There aren't a lot of commercial games for the Mac at the moment. Apple has done a poor job in supporting game development and an even poorer job and gaining the market share in that demographic. This could play into the hands of independent game developers.
Most of the existing market is looking for entertainment of some sort on this platform. This, I believe, has created a demand for casual games for the Mac as the user base looks for anything to keep them entertained. If the commercial market can't see a potential for this demographic, perhaps we, as independent game developers, can feed the demand.
Why do I bring this up? The library we have chosen for our first game is win32 only. The more successful independent games I see, the more I notice they are offered in two flavors, win32 and Mac OS. This could cause me to reassess our approach.
I will be doing research on this topic and posting the results here as I work. Maybe we can all benefit from it. If you have any thoughts on this, feel free to drop me a line.
Doug Linley
CEO/Producer, Cabal Games LLC
doug.linley@cabalgames.com
Seriously.
The Mac is an ideal market for indies for multiple reasons: its users are historically comfortable paying (a lot) for software; they are (stereo)typically quite highly educated and artistic/technical; they are very passionate about their platform and any product that embraces them wholeheartedly; and their erudition allows you to deliver more intellectually challenging fare and find it met with enthusiasm.
Heck, little scripts and fixes that a Windows user would virtually demand for free are routinely paid for on Mac. Windows users are spoilt for choice, and the size of the userbase means the corresponding number of would-be vendors is also large. The Mac is actually underserved in every application domain except art and publishing.
But enough of my rambling. I'll just point you to a classic Mac success story: Bungie. Bungie's Marathon series of games have some of the most complex plots and intriguing narrative dynamics - many of which influenced Halo and its marketing, such as the fact that Cortana sent out an email before Halo was ever announced or the ilovebees.com alternate reality game. Read From '94 to Infinity: Before Halo and then take a look at Marathon's Story to see what Bungie was able to accomplish by cultivating this audience, and how it laid the groundwork for the popular success of Halo.
Starting out, a small, vocal, dedicated group of paying supporters is far more vital to you than a large group of nonchalant consumers peripherally aware of your existence. Why? Because the former will evangelize you constantly. Because it's easier to be a big fish in a smaller pool.
Whichever way you go, though, good luck!