has an even greater opportunity for accessibility for the average mac user.

I would be inclined to say that the majority of Mac users, which is no small number to scoff at in 2012, have not played or have even heard this game yet.

 

[aCondor]

I hope this game plays as well as Bioshock 1 on Mac. No glitches whatsoever with that game.

 

[Irishman]

Bioshock is 20 dollars NEW on Steam. Total rip off, to debate otherwise is plain ignorance.

They know alot of us will pay extra for a native Mac game , if for no other reason than to support the company who ported it over.