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Why are mac games more expensive than PC versions?

M

Mr. MacBook

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Feb 28, 2007
337
0
I just dont know why everything apple is super-priced.

Take Unreal Tournament 2004 and roller coaster tycoon 3 for mac as an example...

Apple Website: $39.95 for Unreal Tournament 2004
GameStop Website: $9.95 for Unreal Tournament 2004

Apple Website: $49.95 for roller coaster tycoon 3
GameStop Website: $19.95 for Roller Coaster Tycoon 3.

Isnt that kinda BS?

It's just weird about how like everythings more expensive. Not that the products are bad, they're awesome, but like the MacBooks and MacBook pros are really pricey if you compare them to other PCs. The 2799 MacBook Pro could be sold and could buy a Sony VAIO w/ 2.33GHz Core 2 Duo and a blu ray drive, not to mention dual 120gb HDs.
 
dartzorichalcos said:
The reason Mac OS X games are more expensive is probably because of the time and effort it took to port from Windows to Mac OS X.
Click to expand...

did you read the post? the OP is saying that the apple store sells things at ridiculously high prices compared to other places and I have to agree. who knows why they do this....?
 
bill4588 said:
did you read the post? the OP is saying that the apple store sells things at ridiculously high prices compared to other places and I have to agree. who knows why they do this....?
Click to expand...
Yes, he did read the post and is correct. The versions at the Apple Store are for the Mac and the ones at GameStop are for Windows. They won't work on the other. So, the price is jacked up because of the amount of time and resources put to the project to port it.
 
Mr. MacBook said:
I just dont know why everything apple is super-priced.

Take Unreal Tournament 2004 and roller coaster tycoon 3 for mac as an example...

Apple Website: $39.95 for Unreal Tournament 2004
GameStop Website: $9.95 for Unreal Tournament 2004

Apple Website: $49.95 for roller coaster tycoon 3
GameStop Website: $19.95 for Roller Coaster Tycoon 3.

Isnt that kinda BS?
Click to expand...

Supply and demand coupled with Apple being able to sell items at full price on their store in the hopes of getting high profit on extra items due to ease of purchase. Many people won't seek out better pricing even today.

It's just weird about how like everythings more expensive. Not that the products are bad, they're awesome, but like the MacBooks and MacBook pros are really pricey if you compare them to other PCs. The 2799 MacBook Pro could be sold and could buy a Sony VAIO w/ 2.33GHz Core 2 Duo and a blu ray drive, not to mention dual 120gb HDs.
Click to expand...

It's worth noting that such a Vaio would be close to $1000 more.
 
dartzorichalcos said:
The reason Mac OS X games are more expensive is probably because of the time and effort it took to port from Windows to Mac OS X.
Click to expand...

That's the answer common wisdom suggests, but it might not be that at all. The original game and artwork development doesn't even factor into the Mac port, so even the potential for it to be cheaper is there.

However, because the Mac market is still smaller and fewer games are made, it works a little differently. A Windows game might be introduced for $60 but make most of its sales in the first month through high-volume outlets like EB Games; after that, sales sharply decline and the game gets radically discounted to compete with newer games. Mac games, I suspect, expect to sell reasonably well for a longer period of time and only slowly decline in price.
 
Hi.. Not to hijack this thread or anything, but do some of the older mac games have some true value? For example, Doom 2 (with box, manual, and jewel case) and Starship Titanic (with box (a little messy), manuals, and jewel case). This made me wonder because back in the 90's, there were even less apple users. Let me know your opinions..
 
I would've thought it's because Mac gaming is rather niche. When you buy a Mac game you effectively have to subsidise the fact that, like it or not, the Mac gaming is tiny. If they didn't charge those stupid prices, no one would make a profit.

With the advent of Bootcamp, either games will get even more expensive as more and more people migrate to Windows to play games, or it'll just collapse and no games (perhaps apart from the really big games) will be converted. Even if Apple started taking gaming seriously and put decent GPU's in all its machines, or released a mid-range tower, that'd just motivate even more people to migrate to Windows to game (and use OSX for everything else).
 
CaptainHaddock said:
That's the answer common wisdom suggests, but it might not be that at all. The original game and artwork development doesn't even factor into the Mac port, so even the potential for it to be cheaper is there.
Click to expand...
You don't think game stuidos are just going to give the rights away to Aspyr/MacPlay/etc without any compensation do you? I am sure the companies which port games to the Mac with the intent of making a profit get charged a pretty penny for the right to do so. So yes, the original game and artwork development does factor into it. Basically, more work goes into the Mac version, it is being sold to a much smaller market and there are fewer games available to play on the Mac so the demand for those games that are ported are higher. For example, look at the demand for games like UT2004 and Doom 3. These games stopped selling for the PC months or years ago yet they are still in demand for Mac users. Why? Because PC users have other (better?) options whereas Mac users do not.
 
topgunn said:
You don't think game stuidos are just going to give the rights away to Aspyr/MacPlay/etc without any compensation do you?
Click to expand...

No, I'm pretty sure they give Aspyr (or whomever) the code in exchange for a percentage of sales. This typically happens after the game is a success on the PC and development costs have already been recouped.

Basically, more work goes into the Mac version…
Click to expand...

I'll bet dollars to donuts the job of porting a completely finished game is far, far less than designing and developing it from the ground up. The costs a company like Aspyr needs to recoup are simply [porting costs] + [royalty fee]. In other words, their cost per title is probably far lower than the original version unless the royalty is exorbitant.

it is being sold to a much smaller market and there are fewer games available to play on the Mac so the demand for those games that are ported are higher.
Click to expand...

Exactly. Market demand allows them to keep the price high for longer. As Mac gaming expands and gamers have more options, we'll probably see prices fall faster. And since overall sales will be higher, the porting studios will probably still be happy.

FleurDuMal said:
With the advent of Bootcamp, either games will get even more expensive as more and more people migrate to Windows to play games, or it'll just collapse and no games (perhaps apart from the really big games) will be converted.
Click to expand...

Actually, I read somewhere that according to Aspyr, Mac game sales are rising since the move to Intel — in spite or Bootcamp.
 
Eveyone should just be like Blizzard, make games that are multi OS right from the start. Theyve been doing it for years and when the price for a game drops mac users share in the wealth thats why they are so great :D
 
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