I’ve read through this thread.
Here’s my 2 cents:
Mac user since before OS 7.
I’ve been a gamer for over 12 years.
Experience has taught me not to bother with port/wraps of Windows games. The reasons are many and there’s no need to revisit them here. The fact of the matter is the port/wraps never fully measure up to the native Windows version.
So I play GW2 in bootcamp on Windows, and I enjoy the game tremendously. I don’t enjoy having to use Windows, and having to be out of the Mac environment away from the rest of my computer, as it were.
Come late spring 2014 there’s another MMORPG launching called The Elder Scrolls Online (TESO). It will have a native Mac OS client.
I’ll be moving over to TESO when it launches. Sure, initially they plan to have a subscription fee, sure its a different game, sure it might not have this or that feature, sure it may fail at some other subjective gamer-criterion, sure it’ll be different from GW2 but the fact of the matter is I can play it in Mac OS. So I will be going there to check it out.
Oh, and by the way, I’ll be bringing three friends of mine (all on Macs), and customers of yours with me.
So while I await TESO’s launch this coming spring, I’m playing in GW2.
I’d love to get the permanent mining pick from the gem store.
Oh how I was tempted to pick up the toxic armour skins!
More bag slots? Yes please!
I want so bad to buy some gems and convert them to gold so I can buy a second set of armour with different stats, and afford some expensive Superior Runes of the Traveller.
And to go with the mining pick, I’d love to pick up a permanent harvesting sickle, and logging axe to boot!
But I won’t.
I won’t spend the real money and make the investment into my beloved guardian. Why? Because I know, come spring, I’ll be gone.
ANET, you’re losing out on my money.
I’m fortunate enough to be able to afford these many character perks, but I’m also old/wise enough to base my spending on the notion of “return on investment”. In this case, these purchases will only be of use to me for a little while longer.
The money I don’t spend now and in the near future in GW2, I will spend to purchase TESO and subscribe to it.
So you see, ANET, not having a native Mac OS client has caused a loss of potential revenue.
But more interestingly, ANET, your lack of a native Mac OS X client has resulted in sending me to a competitor of yours in the near future.
Two definite weak points in your business model.
ANET, I think its important you understand that if you had a native Mac OS X client, I would have made those in-game purchases, those things I consider investments into my character; and, like I said above, I enjoy GW2 tremendously, so that, compounded with a heavy personal investment in my guardian, I would be quite hesitant to move to a new game and abandon my investment here.
You’ve made a great game, ANET, and I’ll always check back to see if you’ve made a native Mac OS X client. If you have, I’ll be back, bringing my friends, my money, and theirs with me.
Best Regards & Cheers!
Just Another Mac User.