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I'm currently thinking about buying a 27" iMac after my current Windows computer. I know Mac OS X is awesome, but I was wondering how is gaming on this OS. What I mean is, how much of the current game releases are both on Windows and Mac OS X ? And if they are not released on Mac OS X, is it possible (performance speaking) to play them on the Windows VM ?

I know my question might not be clear. If that is so, please comment, and tell me what I explained wrong, and I'll try to improve it.

Thanks

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You can still use Boot Camp. – RobinJ Nov 5 '11 at 10:52
Do you target specific game types? – LudoMC Nov 5 '11 at 11:07
I'm a big League Of Legends player, and I like other MMO from times to times. I have preordered Star Wars : The Old Republic too – Squ36 Nov 5 '11 at 12:21
Welcome to Ask Different! This question is really to vague to be useful and answerable. If you have a specific question about compatibility, like "Does some brand make Mac-compatible games", feel free to ask. Please take a look at the FAQs for more info. Thanks. – Nathan Greenstein♦ Nov 5 '11 at 17:17

closed as not a real question by Nathan Greenstein♦ Nov 5 '11 at 17:17

It's difficult to tell what is being asked here. This question is ambiguous, vague, incomplete, overly broad, or rhetorical and cannot be reasonably answered in its current form. For help clarifying this question so that it can be reopened, see the FAQ.

3 Answers

up vote 2 down vote

I hate to disappoint you but I am afraid gaming on a mac is still very limited. Head to steampowered.com and see for your self.

Although I believe that in the near future the major gaming publishers will see the opportunity with growing numbers of mac users and reconsider adding OS X as a platform for gaming.

Using a virtual machine is not recommended for gaming. You can dual boot though and run Windows natively and games work fine this way. See Boot Camp

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Yeah indeed the Apple section on Steam is really limited, and there are few "popular" games. I'll check your link on boot camp – Squ36 Nov 5 '11 at 12:26
Boot Camp is great; I had a 20" iMac from the first release of the aluminum body style (late 2007 / early 2008?), so not an incredible powerhouse. Running Win XP under Boot Camp I played the likes of Oblivion and Bioshock (both new at the time) with graphics cranked up, both ran beautifully. – Dan J Nov 5 '11 at 12:47
up vote 1 down vote

Deus Ex does not work in VM. However every other game I've tried worked fine. Starcraft, Total War, Paradox titles, psp emulator, and some others.

Negligible native mac releases, don't count on them.

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Thanks for the feedback – Squ36 Nov 5 '11 at 12:26
up vote 0 down vote

it's definitely possible! Though not all games are well supported on the Mac.

Some games which i have played on the mac:

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You could include some specifics about games that are or are not well-supported to improve this answer. – Daniel Lawson♦ Nov 8 '11 at 20:06

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