Mar 12, 2017 If the game you want is there and your Mac has the hardware to run it, it will run. The quality of macOS’ game selection depend on what games you like to play. AAA first person shooters are especially underrepresented. None of the recent Call of Duty or Battlefield games are available on macOS, but other genres. Can You Run It? Most popular PC Game Requirements. System Requirement Labs has tracked over 6,000 of the latest PC game requirements. Check out individual games pages to answer the most important question: CAN I RUN IT? These are the most popular games in the last 30 days. Mar 18, 2015 If you’re buying a computer purely for playing games, a Mac isn’t the best choice. We always recommend building your own PC. Macs are more expensive than a desktop Windows PC, especially when you add on extra storage, memory or a faster GPU, and there’s a far smaller library of games that run natively on OS X.
While not everyone’s cup of tea, it is undeniable how popular The Sims franchise is. Hell, I’ll go ahead and admit there was a brief period in my life when all I played was The Sims. Create a Sim, build a house, get a job, make friends, find love, all in the comfort of your computer.
But a lot has changed since the heady days of the 2000s and after 3 main entries and countless expansions, developer Maxis has now delivered The Sims 4, one of the most addictive simulation games for Mac.
The Sims 4 is currently $4.99 on Amazon. This is the lowest it has ever been, don’t miss it!
In this review:
The premise is the same, yet the Sims 4 creates more depth and introduces new mechanics, features, and vastly improved graphics. Speaking of graphics, this is a game that looks surprisingly good on a high-end Mac at the highest settings. But what if you have an older Mac or an entry-level model?
I’m here to help you answer those questions. And as we always do, we will be testing the game on 4 different Macs, ranging from the new and powerful to the older and more basic models.
It may not have as many things to do as The Sims 3, still, this is the most sophisticated, better looking and fun Sims ever made. Our score: ★★★★☆ |
First things first, is the game any good?
With the enormous success of every Sims game ever released, The Sims 4 should have been flooded with pre-orders. But with the catastrophic launch of SimCity, fans were cautious.
So did The Sims 4 delivered? Is it as good as its predecessors? Reviewers can’t seem to agree. The game has a 70/100 Metascore, which is good but not great:
But taking a closer look at some of the reviews, a trend begins to emerge. Gamespot gave it a 6/10 score, concluding that:
The Sims 4’s biggest problem is that The Sims 3 exists. […] This is a lovely and lively game that elicits constant smirks, but The Sims 4’s moments never feel like part of a bigger picture.
But here’s where it gets tricky. Everyone agrees The Sims 3 had more to do, yet The Sims 4 has more depth:
Yet The Sims 4 does succeed in being a deep and complex game when it comes to Sim interactions, with lots of entertaining emotional potential. The emotions system and its contextual actions are really strong. I spy game app.
Plus, excellent building tools make architecture more fun than ever.
When looking at the user reviews (on Metacritic, as the game is not available on Steam), it doesn’t look good for The Sims 4. The game has a 4/10 average score of over 2100 users. Again, for the same reasons: the world is too small and there aren’t enough things to do…
My take? If you haven’t played The Sims 3, that could be a better place to start. It will be cheaper, will have more Expansions (and things to do) and will be even less demanding on your Mac.
If you have, The Sims 4 should have enough depth and new features to be worth a shot, especially now that enough Expansions have been released that add more stuff to do. Convert pc to mac games.
The Sims 4 Mac requirements
These are The Sims 4 Mac system requirements:
- OS: 10.7.5
- Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo 2.4Ghz Processor
- Video Card: NVIDIA GeForce 320M, 9600M, 9400M, ATI Radeon HD 2600 Pro or better. Video RAM of 256MB or better.
- Memory: 4GB RAM
- Hard Drive: 10 GB of Hard Drive space
Warning: You’ll be forced to use EA’s Origins client (which I deeply dislike)
Into Simulation games? These are our favorites:
Game | ★ Best Overall | Best for MacBook | Best Value |
Genre | City-builder | Life simulation | RPG simulation |
Release date | 2015 | 2014 | 2016 |
Metascore | |||
Our rating | ★★★★★ Full Review | ★★★★☆ Full Review | ★★★★★ Full Review |
Requirements | High | Low | Low |
Check Price |
The Test: Can you play The Sims 4 on Mac?
To evaluate how well The Sims 4 runs, we’ll test it on these models:
- MacBook Pro (13-inch, Late 2016): 2.0 GHz Intel Core i5, 8 GB RAM, Intel Iris Graphics 540 (1.5GB)
- iMac (5K, 27-inch, Late 2014): 3.5 GHz Intel Core i5, 8 GB RAM, AMD Radeon R9 M290X (2GB)
- Mac Mini (Late 2014): 2.5 GHz Intel Core i5, 8 GB RAM, Intel Iris 5100 (1.5GB)
- MacBook Pro (15-inch, Mid 2012): 2.6 GHz Intel Core i7, 8 GB RAM, GeForce GT 650M (1GB)
Be aware that the system requirements are not perfectly clear regarding integrated graphics. Are the 2012 MacBook Pro and 2014 Mac Mini supported? More on that below.
Why these machines? Our purpose is to help you understand how well this game runs on different setups. And hopefully, one of these setups will be similar enough to yours to give you a very clear idea of what to expect. These are the setups we will be covering:
- Recent high-end Macs (the 2014 iMac).
- Recent entry-level Macs (the 2016 MacBook Pro).
- Older Macs (the 2012 MacBook Pro and the 2014 Mac Mini).
These are the settings we used to test The Sims 4 using our in-house FPS counter Count It for a fixed duration of 5 minutes:
- 1280×800 resolution
- Graphics Quality: Medium
- Vertical Sync: Off
- Retina display: Off
Why these settings? Remember, we are testing vastly different machines. Some high-end, some not. 1280×800 and Medium settings won’t impress anyone, but they are acceptable and should meet the requirements of the average gamer.
The Results: A surprisingly easy game to run!
There were reports of poor Mac performance that had me worried, but it seems the reports were a little overboard (or perhaps Maxis has improved the macOS version over the years):
The target? This chart includes the average frames per second (FPS) recorded on each machine. We usually aim for 30 FPS, because 30 FPS is enough to guarantee a smooth and fluid experience.
Some readers argue that 30 FPS is not high enough, but it’s still what current-gen consoles aim for, and considering most Macs were not built for gaming, 30 FPS is a good target.
As a reminder, this is how we describe the different levels of performance:
- Below 20 FPS: Unplayable: Laggy gameplay, full of stutters and slowdowns.
- 20-30 FPS: Borderline: Can be OK in slow-paced games. Still, not optimal.
- 30-45 FPS: Playable: Acceptable for most (most gaming consoles do this).
- 45-60 FPS: Smooth: Fluid gameplay, with no perceivable stutters.
- 60+ FPS: Very Smooth: For hardcore and professional players, a luxury for most.
We usually aim for 30 FPS, because 30 FPS is enough to guarantee a smooth and fluid experience.
You’ll notice all Macs did better than 30 FPS, which is a good thing, but let’s dive deeper into the results and see how far The Sims 4 can be pushed.
Can my Mac run The Sims 4?
The real question is not whether a high-end Mac can play this game. We know it will.
Haters may claim Macs can’t run games, but if you have a recent high-end Mac with a dedicated graphics card with 2GB of Video RAM (or more), you can safely play ANY game that exists on macOS.
The real question is: How high can you increase the graphics settings while still experiencing a smooth experience?
Wrestling games free download - Ares, Snood, Call of Duty 4 Patch, and many more programs. Sep 25, 2016 WWE 2K17 for Mac OS X. If you like wrestling or battle games then this for sure is for you. We are happy to announce WWE 2K17 for Mac, the game that now is available and can be played on all MacBooks and iMacs. WWE 2K17 arrived with a lot of improvements and new fight moves. Is probably the best wrestling game that can be played on a Mac. Download Wrestling Revolution for PC/Mac/Windows 7,8,10 and have the fun experience of using the smartphone Apps on Desktop or personal computers. Description and Features of Wrestling Revolution For PC: New and rising Sports Game, Wrestling Revolution developed by MDickie for Android is available for free in the Play Store. Before we move toward the installation guide of Wrestling Revolution. Wrestling games on mac computer.
Case in point, my 2014 iMac’s results. While nowhere near as fast as the latest iMacs, it still ran the game at 60 FPS using the Medium settings defined for these tests. And it only did 60 FPS because the game locked frame rates at 60 FPS maximum.
But what happens when we bump the graphics to make The Sims 4 shine? When increasing the settings to Ultra and raising the resolution to 2560×1440, the iMac still ran the game at 56.2 FPS.
Take away: If you have a high-end Mac, you can expect to smoothly play this game at the highest settings.
Can you play The Sims 4 on a MacBook Pro?
This is when things get complicated. Many of us own $1500+ MacBook Pros we believe to be high end (otherwise, how can you justify that price?). Unfortunately, they are not, at least when it comes to graphics performance.
I’m not here to criticize Apple’s choices. They decided that mobility and battery life come first, which is great for most users, but bad for gamers.
Anyway, having an entry-level Mac means you have integrated graphics. And that means gaming performance will be limited. But how limited? It depends on the game.
In this case, The Sims 4 did great on my 13-inch MacBook Pro. The game ran at 54.9 FPS, which is almost double our 30 FPS target.
These results mean you could slightly increase the graphics settings and still get a smooth experience out of The Sims 4. I did two more tests on high and ultra settings, and as expected, there was still some room (although ultra is a little too much):
- 1280×800 and high settings: 44.5 FPS
- 1280×800 and ultra settings: 24.1 FPS
Take away: The Sims 4 is properly optimized for macOS and not particularly demanding. Any recent Mac should be able to handle it, even those with integrated graphics.
But what if you have an older Mac?
According to our results, there is hope for you. Our test 2014 Mac Mini ran the game at 45.40 FPS, which is way above our target. If your Mac is even older than that, it will depend on your machine’s graphics. If you have dedicated graphics, like our 2012 15-inch MacBook Pro, you should be fine.
And if you don’t and worry yours won’t be able to take it, you can always try Stardew Valley, an excellent, albeit different, simulation game that supports macOS.
Take away: If your Mac has integrated graphics, anything older than the Intel Iris 5100 from our Mac Mini will be risky. If your Mac has dedicated graphics, any model from 2012 onwards should be fine.
Bottom line: Turns out, The Sims 4 is a forgiving game that should run just fine on most Macs out there (unless you have a pre-2012 Mac with integrated graphics)…
Maxis did a good job optimizing the game, but this is an inherently simple game (graphics-wise) that is not meant to push your machine to the max. After all, there are plenty of other games out there for that!
PS: These are our favorite accessories for playing/testing games on Mac!
Game | ★ Best Mouse | Best Controller | Best eGPU |
Why we love it? | The G502 is Logitech's most accurate gaming mouse yet. Plus, it has a plethora of buttons and a killer design. | The official PS4 controller just works on Mac. It's wireless, it's precise, it has an excellent grip and it's durable. | The Razer Core X turns your MacBook or Mac Mini into a killer gaming machine by adding external graphics support. |
Mac compatible? | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
User Reviews | ★★★★☆ 326 Amazon reviews | ★★★★☆ 9,678 Amazon reviews | ★★★★☆ 74 Amazon reviews |
Price | From $56 | From $39.99 | From $299.99 |
Buy from |
Download The Sims 4 for Mac
The Sims 4 is available for download from several digital stores including Origin and MMOGA:
It may not have as many things to do as The Sims 3, still, this is the most sophisticated, better looking and fun Sims ever made. Our score: ★★★★☆ |
Disclaimer: Some of the links above are affiliate links, which means that if you choose to make a purchase, I will earn a commission (this is how we pay the bills). This commission comes at no additional cost to you.
The Mac has plenty of games, but it'll always get the short end of the stick compared to Windows. If you want to play the latest games on your Mac, you have no choice but to install Windows .. or do you?
There are a few ways you can play Windows games on your Mac without having to dedicate a partition to Boot Camp or giving away vast amounts of hard drive space to a virtual machine app like VMWare Fusion or Parallels Desktop. Here are a few other options for playing Windows games on your Mac without the hassle or expense of having to install Windows.
GeForce Now
PC gaming on Mac? Yes you can, thanks to Nvidia's GeForce Now. The service allows users to play PC games from Steam or Battle.net on macOS devices. Better still, the graphic power of these games resides on Nvidia's servers. The biggest drawback: the service remains in beta, and there's been no announcement when the first full release is coming or what a monthly subscription will cost.
For now, at least, the service is free to try and enjoy. All supported GeForce NOW titles work on Macs, and yes, there are plenty of them already available!
The Wine Project
The Mac isn't the only computer whose users have wanted to run software designed for Windows. More than 20 years ago, a project was started to enable Windows software to work on POSIX-compliant operating systems like Linux. It's called The Wine Project, and the effort continues to this day. OS X is POSIX-compliant, too (it's Unix underneath all of Apple's gleam, after all), so Wine will run on the Mac also.
Wine is a recursive acronym that stands for Wine Is Not an Emulator. It's been around the Unix world for a very long time, and because OS X is a Unix-based operating system, it works on the Mac too.
As the name suggests, Wine isn't an emulator. The easiest way to think about it is as a compatibility layer that translates Windows Application Programming Interface (API) calls into something that the Mac can understand. So when a game says 'draw a square on the screen,' the Mac does what it's told.
You can use straight-up Wine if you're technically minded. It isn't for the faint of heart, although there are instructions online, and some kind souls have set up tutorials, which you can find using Google. Wine doesn't work with all games, so your best bet is for you to start searching for which games you'd like to play and whether anyone has instructions to get it working on the Mac using Wine.
Note: At the time of this writing, The Wine Project does not support macOS 10.15 Catalina.
CrossOver Mac
CodeWeavers took some of the sting out of Wine by making a Wine-derived app called CrossOver Mac. CrossOver Mac is Wine with specialized Mac support. Like Wine, it's a Windows compatibility layer for the Mac that enables some games to run.
CodeWeavers has modified the source code to Wine, made some improvements to configuration to make it easier, and provided support for their product, so you shouldn't be out in the cold if you have trouble getting things to run.
My experience with CrossOver — like Wine — is somewhat hit or miss. Its list of actual supported games is pretty small. Many other unsupported games do, in fact work — the CrossOver community has many notes about what to do or how to get them to work, which are referenced by the installation program. Still, if you're more comfortable with an app that's supported by a company, CrossOver may be worth a try. What's more, a free trial is available for download, so you won't be on the hook to pay anything to give it a shot.
Boxer
If you're an old-school gamer and have a hankering to play DOS-based PC games on your Mac, you may have good luck with Boxer. Boxer is a straight-up emulator designed especially for the Mac, which makes it possible to run DOS games without having to do any configuring, installing extra software, or messing around in the Mac Terminal app.
With Boxer, you can drag and drop CD-ROMs (or disk images) from the DOS games you'd like to play. It also wraps them into self-contained 'game boxes' to make them easy to play in the future and gives you a clean interface to find the games you have installed.
Boxer is built using DOSBox, a DOS emulation project that gets a lot of use over at GOG.com, a commercial game download service that houses hundreds of older PC games that work with the Mac. So if you've ever downloaded a GOG.com game that works using DOSBox, you'll have a basic idea of what to expect.
Some final thoughts
In the end, programs like the ones listed above aren't the most reliable way to play Windows games on your Mac, but they do give you an option.
Of course, another option is to run Windows on your Mac, via BootCamp or a virtual machine, which takes a little know-how and a lot of memory space on your Mac's hard drive.
How do you play your Windows games on Mac?
Will This Game Run On My Machine
Let us know in the comment below!
Can This Game Run On My Mac Computer
Updated October 2019: Updated with the best options.
We may earn a commission for purchases using our links. Learn more.
Concepts everywhereAnother day, another iPhone 12 Pro concept. How much would you pay?
Game Running Man
If reports are accurate we might be waiting a little while longer than normal for iPhone 12 Pro. But would you care if it looked like this?