Why not release a game on Steam that has been ported to Mac?

As we have released all of our games for Windows, Mac and Linux and since we also release our games on Steam, this will be a swift reflection over the lack of games accessible for Mac that are not on Steam.

Seeking at the Steam forums you can uncover a thread or two each and every now and then that brings up the topic "why are there a lot of nicely recognized games, that are ported to Mac, but are not on Steam??".

The purpose for this can be a lot of: Maybe there is a contractual limit or maybe the firm that did the Mac port have their personal on the internet store and only wants to sell the game in that retailer.

There has also been a mention right here and there about SteamPlay, the feature on Steam that offers you a game for all platforms, even if you only bought it for Windows to start with. This implies that if you have a Mac as properly, you get the game for Mac for free of charge on Steam. Or the other way around of course. This may be viewed as a damaging issue, due to the fact as the firm porting the game, you have a lot of potential consumers that will merely get your game for free. This tends to make SteamPlay also a attainable result in not to release the game on Steam.

Bringing me to the point of this quick weblog post: As a lengthy time Mac user, gamer and as an individual that worked on really a couple of Mac games more than the years, I really feel the urge to post a tiny "Steam is good, SteamPlay is excellent and if absolutely nothing stops you from releasing the game, do it."-suggestion.

Seeking at our personal sales, we have about 7-8% coming from Mac customers. Last I heard, the Mac portion of the Pc market place was less than 7-8%! We have had this sale share given that the very very first month our games were released on Steam for Mac, so in spite of all the possible "lost sales" due to SteamPlay, we have sold as many copies as the Mac market place should be able to assistance.

Let's take Penumbra Collection as an example when it was released on Steam for Mac, the Mac sales accounted for 20% of the total sales of Penumbra Collection that month. This for a game that is to be considered old and have been accessible for the Mac elsewhere for as long (practically) as the Pc version has been out.

If you are a Mac porting business, take a moment to consider about it and if nothing at all stops you from releasing it on Steam, why not maximize the possible consumer base?



Psst. Of course there are other originally Windows oriented stores that have assistance for the Mac, such as Gamer's Gate and Direct2Drive. Not to forget the newly released (long overdue) App Retailer by Apple themselves.