Final details of Steam for Mac emerge

There are probably few releases more eagerly anticipated on Mac this year than the release of games download manager Steam and final details of the Mac version have now emerged.

The bad news for Power PC Mac users is that it will only work on Intel Macs running OS X 10.5 or higher. In addition, the release date has now been pushed back slightly to May. According to The Unofficial Apple Weblog, among the more interesting details to emerge are:

Source games require 10.5.8 or 10.6.3 or higher, and are not supported on the X3100 or 900-series Intel chipsets (the integrated graphics chipsets in older MacBooks)
You will not be required to purchase separate versions of Windows and Mac games. One purchase will work on multiple platforms
Steam and Source will run natively in OS X – no emulation whatsoever
Source will run on OpenGL
Mac and Windows users will play on the same servers and join the same lobbies

It’s going to be interesting to see whether or not Steam works well on Mac but if it does, it could finally dispel all the myths that Macs aren’t suitable for gaming. Applications such as Crossover Games that allow Mac users to play Windows games on their Mac may become a thing of the past.

If you want to know what Steam is all about, then check out our review of the Windows version.

[image from Wired]