Steam Portal 'one fifth as likely to crash on Mac than on PC' - Valve

Steam released on Mac earlier this month and while there's yet to be any real figures on exactly how well it's been doing on the platform, Valve has release a few figures for you to mull over.

Valve says: "Roughly two thirds of all Steam Mac users are running on a laptop." Nothing too surprising there - those Macbooks are properly gorgeous.

"One week after launch, already more than eleven percent of all Steam purchases are for the Mac," adds Valve, which is pretty good going for a platform not usually credited for its gaming - although that figure could be more because of the initial rush (especially with Portal being free and all).

And then a sneaky jab to the ribs of PC gamers: "Portal (with the same code base across platforms) is one fifth as likely to crash on a Mac than on Windows."

It's the age-old fight; reliability and stability (Mac), versus openness, diversity, cheaper hardware and more gaming (Windows).

FYI, this editor's a PC.

http://www.computerandvideogames.com/article.php?id=247534

Gabe seems to be on a roll. First he wants the PS3 open, and now the Mac.

 

I call BS on this. They just want more Mac lovers and they know they won't lose PC gamers whatever they do.

 

I agree with Ghys.
If true, who said that Mac users are reporting all their crashes... It's a different mentality for Mac users. PC users wants to enjoy their game to the fullest, as they are more avid gamers, while Mac users are porbably just there to check it out and see, if it crashes, they probably have a "oh well' reaction and re-launch the game.
Also they are more PC users, so their is more likely to find bugs.
FINALLY, when you re-program something, you tend to do a better job than the first time... so it might explain the reduce number of crashes.

So they are many possibility and factors for their claim, which result in total B.S.

 

This, hopefully, is both interesting and promising. Hopefully, what we'll see is an increase in the gaming power of Mac hardware to meet this new demand - that would lead to an increase in 'PC' (here used in the broader sense of the Personal Computer) gamers and that means more PC games. What I'm hoping we won't see is an increase in kitsch browser-style games - Farmville, Tap Tap Revenge! et al I'm looking at you - to compensate for Mac hardware limitations, especially not at the expense of traditional game formats.

Ideal? Increase in power of supplied Mac hardware = more people can buy their games on their computer = more PC games sold = more incentive to develop for the PC = more PC games of greater quality.
Allied to that would be an increase in efficiency of games programming so that traditional games look good on the weaker hardware = users do not need £200 graphics cards to play games at respectable frame rates - GTA: IV, stand up so everyone can see who you are - because they're inefficiently coded = more people buy their games on their computer = more incentive to develop for the PC = more PC games of greater quality. Ah, if only...

 

I agree, that would be great. I also agree that your first scenario would be a complete nightmare. Farmville is NOT gaming

 

Incredible. This attests to the power of the PC platform, if with all its possible permutations it's only five times more likely to crash. Do your math.

But, I support gaming on the Mac. 4% of market share, 90% of marketing. I can read the writing on the wall.

 

This.

How many people on this very forum built their pc themselves? Compared to ALL mac users, who've had their PC built for them by ONE company.

Bah...I won't be trolled any further. Oh look everyone, Warrior doesn't like PCs or people who develop games for them... Yawn.

 

This speaks volumes about how unstable a fixed set of hardware and software configs can perform so bad

 

PC platform: nearly infinite number of hardware/software configurations.
Mac platform: about 5 possible hardware/software configurations total.

I'm utterly shocked and flabbergasted /s

 

http://trololololololololololo.com/

 

Yeah, just a shame it runs like poo while it's not crashing.

 

Wait, Warrior hasn't been banned yet?

 

/thread

 

inb4 lock

 

this i would also like to know

 

Wow you guys really hate the mentality of the average mac user don't you? I mean, they may be smug about the fact they don't have to spend lots of time updating their av software and scanning with it or being smug when windows users complain about crashing. But what do you guys care? It's pretty obvious you guys see warrior as a troll, even though he has just quoted an article as a topic for discussion.

If warrior is a troll (as you have labelled him) then he has succeeded, he's got all you guys feeding him and he's probably laughing his arse off at you guys.

 

Portal has never crashed on my PC... so a Mac is 5 times less likely to crash...

meh.


So a computer made to identical specs as every other one, and under pretty much full control of one single company doesn't crash... compared to a platform with no standards whatsoever, capable of being manufactured from an almost limitless range of hardware.

Sigh.


Build a PC properly and it won't crash.


In my opinion... if you're not capable of actually building a PC properly, you should buy a Mac anyway, or it will all end in tears... and people saying PCs are crap.


If you could go to Scan and buy all the bits you need to make a Mac, from as wide a range of hardware (im not talking about hackintoshes here... I mean literally just build and go, like a PC), Macs would be just as big a variable.


Silly people. A well designed PC will be every bit as reliable and stable as a Mac. I think I've said this before, but I'll say it again. I've had more crashes on macs than I have on PCs.

Stupid argument over and over again...

Steam on Mac is a good thing. If you can't see why, then you're stoopid.

/thread.

 

He's trolling... with content! This is a lot better than the previous thread, so far, so if you guys could try to keep it on topic instead of going into rantmode that would be pretty cool.

I don't see why he should be banned, really, even going through his post history. The OEH NOES PS3 thread was pretty bad but to be fair it wasn't really him that ruined that one. And this is the gaming forum, not the PC GAMARZ OHENLY FURUMZ.

I personally am looking forward to an influx of Mac FPS gamers, so I can troll them mercilessly have deep discussions with them.

Spoiler

Ban the differing opinion guy. Ban him now!

 

Irrelevant, it could be general chat for all I care. Its his attitude that sticks of ****, every single god damn post of his is either inflamatory or a desperate troll, hes a ***** and I say ban him.