Feral Interactive Creates Mac App Store Splash: 'BioShock', 'Borderlands', and More

[RichardBeer]

I stand by my point about the prices in relative to the age of the games. However I accept that the point of cider ports is a speculative conclusion based upon past experience which may or may not be the case with these games.

 

[IanAtFeral]

Hello! I'm going to try to answer as many questions as possible!

All it is, is price gauging for old games that are inferior cider ports. They aren't even native, just a windows exe in a wrapper with a performance loss.

Not true! Our games are native Mac apps. If you buy one from the App Store you're very welcome to have a look inside the App package yourself. 😉

how does gfx on a 2010 mini hold up against the 360 on for example Bioshock? can one use a 360 or a ps3 pad with the mac?

Compared to the 360 the graphics should be at least identical, and most likely better. It's worth keeping in mind that the maximum resolution of the 360 version is 1280x720, and you'll probably be running it at a higher resolution on your Mac. If you run it at a very very high resolution, you may see a performance hit. BioShock on the Mac has unofficial support for the 360 pad, but you'll need to install some 3rd party drivers to make it work.

Did anyone purchase the Mac Store Bioshock port? Does it run well on the latest model of the Macbook Pro 13"? I might chime in if my Mac is capable of running it.

It should run really well on that MBP. 🙂

With regards to pricing: We try our best! Making native Mac ports is a very expensive business… firstly we have to pay the original publisher of the game for the rights to make a Mac version, and then we have to pay for the development. As I'm sure you can imagine, these games are terrifyingly complicated, so development is difficult! After we've finished the game, we're then faced with a market for games that is much smaller than on the PC and consoles, so we need to make more money per sale in order to break even. If we don't break even, we go out of business and then there's no Borderlands for Mac. You will see cheaper PC and console prices, but believe it or not, it's easier to sell a game for $10 when you've already sold 3 million!

With regards to older games: You will see a few older titles popping up as new releases on the App Store and other download sites (Direct2Drive, GamersGate, MacGameStore etc.), because we're trying to make as much of our back catalogue available for download as possible. We're hoping that some classics like Rome will find a new audience!

With regards to Steam: Steam's business model works for some companies and that's great, but we can't make it work for us. We're aiming to have our games available from as many other places as possible, though.

I hope this answers a few questions and clears up some misconceptions. If I've missed something, ask away and I'll do my very best to answer!

– Ian

 

[iPhoneCollector]

firs i was like "thats great" then i read the price and was like "that sucks". well i think the mac app store is more convenient or something because there's no other reason than that to buy those games there.

 

[gregorsamsa]

I stand by my point about the prices in relative to the age of the games. However I accept that the point of cider ports is a speculative conclusion based upon past experience which may or may not be the case with these games.

You accept it's "a speculative conclusion... which may or may not be the case with these games"? 😀 Why not accept you were plain wrong about feeding people inaccurate information, this despite a number of posters clarifying that the facts were otherwise which, for reasons best known to yourself, you still choose to ignore. A bit slow or just a troll? 🙄

 

[HAL-00]

One difference between the Windows version of Borderlands and Feral's port is that the Mac port apparently has lower system requirements.

The minimum requirements for Windows include ATI HD 3000 while the Mac version only specifically excludes the ATI 16xx cards.

So I wonder if it would run well enough on my ancient mid-2007 iMac with ATI HD 2600 and 2,4 GHz C2D? It would seem that my system sits somewhere between the minimum and recommended but I'm unsure about the graphics card.

That would make me prefer MAS to Steam, obviously. The price be damned if it runs well.

 

[milo]

What I dont get is you could still get a better bargain from Steam especially if it's a Steamplay supported game (that is, a game is available for both PC and Mac).

It's not a steamplay game, the mac version is on steam but it's a separate purchase and much more expensive.

Did no one else remember that Apple is keeping 30% of the income of the games? They have to charge a little more if they want to still make the same amount. It's still higher than i think it should be, but it makes a little sense to charge more to make up for that. Still expensive though

Do you really think that if games are sold elsewhere the developer collects more than 70% of the sale price? 30% actually seems pretty reasonable, if anything it may be a better cut and some apps may be able to have lower prices on the app store.

Has anyone noticed that the average app price has actually been rising the past few months?

The mac app store has only been out three weeks. I assume you're talking about mobile apps, but I don't think the pricing situation is necessarily the same on the two platforms.

Steam for the Mac is a joke because it lacks games that I can buy else where not just on Mac App store but online or in a store..

Whether you think not having all games makes it a "joke" or not is a matter of opinion, and people who don't agree with you aren't "wrong". While it's not the ultimate solution, steam has been great for me many other mac users and not only has brought a number of PC titles but has brought many of them at the same price as the PC version, which is often dirt cheap.

Heck, I'd argue steam isn't something to be written off just because it brought Portal to the mac. And for free.

 

[IanAtFeral]

So I wonder if [Borderlands] would run well enough on my ancient mid-2007 iMac with ATI HD 2600 and 2,4 GHz C2D?

You'll have to turn the resolution down a bit, but it should run fine. We've completed the game many times in the office on similar hardware. 🙂

– Ian

 

[louis Fashion]

Game on

Any improvement in game selection for Mac/Appl is more than welcome.

 

[Žalgiris]

Just bought Borderlands and it's awesome. Thanks Feral.

 

[Irishman]

All it is, is price gauging for old games that are inferior cider ports. They aren't even native, just a windows exe in a wrapper with a performance loss. It's a joke. If people want games then they should just use Windows with DirectX which is built with games in mind, that way you get the wider range of titles with proper performance and driver support.

Don't feed the troll, folks. 🙂

 

[Irishman]

So much for the race to the bottom in app prices.

Has anyone noticed that the average app price has actually been rising the past few months?

A whole bunch of developers have woken up to the fact that they can make more total gross revenue by ignoring all the "should be $0.99" kiddies, and selling to customers who have money and are willing to spend more for good product.

You must be referring to iOS apps, because the Mac App Store hasn't been around for months.

Which ones?

 

[Irishman]

Also, what kind of ****** buys games at Best Buy?

Games are one of the most rapidly growing product categories at Best Buy. Cell phones are another.

 

[katz]

You people act like Steam the best thing next to water.. I hate to break it to you but none of them games are able for the Mac on Steam.. Steam is a joke when it come to the Mac.... So if people want to play games on their Mac without needing to run windows Steam is not the way to go in any form..


http://store.apple.com/us/browse/home/shop_mac/software/games?mco=MTY2MTY4NDc

The same prices if you go to the store to buy the games for the Mac..

Hate to break it to you, but gaming in OS X is really bad. Poor performance and it's costly. Your computers are capable of running windows. May as well run it if you actually want playable games. The mac versions are jokes.

 

[Andeavor]

I used to buy games at Best Buy but their service was atrocious at the time. Most of them just stood around checking prices and would never pay attention to you.

 

[PlipPlop]

Hate to break it to you, but gaming in OS X is really bad. Poor performance and it's costly. Your computers are capable of running windows. May as well run it if you actually want playable games. The mac versions are jokes.

Lol cod 2 50 dollars

 

[Slim02]

Hate to break it to you, but gaming in OS X is really bad. Poor performance and it's costly. Your computers are capable of running windows. May as well run it if you actually want playable games. The mac versions are jokes.

Really because I have two games that run on OS X and they performance the same as if you played them on Windows... Also I am not going to run Windows just to play some games when I can do it on OS X side just fine... I will play games that are able on Mac and when there are no games to play I use mine 360 and PS3 before Windows, seeing they have more and better games then what on Windows..

I hate to break that to you.........

 

[thagomizer]

Bought Borderlands on the app store. Painless install and launch (after the 9GB download overnight). There is no way this is a Cider port like Spore, Civ 4, etc. It's fun, the graphics are beautiful and it runs fast with no glitches so far. Sound quality is also excellent, panning stereo sound.

This is the way it's done, folks. If you want a modern first-person shooter on the mac, go buy it. I waited years for UT3... screw it.

Great thing about the App store is that anything you buy is licensed for all the Macs in your home. Forget about having to keep a CD in the drive to play. I haven't tried online multiplayer yet with both Macs, but I'll be thrilled if that would work... no more having to buy multiple copies of a game just to play multiplayer with someone sitting right next to you.

 

[Žalgiris]

no more having to buy multiple copies of a game just to play multiplayer with someone sitting right next to you.

That's a good point actually.

 

[tblrsa]

At first i was about to purchase Starcraft 2, but the draconic DRM drove me away. (Sorry Blizzard) So instead of that, i´ve decided to buy Bioshock on the MAS today. I´ll do this for the following reasons:

- Don´t wanna switch to Windows just to play the game
- Want to support OSX development of future titles
- I don´t have to put up with DRM (Securom or anything besides Apples own DRM System)

Anyone who is interested and does want future titles to appear, should chime in on one of Feral´s current offerings. Sure, you can get the Windows Versions cheap most of the time, but don´t forget porting games isn´t a simple matter aswell.

 

[Mackilroy]

tblrsa: you have no idea what draconian DRM is. Try looking at Ubisoft's DRM that they formerly used for Assassin's Creed II on the PC and some other games. 😉

Steam's DRM is practically non-existent compared to that, and will give you no trouble at all. I've used Steam on three different computers, under both Windows and OS X, and never once had an issue from Steam's DRM.

Also, Securom is on very few titles, and mostly EA's titles. Easy enough to skip. 🙂

 

[ezl]

Wireless Controller?

A little off topic, but can anyone recommend a good wireless controller for these types of games (if any are available for a Mac)? My MBP is connected to my TV, so (ideally) I wouldn't be at the keyboard while playing.

Thanks in advance...

 

[*LTD*]

I'm about to shell out for Borderlands via the Mac App Store. I know its storyline isn't Fallout 1-esque or Fallout 2-esque. I've already made peace with that. But that is probably not the point. What I'm looking for is some heavy exploration, finding interesting areas, playing with guns, and being able to store stuff at a base or something (so, housing possibilities), although I can probably live without this last element.

Does Borderlands accept mods? Is there a modding community? That would be pretty sick.

Anyway . . .

Just to confirm, this is NOT a port, but a NATIVE Mac app?

This supports all the shading, anti-aliasing and other graphical goodies that the PC version supports (provided your videocard is up to spec)?

I'll have just as much control over graphical settings as I would on the PC version?

I'm running an early 2008 15-inch MBP, 2.4Ghz, 4GB RAM, Nvidia GForce 8600M GT 256MB. Latest Snow Leopard.

Thanks.

(by the way, is Bioshock similarly native on the Mac?)

 

[tblrsa]

Yep, Bioshock is native too. Purchased it, download went fine. Game runs well on my MBP 13". Haven´t tried with external monitor yet, but i guess it should be able to handle it.

 

[qwerty2k]

Does borderlands support ps3 controller?

 

[IanAtFeral]

Hello!

Does Borderlands accept mods? Is there a modding community? That would be pretty sick.

Borderlands doesn't do mods… I agree though, it would be awesome.

Just to confirm, this is NOT a port, but a NATIVE Mac app?

It's a native Mac app!

This supports all the shading, anti-aliasing and other graphical goodies that the PC version supports (provided your videocard is up to spec)?

Yes!

I'll have just as much control over graphical settings as I would on the PC version?

Yes!

I'm running an early 2008 15-inch MBP, 2.4Ghz, 4GB RAM, Nvidia GForce 8600M GT 256MB. Latest Snow Leopard.

It'll run fine… I'd recommend turning off ambient occlusion and dynamic shadows, and possibly dropping the resolution one step below native. But as ever, it all depends on what settings you're happy with.

(by the way, is Bioshock similarly native on the Mac?)

It is! And you should be able to turn up all the settings too.

– Ian 🙂

(This reply sponsored by Exclamation Marks™, for all your enthusiasm needs!)