Since a lot of the GOG catalog utilizes Dosbox (which supports windows and Mac operating systems) why doesn't GOG offer packages that are compatible in OS X?

I've been installing the packages in windows and then copying out the folders from the program files in windows. I've actually been formatting them for Boxer which is an awesome Dosbox front end for OS X.

It's a bit of a hassle, but the whole process has me wondering why GOG isn't preparing these files in the same manner and marketing them for OS X compatibility.

So what gives? Why no OS X packaged files?

Because.

I assume OS X is Mac?

If you're not willing to go through the process of converting the programs, mount them into a virtual Microsoft OS. I think the program is called "Wine". It may be a bit taxing on your hard drive but it's going to be easier than what you're doing.


As far as why the games aren't set up for OS X, minority programming. There's always going to be more effort going towards the majority than the minority in business, and that's everywhere. A wide blackout will have priority over a separate street that's blacked out, for example. It's not that it isn't possible to set it up, but it's an added process that might only be used by a few hundred against several tens of thousands.

I think it's most likely because it's not economical. In addition to the fact that there are many fewer Mac gamers, most people who game on Macs are used to the idea of using bootcamp, wine or VMs to get some games working. By comparison, I think there are a lot of Windows gamers have no idea what they're doing.

This, the number of Mac gamers that don't have access to Windows and don't know how to do what the OP is doing is vanishingly small. If you want to use the pain in the ass OS (where gaming is concerned) you take the lumps. I say this as Linux fan, I only have one Windows PC, still I'm not willing to sacrifice massive amounts of time to try to seriously game on Linux, it's a waste, I'd rather play an extra game. And compared to what I spend on gaming yearly Windows costs crap-all.

Clearly everyone is missing the point here. OS X is increasingly gaining market share, ok it's no windows XP, but it's starting to overtake linux in saturation (not including iOS mobile devices).

If you want to look at something recent, you can look at the ongoing humble bundle campaign where OS X makes up about 20% of the revenue. So, if GOG would perform what is basically trivial repackaging of it's dosbox based games, it stands to increase revenue up to 20% based on these stats at face value.

Minimal work is involved to have a possible 20% increase in revenue.

Just thought GOG might be interested in that.

The only point of my post was to bring some attention to the possibility of a untapped market for a company I'd like to see continue to succeed.

Heck, I'll re-package the games for a cut of the net.

Yes, but how many of those are already buying GOGs and just doing what you've been doing?

No you're looking at those stats wrong. Yeah, I mark my HIB purchases as "Linux" as well, but you're missing the point, I game on Windows (mostly). The segment of the market that has Mac but not Windows is far smaller than that 20% that you see on HIB. It just is.

Support is never simple, and supporting 3% (as an exceedingly generous example) of the market for every DOSBox game could cost GOG a couple of new releases per year, that makes no sense economically.

Face it, our preferred OSes are not what most people like for gaming and not what most people use for gaming. If you want to go to the trouble of converting your games, knock yourself out, I'm not willing and I think it's disingenuous to pretend there's some vast, unserved market out there. Obviously there's not or gaming on Linux and Mac wouldn't be littered with failure after failure.

Only those who would have access to windows based machines to unpack the games.

Making these games OS X compatible opens up a lot of possibility for GOG to market products in the Apple Application store and create a lot of attention since, let's face it, OS X games are slim (but gaining).

I thought they were failures because the Cider license doubled the price.

It's been a failure on Linux because Linux users aren't, as a whole, that interested in games. Same with Mac. Loki sold Linux versions of their ports for less than the Windows version was going for and they still failed.

I use OS X (and windows 7/XP/Debian) and I'm interested in games for OS X.

Because its really not that much of a hassle for us mac users. i am just happy i can play them, and thankful for boxer as well, which i agree is a kick ass dosbox front end.

welcome to gog, by the way.

check out this thread if you need any help running gog games from your mac:

http://www.gog.com/en/forum/general/gog_games_on_mac_os_x_a_how_to

also feel free to vote for this if you like:

http://www.gog.com/en/wishlist/site/add_mac_os_x_versions_of_games

All of their DosBox games have been submitted to Apple for approval....

All were denied or are still pending approval with no reasons or updates given... :-p

I think the OP is missing a few very big points with his argument.

First off, you say that with indie games Mac makes up 20% of sales generated. Well, good for them. That doesn't mean that 20% of the population here is filled by Mac users, and those who do use mac and shop here, are already going through the process of converting the games anyway so they can use them. That's not a 20% increase of sales if those people already have the games, and it's not a 20% increase in sales when the number of people involved in the indie game community aren't in this one.

Next up, market share... okay, big deal. Mac's beaten Linux. But then, Linux had a fairly small market share too. Linux looks interesting as all get-out, but I'm not willing to take the time to learn to use it while I'm busy in school. That again doesn't mean that there's a flood of people waiting to purchase games here. This is the same mistake you made with the 20% comment, you're equating the total population to be the same in this one. So, it's X = Y, but Y =/= X (Meaning, all users on this site belong to the total number of computer owners of varied OS, but that total number does not exist on here).

You also say it's minimal work to convert and make the games accessible to Mac Users. Good, then it's minimal work for you as well. GOG is staffed by a small group of people, and for them to go about converting every game on this list while managing new games, tech support, issues, the forums, so on, would take a fairly long time without some added help. It also means doubling up on the bandwidth usage to support two versions of the same program, which may kick up costs on us.

Next up: "Making this games OS X Compatible opens up a lot of possibility for GOG to market products in the Apple Application Store ect. ect.". Somehow, I don't think Apple supports anything that isn't.... an application, or a direct game, while this site is basically one large service. Plus Apple probably takes a cut of the profits on anything sold. It's easier to just do what they're doing now.

In any case, things aren't likely to change unless we wind up with a very large part of the forum advocating the switch. Not to be a drag, but that's economics for you.