Apple's Mighty Mouse and gaming

by Vladimir Cole { Aug 3rd 2005 at 9:00AM }

Apple Mighty Mouse Apple has released a nifty new mouse that they've dubbed Mighty Mouse.

Plenty's been said about the device's design, but none of it is taking into account what this might mean for Mac gaming. Are the mouse's new capabilities going to introduce new play mechanics to the growing legions of Mac fans thirsty for game content?

One area where we see the mouse having an impact is on sports gaming for the Mac (a tiny category, to be sure). Roller balls have never come by default on any PC, though they've been a common mechanism in arcade-style games for decades. Now that every Mac is destined to arrive with a Mighty Mouse, perhaps sporting games that tend to rely on roller balls (Bowling, Golf, Billiards) will stage a Mac comeback.

Maybe we'll even see some new play mechanics emerge for some gaming control schemes that have become stale.

Or maybe not. Let's not overestimate the impact of this change. Mac market share is miniscule, meaning that few developers are going to target games specifically for the Mac as a gaming platform. We predict that the Mac's little joy button is going to remain an afterthought in game design unless it becomes such a hit that PC or console hardware manufacturers copy it.

Check The Unofficial Apple Weblog's first look at the mouse before following the link below to Engadget's review round-up of the Mighty Mouse.

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Jake @ Dec 18th 2005 9:06PM

I don't think PC people will have to "copy" it because I'm pretty sure I heard somewhere (Engadget maybe...) it's PC compatible.

backon @ Dec 18th 2005 9:06PM

There is a big problem for me with this thing: you can't right click and left click at the same time. So it's useless for World of Warcraft. Bah.

sam @ Dec 18th 2005 9:06PM

LOL, this will not drive mac gaming. First of all, you could always use third party mouses with macs, and most advanced users did. OSX has always supported 5 button + scroll mouses, and there have been mouses on ther market for years that allow you to scroll laterally.

More importantly, though, this mouse is not a gaming mouse. Its action is unpredictable and without feedback, the ball isnt as useful as a scroll wheel for scrolling through an inventory, and the optics arent as especially good. Why would you spend $50 on this mouse when for $40 you could get that new Logitech with a 1600dpi optical sensor and 7 buttons + scroll- 2 of the buttons can be programmed to be able to scroll through different sensitivity settings on the fly, the "killer app" that gamers have been looking for for years. Not to mention that you can get a perfectly good 5 button plus scroll mouse for under $15.

Steve Sizemore @ Dec 18th 2005 9:06PM

There was a rumor that apple wanted to develop games in house.

http://www.macrumors.com/pages/2005/04/20050408075120.shtml

Just like solitaire thought us how to drag and drop in windows 3.0, will apple create games that work really really well with this new mouse?

vectorelement @ Dec 18th 2005 9:06PM

Surely enough the Mighty Mouse is pretty damn cool, but my Logitech MX500 (8 buttons + scroll wheel) serves it's purpose very, very well.

Plus, it works fine with World of Warcraft!

Matt @ Dec 18th 2005 9:06PM

It is Windows compatible - but as far as gaming is concerned, my impression is that you can't click both at the same time, and can't click right while clicking left... Ars hooks it up: http://arstechnica.com/reviews/hardware/mightymouse.ars

Jason @ Dec 18th 2005 9:06PM

I just placed an order for one. Can't wait to check it out myself.

Jason
http://xboxsoftmods.com/main/

Sam @ Dec 18th 2005 9:06PM

I'm wondering if you can use the scrollball for look while using the mouse for movement direction. That could help in Mech games, some shooters, and some RPGs.

Michael McGuire @ Dec 18th 2005 9:06PM

All I can say is: Rampart.

Paradox @ Dec 18th 2005 9:06PM

Hey! That's not a superpowered rodent in yellow spandex!

chenzen @ Dec 18th 2005 9:06PM

I have the Might Mouse and the Sims 2 for Mac. The scroll ball doesn't scroll in the game. But the scrollball set as button 3 does click like a standard scrollwheel click in the Sims.

Dissappointing to say the least. The Sims 2 is the only game or application that I've tried where the scrollball does not work exactly like a scrollwheel.