“I LOVE the PC as a platform because it is open, is always moving forward”

Nov 19, 2013 12:21 GMT  ·  By

Cloud Imperium Games founder Chris Roberts has released an open letter to those anxiously awaiting the release of Star Citizen, a space trading and combat simulation game.

Roberts is vocal on the matter regarding which platforms should be supported by Star Citizen, a space-faring game that looks really stunning. And he should be.

Although it can be made to run on any of the newer platforms available today, the game also wants to be the best there is, which means it needs to take advantage of the best hardware available.

“Star Citizen IS a PC game. It will NEVER be dumbed down for a lesser platform,” writes Roberts.

“We will NOT limit the input options or supported peripherals to the lowest common denominator. We will NOT pass on features and technology just because they will only run on some hardware configurations,” he adds.

Consoles like the PlayStation and the Xbox aren’t open, which is another development roadblock, even though next-generation consoles have tremendous computing power.

But, in Roberts’ view, the Mac is at the bottom of the food chain.

“If Sony or Microsoft are willing to let their platform be open, then I see no real difference between them or Valve’s Steambox, a Mac or a PC running Linux, all of which are platforms that I don’t think this community would mind supporting as they are all viewed as ‘PCs’.”

“In fact most Macs are probably much worse gaming machines than a next gen console (as Apple is the antithesis of what I love about PCs),” he says.

In other words, don’t expect Star Citizen to be released for the Mac. Even if it can be made to run well on the latest Pro Macs, that doesn’t mean there’s a big enough install base.