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Mac vs iOS gaming: which do you prefer and why?

Mac vs iOS gaming: which do you prefer and why?

  • Mac

    Votes: 9 50.0%

  • iOS

    Votes: 9 50.0%
  • Total voters
    18
motm95

motm95

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Aug 19, 2010
362
1,446
127.0.0.1
It’s 2020 and we’re stuck at home - which gaming platform do you prefer or use most often and why? Just curious.

I selected iOS. In the past it would have been Mac but I find myself gaming on my iOS device far more often these days so I guess I must prefer it. :)
 
I say mac (actually PC) gaming for the following reasons

Mac/Pc gaming:
  • Larger screen - I'd rather play on a 34" ultrawide then a 5.8 iPhone or a 10.5 iPad screen
  • Better graphics, including up to 4k
  • Controls - mouse and keyboard controls are superior in trying to do complex actions
  • Larger/longer games - I spent hundreds of hours discovering new content in games like Fallout. I've played Skyrim for months and months and I still stumble upon new quests and content.
  • Customization, I can easily customize or mod many games for little to no money, whereas most modding in iOS games cost money
  • More involved games with complex storylines and characters. True there may be some of those in iOS but they're few and far between.

iOs gaming - to me its small fluff games that help pass time when I'm waiting in line or sitting on the toilet :)
 
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I’m not really a mobile gamer. I find them too fiddly. But this situation has enticed me enough to activate my Xbox live pass.
 
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Desktop, in my case PC. I only game on iOS when it’s the only option. I’ve just not found many games there that have enough depth to hold my attention. I did play Plants vs Zombies for quite a while and about 6 months of 8 Ball Pool. I actually paid $5 or was it $9 for a better cue. Also play Sudoku and a puzzle app on occasion. :)

The poll should include PC or other category IMO.
 
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iOS 100%. A game like a collectable card game (which I love) requires so much clicking. I already have so much mouse/keyboard use during the day it's nice to get a break with a touch interface.
 
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Huntn said:
The poll should include PC or other category IMO.
Click to expand...


Yes, console. :D
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MisterSavage said:
iOS 100%. A game like a collectable card game (which I love) requires so much clicking. I already have so much mouse/keyboard use during the day it's nice to get a break with a touch interface.
Click to expand...

The type of game we do really enjoy on the iPad, is puzzle exploration, an example would be The Room series. Those are fun just chillin' in bed, look (and sound) amazing on the iPP 12.9".
 
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maflynn said:
I say mac (actually PC) gaming for the following reasons

Mac/Pc gaming:
  • Larger screen - I'd rather play on a 34" ultrawide then a 5.8 iPhone or a 10.5 iPad screen
  • Better graphics, including up to 4k
  • Controls - mouse and keyboard controls are superior in trying to do complex actions
  • Larger/longer games - I spent hundreds of hours discovering new content in games like Fallout. I've played Skyrim for months and months and I still stumble upon new quests and content.
  • Customization, I can easily customize or mod many games for little to no money, whereas most modding in iOS games cost money
  • More involved games with complex storylines and characters. True there may be some of those in iOS but they're few and far between.

iOs gaming - to me its small fluff games that help pass time when I'm waiting in line or sitting on the toilet :)
Click to expand...
I will just echo maflynn for the same reasons.

I have a PowerMac G5 Quad attached to six displays, one of which is a 55" HDTV. It's got a mouse and keyboard attached to it. Why would I choose to play a game on my iPhone with it's dinky 4.7 inches when I've got a 55" TV? Why try and tap on the screen when I can control things with a mouse and keyboard?

Furthermore, I have a stereo speaker system hooked into my Quad. Why suffer with the speakers on my 6s+ when I've got the full audio range a Mac provides?

I get that lots of people now use their devices as computers. But I'm always going to use the device that is best suited to the purpose. For games, IMO, that's a computer or a console system.

PS. I've got a Wii attached to 48" rear projection TV in the garage as well. I use that too.
 
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Look at how many games died with iOS 11. 32bit apps issues aside, plenty of others have been broken by iOS updates.

iOS games can be fun little time wasters, but its games are ephemeral.
 
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Right now I play mostly PC games and occasionally an iOS game. I would play games on my Mac but I don't have an eGPU for my mini yet. Yesterday my PC just randomly restarted in the middle of a PVP game and the first thing that came to my mind is I need an eGPU ASAP 😂
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Huntn said:
Then include a neither choice. :)
Click to expand...
He left out DOS games too 😥... Oh I miss some of them!
 
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akash.nu said:
It’s the developers who are at fault really. Apple gave plenty of notice before curtailing 32bit apps.
Click to expand...

Some of those developers didn't exist anymore but really who is at fault doesn't really matter to the end user, I am not going to spend money on iOS games when iOS updates far less drastic than the 32bit cut off have broken compatibility.

It's the same reason that I have decided to give up on Mac gaming and just use consoles or Windows (Boot Camp) instead.
 
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When I do play video games (which it admittedly isn't very often that I actually play games, I generally just hang out on Minecraft servers and talk), I generally play Minecraft or Sauerbraten on my MacBook or something like SimCity 2000, Doom, and other classics on my OS 9 systems. I'd like to start playing some PPC OS X games like Halo, but I haven't had the time to start yet.
 
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Aika said:
Some of those developers didn't exist anymore but really who is at fault doesn't really matter to the end user, I am not going to spend money on iOS games when iOS updates far less drastic than the 32bit cut off have broken compatibility.

It's the same reason that I have decided to give up on Mac gaming and just use consoles or Windows (Boot Camp) instead.
Click to expand...
I know how you feel. When I went from Windows 98 to XP a few of my games wouldn't work. Eventually they put out updates but some took forever.
 
To be honest, frankly neither! iOS games used to be a big deal to me, back when Modern Combat was essentially Call of Duty for mobile (without microtransactions) and NOVA. I loved those games, especially the online multiplayer aspect. Over time though, games of that caliber stopped being developed or went to a microtransaction style pay-to-win game. the only games I play on iOS now are things that don't require a lot of input like True Skate or Tiny Tower. Mobile games just feel too shallow for my tastes I guess!

Gaming on a Mac has also gone down a lot for me since I'm holding out on installing Windows 10 to play old titles on Steam like Half Life 2, so my macOS game options are Civ 5 and Lego Star Wars TCS.

I save my gaming for my Xbox mostly since I can play the style of games I enjoy more there (Prey, The Elder Scrolls, Fallout). But, if I had to vote between gaming on macOS and iOS, I'd go with iOS since there is quite a bit more developer support there.
 
Flow39 said:
To be honest, frankly neither! iOS games used to be a big deal to me, back when Modern Combat was essentially Call of Duty for mobile (without microtransactions) and NOVA. I loved those games, especially the online multiplayer aspect. Over time though, games of that caliber stopped being developed or went to a microtransaction style pay-to-win game. the only games I play on iOS now are things that don't require a lot of input like True Skate or Tiny Tower. Mobile games just feel too shallow for my tastes I guess!

Gaming on a Mac has also gone down a lot for me since I'm holding out on installing Windows 10 to play old titles on Steam like Half Life 2, so my macOS game options are Civ 5 and Lego Star Wars TCS.

I save my gaming for my Xbox mostly since I can play the style of games I enjoy more there (Prey, The Elder Scrolls, Fallout). But, if I had to vote between gaming on macOS and iOS, I'd go with iOS since there is quite a bit more developer support there.
Click to expand...
You hit the nail on the head. Many developers just stopped supporting MacOS and Linux because of the cost vs user base ratio. If over 80% are on one OS it doesn't make financial sense to spend an equal or greater amount of money and time to get the other 20%. The way the developers look at it is if someone wants to play their game then they'll spend the 1k or so to get a Windows PC. If not it's not a real big loss since it's only a small percentage of the market.
 
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motm95 said:
I hear ya, but I actually didn't include those on purpose - I was just curious as to between Mac and iOS. But these are all great replies, thanks guys.
Click to expand...

Yeah, that's an interesting sandbox. I don't know that I've played a game on a Mac in the last 20 years. iOS, it's been a few tapping games for a distraction, and as I mentioned above, story/mystery/puzzle type games.

I guess I've got no interest in gaming on a computer, and that even includes when I've had rigs capable of some serious graphic performance (notebooks with 8GB GTX 1080s, desktops with SLI'ed GTX setups, all that was for VR development ...).

At the end of the day, if I've been debugging 1000 lines of code, the last thing I want to do is sit at my desk - sitting on a big comfy sofa, 65" 4K display, 600+ watts of Dolby audio, tap a button on a controller and I'm playing, having a beverage, wife having fun with the game too, that's why I'm all about console gaming :D
 
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If I game (Not in years), iOS. I run through Smash Hit and the Puss in Boots Fruit Ninja games during commutes, but stopped because I prefer drawing, and my iDevice would crash or freeze during intense game play.
 
yay.. its a tie..

russell_314 said:
You hit the nail on the head. Many developers just stopped supporting MacOS and Linux because of the cost vs user base ratio. If over 80% are on one OS it doesn't make financial sense to spend an equal or greater amount of money and time to get the other 20%. The way the developers look at it is if someone wants to play their game then they'll spend the 1k or so to get a Windows PC. If not it's not a real big loss since it's only a small percentage of the market.
Click to expand...

I don't think more developers will develop more for Windows then Mac.. We matter do, regardless. But if they are gonna develop, you'd develop ore for what users would use most, and that would be iOS in the Mac world.

If you want extra money, then Mac and iOS platform. With Apple TV now to havig games and AppleTV+....(then perhaps), but to me, these will always be 3rd and 4th places.
 
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motm95 said:
I was just curious as to between Mac and iOS.
Click to expand...
The issue is the incredibly sad state of gaming on macOS. Its not a platform where people game, Apple has historically been almost hostile to gaming or at least not looking to expand its boundaries.

If you want to play games for the major game publishers, then you either get a console or a PC. Steam has some incredible games, both old and new that are simply not available on Macs. Conversely, as I said before, imo, iOS games are more casual pieces of fluff meant to pass time.
 
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Aika said:
Some of those developers didn't exist anymore but really who is at fault doesn't really matter to the end user, I am not going to spend money on iOS games when iOS updates far less drastic than the 32bit cut off have broken compatibility.

It's the same reason that I have decided to give up on Mac gaming and just use consoles or Windows (Boot Camp) instead.
Click to expand...
When an update kills most of your games I can see how this might kill what’s left of gaming on the Mac. In Window 10 there are options to run games in compatibility mode back to Windows 7. Although Boot Camp was a great idea, it’s Apple encouraging you to use Windows because Apple just does not care enough about gaming, if they were even thinking about gaming when they implemented it and has never has given it priority hence a self fulfilling prophecy.
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Flow39 said:
To be honest, frankly neither! iOS games used to be a big deal to me, back when Modern Combat was essentially Call of Duty for mobile (without microtransactions) and NOVA. I loved those games, especially the online multiplayer aspect. Over time though, games of that caliber stopped being developed or went to a microtransaction style pay-to-win game. the only games I play on iOS now are things that don't require a lot of input like True Skate or Tiny Tower. Mobile games just feel too shallow for my tastes I guess!

Gaming on a Mac has also gone down a lot for me since I'm holding out on installing Windows 10 to play old titles on Steam like Half Life 2, so my macOS game options are Civ 5 and Lego Star Wars TCS.

I save my gaming for my Xbox mostly since I can play the style of games I enjoy more there (Prey, The Elder Scrolls, Fallout). But, if I had to vote between gaming on macOS and iOS, I'd go with iOS since there is quite a bit more developer support there.
Click to expand...
I prefer PC over console for Bethesda Titles due to greater mod flexibility. Can you get at the console (in-game instructions) on a gaming console?
 
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