Not so much an assumption as taking you at your word. You say it again here, there's currently no effort directed towards a Mac client. That's good information for us Boot Campers getting fed up with all the rebooting, and lets us reconsider paying subscription money for a situation that won't be improving any time soon. Best wishes and all, but I have just unsubscribed, and with 4 days left in my month, this may very well be my last post.

Sure it's a solution, but when developers make Mac versions, they sell, and bring in a lot more money than the cost to do the port. The world is full of "it shouldn't work, but it does". If Mac games weren't profitable, developers wouldn't keep making them, and certainly new developers, including indies, wouldn't also port to Mac. It's not an all-or-nothing deal. If a developer wanted to make a Mac-only game, there would be fewer people to buy it, so they would have to budget accordingly. But developers can target a larger market (e.g. consoles) to make huge-budget games, and port to the smaller markets (Windows and Mac). The larger market pays for the game, the smaller markets pay for their ports, and both bring in profits.

But... Apple is principally a *hardware* company, and a very successful one. That's like saying Dell CHOSE not to let HP make its computers. Microsoft is mostly a software company. It truly is an apples vs oranges comparison. (Currently Apple is the #1 smartphone manufacturer in the world, and #6 or so computer maker in the world if you don't count "pads" (iPad, Android tablets, Fire, Nook, etc.) as computers, and #1 if you do.)

Gah, this thread is a train wreck. Statements of opinion ("I like Macs. I like SWTOR.") vs. Abuse and harassment ("Your [sic] stupid for liking MACs.") Sigh.

It's a matter of profit. If a game company can spend only months with a small team to make an iOS game that brings in $5M, that's a significant profit. If a PC game requires 3 years and a large team and brings in $55M, the profit per year will be far less than the sales numbers suggest, and perhaps even less than the iOS game. Likewise, ports to Mac OS X, even DirectX games, also take small teams a matter of months to accomplish. It's been this way even before Intel Macs and a more than tripled Mac market share. Now it's even more profitable, especially with Transgaming's Cider technology. A Mac OS X port need only exceed its small porting cost to be a successful endeavor.

Well, partially correct. It's more like a fork, with lots of API developed especially for the touch interface. (For instance, there's no such thing as a multi-touch mouse click.) In fact, Core Animation (easy animated motion & transforms of UI elements) was introduced to Mac OS X developers, and we thought, cool! A year later Apple released the iPhone and admitted they had developed Core Animation for iPhone, then realized it would be useful on Mac OS X, too. Elsewhere... Indeed. For BioWare it's a Mac+Windows issue, not Mac vs Windows. No sane person would argue otherwise.

I state why I like Macs, and you turn into a hater. I guess haters gonna hate. It's what they do.

First off, yes, Macs are personal computers (as opposed to room-sized mini-computers or mainframes, or embedded micro controllers?). Always have been, just like the Apple II or TRS-80 were. TPM stands for Trusted Platform Module, a way to identify that hardware is built to a trusted configuration. I've never heard of this term until now, but I suppose I never had need to. Apple's core advantage is that the OS and hardware are designed, engineered and tested together. Yes, they buy components from people who are experts at making CPUs, hard drives, graphics cards, etc. But Apple actually designs many chips, including major ones, such as the iPhone/iPad's A5 CPU, and invests in some component manufacturers, such as display manufacturers. This helps them maintain quality and ensure supply. Even without such investment Apple's volume of sales gives them early access to test versions of unreleased CPUs and lets them request custom configurations from other suppliers. And of course they design their own circuit boards, too. The result are products that every millimeter was purposefully designed and engineered. To the eye and to the touch, they give the look and feel of quality. The last major PC maker Windows laptop I bought, by comparison, felt like something heavy in cheap plastic, even down to the keyboard keys. I suppose if I hadn't become used to the feel of Apple laptops I wouldn't have this realization every time I pick up the Windows laptop. I'm not saying the Windows laptop is junk, just that its use of lower-cost materials makes a noticeable difference. But I like Apple products for more than just for the hardware. I'm very happy to have an OS with a unix core, able to develop iOS software on, goes months without a restart, never needs disk defragmenting, etc. There are lots of things I value that makes them worth the price (usually 0%-30% higher). If I wanted a big box of swappable parts, I would buy a Windows PC or maybe save up for a way-overpowered (for my needs) Mac Pro. But generally I like doing things *with* my computer, not *to* my computer, so iMacs and MacBooks suit me just fine.

I'm kind of glad I didn't see this part of the Guild Summit. It sounds like something only a [boorish person?] would say. It's insulting a segment of BioWare customers, and a slap in the face to the paying SWTOR customer (and social group representative) asking the question. This also directly contradicts what his CEO-level people have recently said to the press. BioWare's Mac customers account for far more profit than dozens of such employee's salary. I would think this person wouldn't want to put BioWare in the position to have to choose either/or.

You said gamers only want pieces/parts computers, not non-upgradeable hardware, and I pointed to all the console gamers who represent over 90% of the shooter games market. But the overall point is that the success of iOS gaming is causing developers to remove their DirectX blinders, and to add expertise in open gaming technology standards in general, and Objective-C/Cocoa skills in particular, which directly benefits Mac OS game development. And these skills aren't casual/facebook game-specific.

Stranger things have happened, but no, I'm not saying that. And yes, PC (Mac and Windows) resolutions are trending higher than 1080p, but consoles are limited to TV resolutions. Consoles and iOS games are where the consumers are, and therefore is where the money is to be made. And as developers gear up to develop for iOS, they're also building great Mac OS game developer skills, too.

As Lethality points out, Mac OS X and iOS are very closely related. Same language, same API, same underpinnings, same design patterns, ... Once you learn one, you are most of the way to knowing the other. And they also use the closely-related, and open, graphics API (OpenGL), sound API (OpenAL), etc. You can already see the trend Lethality speaks of. For example: Angry Birds, available on Mac, of course, but what's telling is its Windows requirement: OpenGL 1.3 or later. Or Elder Sign: Omens: it launched on iPad, iPhone, Android, and Mac OS X -- no Windows version in sight. And the iPad is continuing to grow. The new model next week surpasses maximum console resolution by over a million pixels, and will maintain that for probably 5-10 years. Last quarter Apple sold more iOS devices than the number of either Xbox 360 or Playstation 3 consoles sold, ever. Developers notice, gain expertise with iOS and OpenGL, and thus their DirectX chains are broken.

Like the Xbox 360? or Playstation 3? There is no more closed system than consoles, and their games outsell Windows versions by over 10-to-1. DirectX is a closed API, too. The iPad has only been out 2 years and there are already about as many as either heavy console. Successful games sell in the millions on the iOS platform, attracting game developers by the thousands. Gamers don't hate closed systems at all.

I'm sorry to bring you this news, but your reputation for truth & honesty just took a major blow: May 22, 2003: Blizzard updates FAQ to announce delivering WoW to PC/Mac simultaneously (link) Jan 29, 2004: WoW Beta Sign-Up Begins; Mac Reqs Posted (link) Nov 23, 2004: WoW ships for Mac & Windows (link) Also, many other developers launch Mac+Windows simultaneously. Notably is Valve, which has publicly committed to releasing for Mac+Windows. John Carmack publicly apologized that the Mac version of RAGE wouldn't ship on release day (it shipped 4 months later with bonus content). Others do it on an ad-hoc basis, though the trend is increasing. Many other games port to Mac within months. Despite the affordability of consoles and Boot Camp having been around for over 5 years, the Mac games market remains profitable, and is growing.

That's absolutely untrue, and easy to prove false. I know lots of people who play games on their Mac and don't have Windows. A friend was telling me about how great RAGE's graphics were, and how much he enjoyed playing it. Point disproven. A lot of us played Portal 2, and will be playing Diablo III on day one, too. A lot of posters fly into defensive rages at the mention of Mac gaming. If you're going to get mad, get mad at BioWare, or EA, or Ubisoft, or 2K, or any of the hundred(?) other developers who release games for Mac. We wouldn't buy them if they didn't release them.

YES! Demand for Mac version continues, even at the guild summit. I suppose DE or whoever really wants Mac users to buy the game today, even if it costs them more than a CE to do so. And even if it contradicts the leaders of his company. A lot of people own Macs and are not playing SWTOR until it releases a Mac version. The fact is, developers who release Mac games see a profit on that port, even months after the console and Windows versions ship. It's why they do it over and over again.

Yes, it's a controlled, proprietary standard more closed than Apple could ever achieve with its app store policies. "Nobody"?? A ton of developers make games for Mac. Many release simultaneously for Mac + Windows (Blizzard, Valve, EA, BioWare, etc.), and many more port to Mac within months. Even indie developers port to the growing Mac market. Windows PC game sales are now around 1/10 of their console version. Major games have already started releasing console-first and then months later on Windows, just like Windows-then-Mac has traditionally worked. It'll only get worse with stronger next-gen consoles in the coming years. As long as porting to Windows (and Mac) remains cheap enough to make a decent profit, even at the much smaller numbers, many companies will continue to do so. Also, btw, most Windows users aren't gamers, either. Even WoW's highest subscriber count amounts to less than 1% of all PC users. Most people buy a computer because it is useful for many things (Music, email, online shopping, writing school papers, doing work, etc.). These days, portability is highly desired, and Apple excels in this area. (A lot of big PC desktop owners buy a MacBook for travel, or their backpack, or even just their sofa.) Mac is hardly "unsupported" for games. Many "Real gamer" games (AAA, high-violence titles) are more frequently being released simultaneously or within 6 months. Owning a Mac and a game console is a great way to get the best of both worlds.

Oh, my... What a fiasco. I would have thought it was obvious that you (BioWare) must cater to your existing customers first. Why open the servers if your most devoted Oceanic players can't move to them? In two month's time they'll all very likely be required to change their names because new players will have gotten first pick. My sympathies to the existing Oceanic players. I hope your next MMO treats you better.

Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean Online isn't a hugely successful MMO, but it also launched for Mac & Windows. Plus dozens of browser-based MMOs (BGO, Wakfu, The Mummy Online, etc.) also launch for both, mostly because they're based on open tools and standards, unlike Microsoft with its tight control over its closed, proprietary Direct-X. Edit: added "also", as in PotCO as well as WoW.

EA/BioWare certainly aren't shouting the subscriber numbers from the rooftops, which is a little worrying. I kind of expect silence until they feel pressured to make a statement in the next EA quarterly report. It's only month #1, so it's not really a "drop" of 300k (~15%), but rather a "chose to subscribe" rate of 85%, which isn't all that bad. Oceanic should bring in some new players, and maybe a Spring Mac OS port, too, but I'm a slow-leveling player and am already feeling the blahs at level 31. I doubt they can keep the subscriber number above 1.5M by June. I hope they can keep it above 1M through the summer, but that seems to be where it's headed, in my opinion right now.

Bad design and/or incomplete features, IMHO, especially between same-account characters. BioWare even lies on a loading screen, saying you can "friend" someone and see when the *player* comes online. It only works per-character, and the closest you can get is to "friend" from each of your characters to every one of the friend's characters, an exponentially time-consuming process. And even that fails because you can't friend across factions.

Statistics are deceiving. They usually describe something different than what is assumed. The PC global market share includes business computers and netbooks, which are incapable of playing games. In the US, Macs are around 15%, and in the consumer retail sales are around 20%. Likewise, PC game sales can be as low as 5% of console game sales, yet games usually don't release console-only. To answer the question, yes. BioWare, EA and many others release Mac versions of their games and make enough profit that they do it for game after game. (All kinds of games, including AAA ones like RAGE, Assassin's Creed, Dragon Age, Portal 2, Diablo III, etc.) And BioWare recently said they want to bring SWTOR to the Mac as one of the first things after stabilizing the PC client.

That is arguable, but this isn't: (PC + Mac) > PC Also, FWIW, here's an official suggestion thread linked in my signature.

... is fine for people who want to do that, but a large and profitable number of Mac users buy only Mac OS versions of games. It's why BioWare, VALVE, Blizzard, Ubisoft, and dozens of other major studios, and even indie studios, release Mac versions of their games, over and over again.

My understanding is: GTN on Imperial Fleet and Imperial planets: Empire-only, galaxy-wide (except Nar Shaddaa) GTN on Republic Fleet and Republic planets: Republic-only, galaxy-wide (except Nar Shaddaa) GTN on Nar Shaddaa: Both Empire and Republic, one planet only.