TECHNOLOGY

Has Apple Silicon Got Game?

If not, why not?

DALLE cartoon by author

I am not a computer gamer. The longest I have ever played any computer game was when Castle Wolfenstein first came out. I managed to finish it after several tries and never played it again. Since Apple Arcade arrived, I’ve dabbled with three or four of those games for at least ten or fifteen minutes, but that’s all.

Gaming is not my thing. But it sure is a thing for a lot of other people.

I was still surprised to see Apple making a gaming pitch during WWDC 2023. All I’ve ever heard from people who are real gamers is that Apple can’t compete in that arena and never will be able to.

Price is often mentioned as a reason, but serious gamers spend serious coin on their machines. Upgradability might be more important, and Apple scores a flat zero on that. So what’s Apple doing pitching gaming?

The Apple M series chips are giving Intel ulcers, but what’s good for work isn’t necessarily good for competitive gaming. I’ve read some articles that say Apple gear is strong enough to play high level games, but I feel like they are saying, “Yeah, if you already have an M series box, you can play these games”, but I’ve never seen anything that added “And it’s really fantastic!”