At the same time, the actual process of coding for the Mac hasn't been an open road, either. Apple is notorious for keeping an iron grip on the computer's innards, insisting that developers jump through tons of hoops just to get approved for inclusion as an Apple-worthy product. This, combined with the previously-mentioned larger market share of the PC, results in developers choosing to stick with Microsoft.

Despite the recent adoption of the Intel chip in modern Macs, making it possible to at least run PC games in Boot Camp, there has yet to be an explosion of interest in bringing games to both platforms at the same time. While it may not be the most popular consideration, especially for avowed proponents of PC gaming, if you're interested in playing a lot of video games, you're more likely to simply pick up an Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, or Nintendo Wii than investing in the hardware to ensure a decent PC gaming experience. Apple knows this, and is spending a great deal of effort to promote its iPhone as a gaming device. But given the limitations of that hardware, Apple has a lot of ground to make up to even be considered by the hardcore gaming audience.

Even then, there is the subject of the actual Mac users to consider. What percentage of Mac aficionados cares enough about playing video games to lobby developers to adopt their favorite platform? The perception of the Mac as a computer for creatives works against it to some extent. People who want that cachet might buy a Mac, but they're probably not going to want to spend much time playing games on it. They would rather write music, edit movies, create artwork -- all the things that Apple has spent over twenty years convincing them that the Mac does better than PCs. These users, if they play games at all, will probably find the current methodology -- port over a PC game that was popular three years prior -- to be adequate for their gaming entertainment needs.

Is Mac gaming just a zombie, shuffling around, eking out a twilight existence, never to enjoy the kind of wild successes that PC games still do, despite the overwhelming numbers of console-only options? What is the draw for big-name PC publishers like BioWare, Valve, Infinity Ward, etc., to join Blizzard and EA as simultaneous developers of games for both PC and Mac? Will Apple ever truly embrace gaming to the extent that they make it easy for developers to code for Mac OS X?

The state of Mac gaming is now virtually the same as it's ever been. The ports do well enough, but there is no one breakthrough hit that could ever be worth picking up a Mac just to play. The initial price is prohibitive, and the hardware options aren't robust enough to make a convincing argument that putting together a strong gaming Mac is a viable strategy. So what can be said to developers to make them jump wholeheartedly aboard? We'll take a few shots at that argument next week.