Comment Unfortunately... (Score 1) 377
The reality of the situation is that they don't come. One shining example of this is the Quake ports to Linux.
A while ago me and a friend looked into the feasibility of possibly starting a non Windows game company where our focus would be on Linux and Mac products. It only took us about a day of research to decide this was a bad idea. One of the main factors actually was a Carmack post in a Slashdot thread where he mentioned that the Quake III Linux port only made enough to cover the port costs. I'm not Carmack, and only in my wildest dreams would I ever make a game that sells as well as one of his. If they can't do it, I think you'd be hard pressed to find some one who can.
Another factor was a discussion I had with member of a local studio about thier ports to Linux via Loki ( I am going to avoid naming the entities involved, sorry ). This game made them a ton of money on the windows and even mac versions, as well as got them some game of the year awards for a strategy game. When asked specifically about thier linux port I was told "It tanked horribly. We'll never make that mistake again." And the interesting thing is that the Mac version made money, but Macs don't have a whole lot more market share.
Maybe in the future we'll be able to try and look into it again. But right now it isn't a possibility.
A while ago me and a friend looked into the feasibility of possibly starting a non Windows game company where our focus would be on Linux and Mac products. It only took us about a day of research to decide this was a bad idea. One of the main factors actually was a Carmack post in a Slashdot thread where he mentioned that the Quake III Linux port only made enough to cover the port costs. I'm not Carmack, and only in my wildest dreams would I ever make a game that sells as well as one of his. If they can't do it, I think you'd be hard pressed to find some one who can.
Another factor was a discussion I had with member of a local studio about thier ports to Linux via Loki ( I am going to avoid naming the entities involved, sorry ). This game made them a ton of money on the windows and even mac versions, as well as got them some game of the year awards for a strategy game. When asked specifically about thier linux port I was told "It tanked horribly. We'll never make that mistake again." And the interesting thing is that the Mac version made money, but Macs don't have a whole lot more market share.
Maybe in the future we'll be able to try and look into it again. But right now it isn't a possibility.
