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I've found, searching for a mac game for my brother for Christmas, that Mac games are hideously expensive. C&C Generals was AU$75, and Halo is AU$99. Both of those games are quite old now, and shouldn't be so expensive. Why so?

defanatic wrote:I've found, searching for a mac game for my brother for Christmas, that Mac games are hideously expensive. C&C Generals was AU$75, and Halo is AU$99. Both of those games are quite old now, and shouldn't be so expensive. Why so?

They may be old for the PC, but given the general lateness of games going to the Mac, they're probably viewed as 'new' Mac games.

defanatic wrote:I've found, searching for a mac game for my brother for Christmas, that Mac games are hideously expensive. C&C Generals was AU$75, and Halo is AU$99. Both of those games are quite old now, and shouldn't be so expensive. Why so?

Don't buy retail, go online.

atg wrote: They may be old for the PC, but given the general lateness of games going to the Mac, they're probably viewed as 'new' Mac games.

Actually, they've both been out for at least two years even on Mac. And yet, at the official Apple store, they're still charging $50 US for Halo and $60 for C&C Generals deluxe edition. Something seriously screwy is going on here.

Normally, some money goes to the publisher/developer and some goes to the retailer.

In this case, the games are released later AND more money goes to the porter (often Aspyr).

Or perhaps companies are just jerks.

Or it is that there isn't a lot of money to be made for games ported to Mac. Mac makes up a wee little market and if the game companies don't jack up the price then they'll be losing money on it.

Every time I've seen a mac game in the shops, its actually been for BOTH mac and PC. Never bothered checking prices however.

defanatic wrote:I've found, searching for a mac game for my brother for Christmas, that Mac games are hideously expensive. C&C Generals was AU$75, and Halo is AU$99. Both of those games are quite old now, and shouldn't be so expensive. Why so?

That's part of being a Johnny Come Lately in the PC gaming world. Though both games have been out for the Mac for a very long time now. They shouldn't be that expensive, even in fake Australian money!

Seriously though, just shop online. You'll find way better prices.

Durandal wrote:hey shouldn't be that expensive, even in fake Australian money!

[Dalek]DO NOT BLASPHEME![/Dalek]

Once you use Australian money, you never go back.

Vympel wrote:Once you use Australian money, you never go back.

Yeah, but that's because you can't afford to exchange it back to real currency.

Don't buy from the Apple store. Everything not Apple is overpriced. Only the Apple hardware is priced within reason, and then note that the price does not include support.

Alan Bolte wrote:Don't buy from the Apple store. Everything not Apple is overpriced. Only the Apple hardware is priced within reason, and then note that the price does not include support.

Nobody's prices include support. Apple's support is at least some of the best in the industry (in the U.S., compared to most customer support that are in India; the only good support from Dell is the business one).

By what metric is AppleCare "some of the best in the industry" ?

I hadn't bothered checking whether they do include support. The way some of our callers complain, you'd think Dell holds your hand for free.

phongn: the only metric I can think of is a Consumer Reports survey from a year or two ago.

phongn wrote:By what metric is AppleCare "some of the best in the industry" ?

Between the various surveys I've seen and the sheer amount of good experiences I (and people I've met) have had, I'd recommend it to anyone.