Apple Gaming Division?

[lelereb]

A good idea would be making mac officially and natively compatible with nintendo game cube (that has a ppc and an ati graphic card...).

[nixgeek]

Originally Posted by lelereb

A good idea would be making mac officially and natively compatible with nintendo game cube (that has a ppc and an ati graphic card...).

I guess it could be easier, but since the PPC CPUs in each of the consoles being released and that in the current Mac line are variations of one another, it might not turn out as well as one would think.

To put it simply, they pretty much share the same core, but it changes beyond that. The console CPUs are designed simply for the task of gaming, while those in Macs have to be able to do so much more than just that. Plus, most of the system boards on consoles are highly optimized so that the graphics, CPU, and anything else work together to keep the gameplay flowing smoothly. To have that on a PC/Mac would require LOTS of cooling power being that they are more complex beasts. I know I'm putting this very simply, but that's kind of the conclusion I've been getting from reading comparisons between the CPUs.

Maybe someone else can dish the geeky details on why this might be difficult...or even why it WOULD'NT be so difficult.

[Lycander]

Originally Posted by Lt Major Burns

I am the first party

He is the second party

John is the third party

Wouldn't it be "You are the second party" ? Second party is when you're speaking directly to that person. He/she him/her is still speaking in the third person I think.

[Lt Major Burns]

sorry, yes you, as the second party, are perfectly right

[King Shrek]

Originally Posted by lelereb

A good idea would be making mac officially and natively compatible with nintendo game cube (that has a ppc and an ati graphic card...).

I don't think Nintendo would ever allow this. As you may not have already heard, Nintendo recently announced that their next system, Revolution, will be backwards compatible with Gamecube games, so making Gamecube games compatible with the Mac would undermine Nintendo's ability to sell Revolution systems as well as Gamecubes. No dice cumberbund.

[Viro]

Don't all console manufacturers sell consoles at a loss in order to recoup the loss via game sales? If this is the case with the Gamecube and the Revolution, I see no reason why it would be detrimental for Nintendo to allow Macs to play. Surely the games will still be sold, and this time you're actually widening the market.

Then again, you lose the benefits of a console in the first place, i.e. the standard hardware.

[Cat]

Don't all console manufacturers sell consoles at a loss in order to recoup the loss via game sales?

So, you mean, like, games are too expensive? Like _artificially_ high prices? NO WAY!!!1!1!!11 ...

[ElDiabloConCaca]

No, he means that the consoles are sold at a loss to the company that made them, and they recoup their losses through game sales. In short, it costs Microsoft more to make the Xbox than it does to buy one, so they don't make a profit off of the console itself. They then license companies to produce games for the console, and on a $50 game, Microsoft makes about $5. With a game like Halo, that translates into millions of dollars, which can then cover the cost of the console.

Originally Posted by Viro

I see no reason why it would be detrimental for Nintendo to allow Macs to play. Surely the games will still be sold, and this time you're actually widening the market.

Yeah, but then (for example), Nintendo only makes money from the game, and not from the console... if they keep it closed like it is now, they make a little money from the sale of the console, and a little more with the sale of the game. Without having to purchase the console to play the game, they only make money from the game sale -- that's why it would be detrimental! Even though they don't make a profit from the console, it still generates revenue for them.