Valve Confirms Steam is Coming to Mac

Gamervision reports:
"Contrary to earlier reports, Valve has confirmed that Steam is, indeed, on its way to OSX."

[pangitkqb]

I have a gaming desktop but Mac Laptop. Can't wait to take my PC gaming mobile!

Thank you, Valve! Steam is a great service and availability on Mac is gonna be a true service to gamers on Macs everywhere.

[Blaze929]

whoa whoa whoa...there are gamers yet alone GAMES on Macs? News break!!!!

[kwyjibo]

It's pretty awesome that anyone with the Windows version of the games can just grab the Mac equivalent from Steam without needing to buy a new version.

It'll finally give Mac guys something to play other than WoW. I'm sure they'll love Portal.

[jamesgtaiv]

Steam is one of the very few services I have no problem at all paying for. Im glad to see theyre going towards macs. Steam has really helped me get into pc gaming, mainly because its extremely easy to use. Another plus is that its a free service (except when buying games of course). I really thing steam is the first step to making pc gaming as popular as it used to be.

[Killjoy3000]

I have a Mac Book Pro and have been looking for a great platform to buy worthwhile games. My respect for Valve has gone up quite a bit. Now all they need to do is admit they were wrong about PS3 and release all of their franchises on Mac and PS3.

[beardpapa]

It's nice that Valve is bringing their selection to Macs, but it's not like Macs never had any games or rarely had any ever. Even when there are PC games that just aren't available to Macs, the community is there and have brought those games over. Fallout 3, Borderlands, Test Drive Unlimited, Pure, Burnout, Oblivion, Torchlight, Dawn of Discovery, Settlers, Dragon Age, Mass Effect... all have been brought to the Mac community awhile back thanks to people who were determined to make them work using cider, cxz, or wineskin.

Of course, it's not technically kosher since the games end up running off the harddrive (like noDVD cracks), but if you have the PC game on dvd you could install it into the wrapper yourself using wineskin or crossover. You just need to download the wrapper those guys made.

[Letros]

Good for Valve, good for Macs.

[Monkey521]

Now I don't have to boot up my Windows partition to play my games! Yay for Valve!

[Dev8 ing]

One step closer to linux support.

[jamesgtaiv]

Ill drop Microsoft like its yesterdays paper. Greedy ass hats. Linux would be great though.

[tdrules]

Wow for once N4G you've surprised me.

This is good news, now I won't feel guilty when I get a Macbook for college

[Snowb420]

Strange how you have to bring up PS3 gamers in an article that has nothing to do with PS3 what so ever.

On topic: Good news for mac owners.

[BattleAxe]

Your wish is my command! I guess I'll take the time now to tell you how boring HL2 is. I played it for the first time last week, and for this to be called one of the greatest games ever by PC gamers is laughable.

Valve is way way over rated....

[da305kratos]

You my friend, are laughable....you got to remember a few things. For its time, which was several years ago, Half Life 2 looked very good in the graphics department. Also if you played one and continue on to two you see how things progress. The gameplay itself is a smooth, the change of scenery, the puzzles, it has many things to offer. I suggest playing it on PC with the Cinematic Mod 10. Its a difference.

[dkgshiz]

Very good news. Maybe they will have linux support someday?

[washingmachine]

wow,why not just install windows

[BYE]

Uhm ... because it sucks balls?

[Timesplitter14]

Windows only sucks if you're computer illeterate. This is the only reason why you should buy a Mac.

Macs cost a fortune because they are made to be simple and easy to use. The down side is the lack of customization and flexibility (and the price, as mentionned before). You'll also have "hipster" stamped on your forehead, wether or not this is justified.

It must've been 5 years since I last had a blue screen of death, and it was because one of my hard drives wasn't connected properly.

[BYE]

@Timesplitters

The ONLY reason? No...

What about you just need everything to work properly all the time without putting extra time and effort into it.

[Timesplitter14]

"What about you just need everything to work properly all the time without putting extra time and effort into it."

Well then you just install Windows 7 and you make sure NOT to delete System32.

Then everything will work fine

[Theoneneo81]

Your statement is just flat out wrong I know my way around a Windows Computer I have use Windows through 98 to 7 and Mac since OS 7 and you know what I have always found my self with less headaches when I run a Mac.

[PinkUni]

people buy macs for the os not so much for the machine itself although convenient

pc's are much higher end in terms of what you can do with it and making new crap, but theres so many design flaws that come with that. the virus community is probably a lot larger on windows and its probably alot easier to get someone's information

[Moentjers]

The time you loose with keeping your Windows OS running costs you a lot more than the difference in price for a Mac.
And I'm not sure that a decent Vaio or HP is less expensive than an MacBook Pro... I'm not blaming the HP/Sony hardware, only the OS running on it.

[superrey19]

@ PinkUni
If you don't want viruses don't download questionable stuff. Just because you're naive doesn't mean you should blame the OS.

@Timesplitter14
I agree, one big difference between macs and pc is the amount of freedom you have with pc. The problem with that is that people who don't much about computers end up downloading something their not supposed to or changing something that they shouldn't have, and as mentioned above, they end up blaming Windows and accuse it of being unstable, unreliable, etc. That being said, I can safely say I'v been responsible for every bsod and basically every error iv encountered.

[spektical]

@timesplitters

very true, I talked to my friends who mostly own Macs.

It boiled down to, Mac is easier to use, and it has an apple on the back. in other words people by macs because apple had intentions on making it simple for people who know almost nothing about computers. On top of that, the apple logo is selling like hotcakes as of late.

You can tell me all you want, but my computer runs better than a Mac, especially when you can a) upgrade, b) RTFM.

Great move for Steam, as they are giving attention to the gamers that have been mostly blocked from Games.

[beardpapa]

Well you 'can' customize a Mac a bit, but not too much to the flexibility of Windows. Then again some aspects of it is easier to customize than on Windows side.

I think those that never really tinkered into a Mac [more than a couple minutes of looking at the OS at Bestbuy and walking away] are generally the type that are quick to assume Mac is for simple-minded PC newbies with the hipster logo slapped onto their forehead.

I know several friends of mine who program for a living and love the mac for its ease of use. It's not that it's just a simple dumb downed PC but that it gets the work done without the hassle of having to get a reminder to defrag, update, get an antivirus, or other misc notifications every week.

In point, there are people who purchase a Mac just like people who purchase a Thinkpad T60 to use it for work and just that. These are not the same people that get their PC so they can customize it with cool startup sounds or flashy anime/chick/car wallpapers. And then you got the hipster crowd that think a Mac is cool to have, want to customize it with the expected [and assumed] flexibility of a PC, then quickly discard the computer because it wasn't meeting up to their needs.

Second point being, there are many professionals out there that use a computer for work and work only. I know teachers, physicians, residents, colleagues, programmers, photographers, and program coordinators personally that use a Mac because it's good enough for work without much OS maintenance hassle. It'd be ignorant to group us as one of those "hipsters" or "dumb PC users" that are using Macs just simply because it was catered to PC-For-Dummies users. The truth of the matter is it boost our productivity much more and the availability of hourly time machine backups is a nice reassurance data will be there in case of a catastrophe.

[PinkUni]

if you're talking about porn then i can say that i've pretty much never gotten a virus from pornography

80% of the viruses ive ever gotten where things that were suppose to help me and had nothing illegal attached to them.

the other 20% was from website clicks that automatically download onto your computer.

you're calling me naive? its naive to think that you will never get a virus.
they're all over the internet and a huge amount of them are not detectable.

[superrey19]

No, I wasn't referring to porn. You're naive because you download anything that advertises that its going to help you. There are plenty of legit sites that have reviews of free-ware and share-ware that are safe to download...But, its amazing how many of my family members and friends have gotten viruses by installing some "antivirus" that they saw in a pop up or downloading some bogus program from some unknown site they found on google. Basically, if you had a good antivirus (i use AVG free edition), you would be warned of any potential threats from websites before entering them and you would be warned of any potential viruses in the programs you download. Use a little common sense and stick to trusted sites and you will never get anything other than the occasional minor virus that can be cleaned by simple virus scan.

[spunnups]

I only have a Mac, so this is huge. Do you guys think a Macbook Pro (about a year old) can run most of Steam's games?

[saint_john_paul_ii]

depends on the GPU it carries. Im pretty sure though it will run those source games at high settings though.

[Theoneneo81]

if you have a procsessor of 2.5 or higher i think I just looked at Force Unleash for mac and the min requirements were atleast that... so I think in a few months I will upgrage to a iMac down the line.

[Neko608]

Should not be a problem, if you have the aluminum 15" is has dual GPUs and a pretty strong processor. They did come with 1GB of DDR3 ram so I would upgrade to 2-4 gigs (not too expensive)

[spunnups]

Thanks fellas, and yes, I do have the aluminum. This is awesome news. Can't wait to play some PC games. It's been awhile.

[Leio]

Now let bring on CSS :D !

[Neko608]

I was worried that I'd have to boot camp with a full version of Windows 7 in order to play portal 2 (don't have a 360). Now I won't have to. Thanks Valve! (for once)

[DailyAddict]

If you're running one of the iMacs in the past 2 years with the ATI 4850 you can play the games they mentioned at pretty high settings. Those games are not high graphics cards games. Hell, even slightly older machines from Apple shouldn't have a problem playing Team Fortress or Half-Life. L4D on an older machine might just have to played on slightly lower res on anything older than 4850.

I have the 4850 iMac from last year (the C2D version and not the Core i5/i7 models) and I play TF via Bootcamp with Windows on pretty much max settings with no problem.

I have a PC rig and Mac, but I use my Mac more because it's smoother running and the OS is sweet, so getting a little gaming (even if it's just casual) for Mac is a bonus. One step closer to selling my PC now.

[mcgrawgamer]

maybe half life or left 4 dead friend. TF2 is cpu focused so if the cpu aint up to snuff 4850 or not the game will lag like nobody's business. food for thought is all.

[AliTheBrit19]

Macs finally have gaming.

[Timesplitter14]

Gaming in Apple's hands is a very, VERY scary thought.

I give them 3 years to turn gaming into something edgy, casual and cool with motion sensing and all that crap

[spektical]

im not sold on apple making a console. The market is already saturated with 3 premier consoles. Even with the brand name on Apple's side, I dont think they will be able to pull a winner in a crowd of 4.

[Pandamobile]

Yay, now I can play TF2 and stuff with my friends who own Macs :D

[DailyAddict]

Like I said in my article, I play TF2 perfectly fine at max settings on my iMac 3.06GHZ C2D with ATI 4850 via bootcamp. So it's not as "intensive" as you think it is. And with newer iMacs having mobile Core i7's and i5's shouldn't be a problem

[mcgrawgamer]

was simply adding to your statement friend. Not many mac users (the ones I know anyway) are familiar with the specs of their systems. My comment wasn't aimed at you, it was more of a addition to your comment. Many mac users may have a gpu that can technically handle tf2 but may not have a cpu that can do so. that was the message I was trying to convey friend.

[ALFAxD_CENTAURO]

If the Game developers also consider MAC or Linux and not only develop ''Games for Windows''.

I will stop using Windows for Gaming, and start using MAC for Gaming. MS Will loose a lot of millions of users like me, using Windows just for Gaming (because that is the only good few things about using Windows).

[saint_john_paul_ii]

the problem with mac gaming is unlike the pc, you are not able to customize your mac on your own. everything has to go thru apple or a certified apple technician.

this is good news for mac users.

this might force other developers to start developing for mac since usually they distribute their games thru steam.

now will this support cross-platform play?

[d10sfan]

Why do these things always end up with someone saying macs suck? Newsflash: we dont care that you think that.

Macs have very a useful purpose. There are some programs I use on the mac that have no good windows alternative. It runs smoother, more features, and much more stable. I have bootcamp running but I only use it for games. If enough developers get on board with this, I wont be using Windows at all.

[bjornbear]

haha finally =)

[electricshadow]

FANTASTIC NEWS! I only have a MacBook Pro. I have one question though, if I've bought it for the PC, will I have to buy a separate Mac version?

EDIT: Ah, the article answered my question. "Steamworks for the Mac supports all of the Steamworks APIs, and we have added a new feature, called Steam Play, which allows customers who purchase the product for the Mac or Windows to play on the other platform free of charge. For example, Steam Play, in combination with the Steam Cloud, allows a gamer playing on their work PC to go home and pick up playing the same game at the same point on their home Mac. We expect most developers and publishers to take advantage of Steam Play."

[Karum]

Brilliant news for MAC owners that want to play a variety of games.

Nicely done Valve.

[Neko608]

Why are some people still under the impression that macs are "dumbed down?"

Yes it has a great, easy to use, and streamlined OS, but the MB Pro I got over a year ago has a 2.4 ghz core 2 duo and dual GeForce GPUs. Only came with 1 gb DDR3 RAM but it was easily upgraded.

And no, I don't love Apple. I think they are the lesser of 2 evils compared to Microsoft (though they are making a great case to take the top spot with this lawsuit against HTC). As soon as I can get a basic laptop with Chrome OS I'm going to for day-to-day stuff, and keep my MB Pro for pics, music, etc.

[slyrunner]

Macs arent dumb down, and for people thinking that should be slaped, im in the same boat as you, but upgraded to a 15' mac book pro, but any who, they arent built for gaming, and i think thats what most of us are saying, Apple has just now enter the gaming world since the launch of the ipod touch, but other than that,PC have been out since the 1980's,SO that comes to now why macs are not really tooken seriously as a gaming machine, simply becuz of the front based hardware it is limited on

[slyrunner]

is simply stupid for one:
You can ONLY play games that are new (2009-2010) decent frames with a Mac PRO, not a mac book PRO! Since its the only one that is upgradeable
2.In all of macs games, they are simply locked!!! meaning the settings are just right for the machine that you are playing, so if you have a older mac book, it simply can not play , so good bye to crysis,AVP,Assassins Creed and so on.
3.Macs in whole, the parts are expensive as hell, look at a 295 gtx and look at the price, and not only that, they only have a FEW brands of video cards, meaning that you cant go cheap on these things!!
4.Most developers do not support macs
5.And macs simply are built for gaming, they are only built for basic task and workstations(Pixars movies and so on)AND Art :D

Noticed, these are all Facts, and if you disagree, i will be happy to post some links for you.
Also:This comment is only aimed for the people who are ditching windows based computers for mac for GAMING, Thank You

[Erocal]

i think most people understand that this is a transitional period for Macs becoming a "gaming" rig. I highly doubt it will ever pass windows but with the new intel macs porting games isn't as hard as it once was. Newer macs like the Imac and macbook pro and mac pro's come with decent graphic cards which should be able to run most games on high settings.

I dont understand what you mean about games being locked though. Maybe to older PowerPC macs? Either way im pretty sure you can change video settings in most Mac games. If that is what your talking about.

In the end its a good deal. Windows user's probably shouldn't jump ship if they are gaming only..but if your an audio engineer and you have to spend a lot of cash on a mac, it's nice to know you can play some games if need be.

[Darth Stewie]

Yes now I can play Left 4 Dead and portal 2 since I no longer have a PC and I only have a PS3.

[Pandamobile]

Valve: "We like the platform wars in the forums so much that we've decided to add a new platform to the fray."

Lol