The news that Valve is set to provide a Mac OS X version of its Source gaming engine and Steam gaming service has been generally well received by the Mac gaming community.

The company is preparing Mac versions of games including Counter-Strike, Portal and Team Fortress 2 for release next month.

Future Valve games - including Portal 2 - will be released simultaneously for Mac and Windows.

Updates for games will be also be simultaneously released, and online players will inhabit the same space, regardless of platform.

A particularly interesting aspect is that the new Steam Play feature means that those who buy a title for one platform can also play on the other at no extra charge (whether Valve's developer customers will choose to allow this remains to be seen), and even switch between platforms in mid-game.

Not everyone likes the way Steam works at a non-technical level, such as allowing different prices according to the buyer's geographical location, prohibiting the resale or transfer of games or accounts, and forcing the installation of updates that may be incompatible with the user's hardware or operating system.

At least Valve's decision to support the Mac as a so-called tier one platform gives Mac users a choice. They'll soon have a bigger selection of games than they do today, and if they don't like Valve's terms they are free to say "no thanks."

What surprises me - though I suppose it shouldn't - is the way so many Mac haters have used stories about Valve's announcement as an opportunity to bag the platform.

You know the sort of thing: "Macs only have one-button mice" (what decade are you living in?), "Mac users are arrogant" (as if there aren't any arrogant Windows, Linux, PS3 or Xbox 360 users!), "the Mac is a closed platform" (that's closed as in 'Apple provides a set of development tools with the OS and lets anyone use them to create programs that they can sell or give away', yes?), and "Macs are too expensive" (which is why they're selling so well?).

One criticism that probably can be justified is the comparatively low performance graphics chips fitted to most Macs.

On the other hand, people who are prepared to pay $700 or more just for the latest graphics card aren't really in a position to complain that Macs are too expensive. They might question whether Macs provide value for money (and for someone whose main interest is playing games, that is doubtful), but that's a different matter.

The real beneficiaries are existing Mac owners who want a wider choice of games. From that point of view, good on ya, Valve - especially as games such as Portal and Team Fortress 2 cost as little as $US19.99.