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Pressure

macrumors 603
May 30, 2006
5,051
1,388
Denmark
2024 February Steam Survey puts Apple Silicon at 70.02% (-0.15%) market share on macOS.

SteamHardwareSurveyImage2024Feb.png


SoC
Market share
Change
M1
27.36 %​
-0.68 %
M2
15.56 %​
+0.41 %
M1 Pro
11.33 %​
-0.28 %
M2 Pro
4.68 %​
+0.09 %
M1 Max
4.37 %​
-0.23 %
M3 Pro
2.36 %​
+0.46 %
M2 Max
2.08 %​
-0.14 %
M3 Max
1.27 %​
+0.18 %
M3
0.66 %​
-0.01 %
M1 Ultra
0.22 %​
+0.01 %
M2 Ultra
0.13 %​
+0.04 %
Intel
29.98 %​
+0.15 %

The first regression since the start of the Apple Silicon transition. The lack of cheap M3 machines is probably at fault, like the MacBook Air and Mac mini still being stuck on M2 series.
 

Plutonius

macrumors G3
Feb 22, 2003
9,043
8,408
New Hampshire, USA
I think that it's more likely that the results are just in the margin of error (i.e. the people who were selected or decided to accept the survey).

Another possibility is the people with older Macs logging into Steam before Steam stopped supporting them in February.
 

bousozoku

Moderator emeritus
Jun 25, 2002
15,756
1,929
Lard
Does the Steam Survey matter to Mac gamers?

Since Valve's own Steam Deck has pushed Linux-based machines' use above that of Macs, developers have made more attempts to modify their games somewhat for Steam Deck. They don't even go out of their way to provide executables for Linux, in most cases.

While I'd like to see more developers target Macs, it would take an all-out effort from Apple to change opinions about Mac gaming.

I want to use my Mac for everything, as I did in the 1990s.
 
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Huntn

macrumors Core
May 5, 2008
23,494
26,612
The Misty Mountains
2024 February Steam Survey puts Apple Silicon at 70.02% (-0.15%) market share on macOS.

View attachment 2354719

SoC
Market share
Change
M1
27.36 %​
-0.68 %
M2
15.56 %​
+0.41 %
M1 Pro
11.33 %​
-0.28 %
M2 Pro
4.68 %​
+0.09 %
M1 Max
4.37 %​
-0.23 %
M3 Pro
2.36 %​
+0.46 %
M2 Max
2.08 %​
-0.14 %
M3 Max
1.27 %​
+0.18 %
M3
0.66 %​
-0.01 %
M1 Ultra
0.22 %​
+0.01 %
M2 Ultra
0.13 %​
+0.04 %
Intel
29.98 %​
+0.15 %

The first regression since the start of the Apple Silicon transition. The lack of cheap M3 machines is probably at fault, like the MacBook Air and Mac mini still being stuck on M2 series.
Anyone know what the Steam MacOS vs Windows % is?
 

MRMSFC

macrumors 6502
Jul 6, 2023
336
348
1.32% vs 96.91%

I wonder if crossover or GPTK would be making these numbers worse.
Good question, I wonder how cpu and device vendor show up in the survey under crossover or gptk.


If the Steam Survey was competent, they would see “Apple Silicon” as the cpu/gpu vendor and assume that Steam is running under Crossover or gptk. And either ignore it or assign it as MacOS.

I’m not sure how that’s handled though.
 

diamond.g

macrumors G4
Mar 20, 2007
11,120
2,449
OBX
Good question, I wonder how cpu and device vendor show up in the survey under crossover or gptk.


If the Steam Survey was competent, they would see “Apple Silicon” as the cpu/gpu vendor and assume that Steam is running under Crossover or gptk. And either ignore it or assign it as MacOS.

I’m not sure how that’s handled though.
Yeah it is weird cause the macOS number seem to keep dropping even though AS Mac numbers are going up.
 
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salamanderjuice

macrumors 6502a
Feb 28, 2020
507
547
Yeah it is weird cause the macOS number seem to keep dropping even though AS Mac numbers are going up.
Not really. The AS numbers are a subset of the Mac numbers. The proportion of Mac users using AS is going up amongst Mac users but the overall proportion of Mac users is going down relative to Windows and Linux. Doesn't even necessarily mean overall Mac users are dropping either, could just be a slower gain than the other two. But with Steam dropping older macOS versions and so many Mac Steam games being 32 bit it's not crazy to me if there are less Mac users overall.
 

diamond.g

macrumors G4
Mar 20, 2007
11,120
2,449
OBX
Not really. The AS numbers are a subset of the Mac numbers. The proportion of Mac users using AS is going up amongst Mac users but the overall proportion of Mac users is going down relative to Windows and Linux. Doesn't even necessarily mean overall Mac users are dropping either, could just be a slower gain than the other two. But with Steam dropping older macOS versions and so many Mac Steam games being 32 bit it's not crazy to me if there are less Mac users overall.
It probably doesn't help that most of the high profile macOS games are in the App Store...
 
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Homy

macrumors 68020
Jan 14, 2006
2,109
1,961
Sweden
Good question, I wonder how cpu and device vendor show up in the survey under crossover or gptk.


If the Steam Survey was competent, they would see “Apple Silicon” as the cpu/gpu vendor and assume that Steam is running under Crossover or gptk. And either ignore it or assign it as MacOS.

I’m not sure how that’s handled though.

I once got the survey when I was running Crossover. My Mac was registered as Mac but my OS as Windows.
 
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bousozoku

Moderator emeritus
Jun 25, 2002
15,756
1,929
Lard
Not really. The AS numbers are a subset of the Mac numbers. The proportion of Mac users using AS is going up amongst Mac users but the overall proportion of Mac users is going down relative to Windows and Linux. Doesn't even necessarily mean overall Mac users are dropping either, could just be a slower gain than the other two. But with Steam dropping older macOS versions and so many Mac Steam games being 32 bit it's not crazy to me if there are less Mac users overall.
Steam Deck and the Proton compatibility layer are boosting the Linux numbers quite a lot. The System Information option doesn't seem to be quite right for my M1 MacBook Air. I haven't seen a resolution of 1440x900 for a while and the report on Steam showed Intel clock speeds.
 
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Harry Haller

macrumors 6502a
Oct 31, 2023
508
1,152
If that’s true, nothing Apple does will improve the situation of Mac gaming. I guess we shall see?

I think it will improve, but not to the 50% figure that was supposed to occur last year. The M3 hardware raytracing might eventually lead to a 20% AAA gaming market share in a couple of years. But hardware isn't the only need. Apple needs to get serious and buy a studio or two.
 

JouniS

macrumors 6502a
Nov 22, 2020
613
376
I think it will improve, but not to the 50% figure that was supposed to occur last year. The M3 hardware raytracing might eventually lead to a 20% AAA gaming market share in a couple of years. But hardware isn't the only need. Apple needs to get serious and buy a studio or two.
Buying studios is the right way if Apple wants to make a gaming console. But if Apple wants to compete with PC gaming, it needs to change its business practices.

First of all, Apple needs to tell developers well in advance what to expect from future hardware. Game development takes years, and people want to see games that take advantage of new hardware features before that hardware is replaced by even newer hardware.

Then displays. Games benefit from large displays with high refresh rates, while Apple prioritizes small displays with high resolution and high quality. Macs don't work well with some external displays, and macOS doesn't look as good as other operating systems without a retina or near-retina resolution.

And hardware configurations. Apple treats RAM and SSD as expensive upgrades with low baselines. Storage space is particularly problematic, because games tend to be big. If you buy a gaming PC today, 16 GB / 1 TB is the low-end option, comparable to consoles released a few years ago. Midrange is 32 GB / 2 TB and high end is 64 GB / 4 TB. The same holds for Macs used for gaming, regardless of which configurations Apple sells for other purposes.

Weak GPUs used to be an issue back in the Intel days, but not so much anymore. You are not going to get a high-end gaming experience on a Mac, but the GPUs are now fast enough for most people.
 
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diamond.g

macrumors G4
Mar 20, 2007
11,120
2,449
OBX
Buying studios is the right way if Apple wants to make a gaming console. But if Apple wants to compete with PC gaming, it needs to change its business practices.

First of all, Apple needs to tell developers well in advance what to expect from future hardware. Game development takes years, and people want to see games that take advantage of new hardware features before that hardware is replaced by even newer hardware.

Then displays. Games benefit from large displays with high refresh rates, while Apple prioritizes small displays with high resolution and high quality. Macs don't work well with some external displays, and macOS doesn't look as good as other operating systems without a retina or near-retina resolution.

And hardware configurations. Apple treats RAM and SSD as expensive upgrades with low baselines. Storage space is particularly problematic, because games tend to be big. If you buy a gaming PC today, 16 GB / 1 TB is the low-end option, comparable to consoles released a few years ago. Midrange is 32 GB / 2 TB and high end is 64 GB / 4 TB. The same holds for Macs used for gaming, regardless of which configurations Apple sells for other purposes.

Weak GPUs used to be an issue back in the Intel days, but not so much anymore. You are not going to get a high-end gaming experience on a Mac, but the GPUs are now fast enough for most people.
Apple should buy a developer even if they are not doing consoles. It would help make sure their platform has games.
 

diamond.g

macrumors G4
Mar 20, 2007
11,120
2,449
OBX
Apple's main goal is profits and they would be buying a developer at a loss in order to stimulate Mac gaming. I doubt it will happen.
Depends on the developer and the game. I’d figure Apple would not take a loss buying Take 2 Interactive (or at least buying them and selling everything but Rockstar).
 
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