As it stands, then, the viability of Mac gaming relies heavily upon bringing new users, hungry for games, to the platform. At this point, the only way that will happen is if Microsoft somehow manages to seriously offend PC users, to the extent that they all give up in disgust and switch to Macs out of spite. And even then, that audience won't find games for them to play that they haven't already beaten multiple times over.

Apple has always touted the creativity of its users as one of its greatest strengths, and certainly this is apparent in the homebrew games that do come out for the Mac. Certainly the PC games crowd has something over the home console market, and that's the power and flexibility of its modding community. Imagine if Apple made modding tools available to its gamers, what an incredible asset it would be. Presumably, the Mac release of Torchlight will be able to make use of such tools the way that the PC Torchlight players already do. This is something that Apple could easily do if it cared at all, but it doesn't.

Small wonder, really, when a couple of the biggest PC game houses are already present on the Mac: Electronic Arts and Blizzard. These two companies will probably keep developing for the Mac, and their titles sell well. Apple is probably satisfied with that, feeling that at least on the Big Guns level, they compete with the PC just fine.

Add to that the "our way or the highway" attitude that Apple seems to give to developers and fans alike -- remember how long it took for a two-button mouse to arrive? -- and the outlook for Mac gaming is bleak. At least, it's dark if you don't like the existing state of things. Maybe Mac users are content with the current crop of games. Maybe there is no seething disdain for the way things are run, no yearning toward greener -- and more diverse -- pastures. Maybe this whole thing is a wash, and we should be happy with what we have, especially as it doesn't seem likely to change.

In short, it would take a radical change in paradigm for Mac gaming to catch up with what PCs do. Apple would have to step up and throw its marketing behind the idea. A Steam-like service would need to emerge, making digital downloads a serious concern. Game developers would have to get over their disdain of Mac culture. And this would all have to happen at pretty much the same time, a perfect storm of opportunity and attack that will in all likelihood never occur. For better or worse, what we have now is that way it will probably always be.