The latest Mac computers and MacBooks from Apple are powered by Apple Silicon chips, which have significantly enhanced the performance of these machines, as a result, many people are considering using these powerful computers for video gaming, to support developers in making their games fully compatible with Mac computers, Apple has developed the Game Porting toolkit, which was unveiled at their annual WWDC 2023 conference, however, Mac computers and MacBooks are still not ideal for video gaming, and the following reasons explain why:
Expensive Mac and MacBook Models:
Mac computers and MacBooks are known to be pricey, even the more affordable MacBook Air with the M1 chip starts at $999, while you can get a Mac mini for just $599, this does not include peripherals such as a monitor, keyboard, and mouse, which would require an additional cost ranging from $150 to $200.
On the other hand, you can get one of the best gaming laptops for under $700, therefore, gamers who want to play video games without spending a fortune may find it more preferable to opt for computers running on Intel or AMD processors instead of Mac machines.
Non-Upgradable Apple Silicon-based Mac Models:
The Apple Silicon chips have brought more power and improved performance to Mac computers, however, they also hinder the upgradability of these machines because Apple’s chips are of the SoC (System on a Chip) type.
SoC chips combine all the key components, including the processor, graphics processing unit (GPU), random-access memory (RAM), and even the solid-state drive (SSD), into a single compact package, while this integration increases efficiency, it means you cannot upgrade a computer with these chips, gaming computers, on the other hand, are known for their upgradability, even if you start with a $500 gaming computer, you can upgrade it to a $5000 machine if desired.
Even gaming laptops that do not have upgradeable CPUs and GPUs often provide upgradeable RAM, however, if you have a MacBook Pro with a 512GB SSD and 16GB of unified memory, you cannot change that unless you buy a new laptop.
Limited Availability of Game Drivers for macOS:
Many games rely on specific drivers to run properly, for example, many games depend on DirectX 12, but Mac computers do not support DirectX, instead, Apple has its own application programming interface (API) called Metal API, to run games that do not support Metal API, you need compatibility software like CrossOver.
Limited Selection of Video Games on macOS:
While Mac computers are compatible with many video games, the selection is relatively limited compared to other platforms, for instance, popular games like Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II and Company of Heroes 3 are not available on Mac computers.
Even older popular video games like Grand Theft Auto V and Red Dead Redemption 2 are not compatible with macOS, therefore, if you want to play these games, you would need to use compatibility software like CrossOver or Wine.
While you can enjoy these games using these compatibility applications, you won’t get the optimal gaming experience because these games are not designed to run on Mac computers.
