The Mac release of Dragon Age should be fairly identical to the PC release, thanks to TransGaming's software portability technologies. Like the PC game, the Digital Deluxe version of the game comes complete with the Warden's Keep DLC, exclusive in-game items, the digital soundtrack, and a selection of wallpapers, while both releases will include the Blood Dragon armor and Stone Prisoner DLC, free of charge.

"We are very excited to bring this award-winning title to the Mac community," commented Vikas Gupta, President and CEO of TransGaming. "Our Cider technology allows us to rapidly enable and deploy high quality titles like Dragon Age, and we are pleased to be delivering this exceptional caliber of gaming to the ever growing Mac gaming community."

Dragon Age: Origins for the Mac will be available for download on the 21st at GameTree, Direct2Drive, Best Buy, GamersGate, and GameTap.

October 28th is when the floodgates open and a slow trickle of the Mac users who haven't already been playing Warhammer Online using emulation are unleashed upon the completely suspecting populace. Warhammer Online for the Mac will be exactly the same as the PC version, only the computers it is played on will be slightly more expensive and prettier to look at.

"We're incredibly excited to bring Warhammer Online and its enthralling Realm vs. Realm combat to the Mac community," said Jeff Hickman, Executive Producer of Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning. "Come October 28th, the sides of Order and Destruction will be bolsters by a fresh recruit of Mac gamers experiencing for the first time exactly what we mean when we say that ‘WAR is everywhere!'"

The beta version is currently available for existing users and new Mac players to download and play in anticipation of the late October release. The game will be available for purchase come the 28th via digital download at Gametreeonline.com for $19.95.

I say that as a 23-year user and consumer of Mac products, too. It's no fault of Feral, they can only buy the rights to games and then build the ports, a necessarily reactive process that takes a long time start to finish. But this announcement is grimace-inducing to the core Mac gaming community, all six of us, utterly forsaken by Cupertino. Every time I go into an Apple Store and see people perusing the games section, I stare at them the way one stares at a freshman earnestly debating the quad preacher.

Where was I? Oh yeah, BioShock, for the Mac, Oct. 7. It's $49.95 in North America, £34.99 in the UK, €39.95 in Europe.

BioShock Hitting Mac Next Month [VG247]

Within a year, Bungie would be bought out by Microsoft and Halo would become a launch title that, more than any other game, made the Xbox viable in its infancy. Although Jobs had sworn that Apple had "put an initiative in place to get games back to the Mac," the new console project and Microsoft's commitment to it seemed a much more stable environment than remaining the lone standard bearer of gaming on the Mac.

People argue the Halo franchise's innovation and significance, or lack thereof, all the time. What isn't disputable is its place in history to these two companies, as the catalyst for the fortunes of one and the persistent listlessness of another, at least in gaming. I often wonder if Macintosh really could have evolved into a serious gaming platform, using OpenGL, with Halo as a leadership title. And I wonder what would have happened with the Xbox - if anything could have matched the impact of Halo on that console, or if Microsoft would have simply developed another multiplayer FPS with which to stake its claim in the market.

Above is Steve Jobs' keynote introduction of Halo on July 21, 1999 at Macworld Expo in New York. The game had been given a closed-door screening at E3 earlier that year. This is its public debut.

Eventually, Halo would make it to the Mac. In 2003.

Halo ... On the Mac? [YouTube]

At online retailer Feral Interactive's booth, exhibitors wore shirts with Bioshock's Big Daddy on the back. Writer Chris Holt checked with Feral reps, who confirmed for him that the game's coming.

Still calling this a rumor as it's Feral talking and not 2K, but

Corrections: Feral Interactive is actually a Mac porting shop and publishing house. It buys rights to port PC games from publishers like 2K and Eidos, then programs them to run natively in Mac OS. So this wouldn't be anything 2K would comment about. Again, this is Macworld reporting from its own expo. So, Mac gamers, enjoy, sounds like Bioshock is in the pipe.

Feral's Big Secret {Macworld, thanks Luc]

His case is largely for the indie community, and anyone seeking growth — so it's not a challenge to the top publishers to take us all back to the Gil Amelio days when they actually wrote more than one AAA title for the Mac in a year. Or five. But at first blush, one can see shared values in the indie and Linux communities (and to some extent in MacOS), so the idea that they represent an extremely profitable five percent, given the right game, is not a real stretch.

Rosen, in his company's official blog (picked up by Ars Technica) uses Wolfire's game Lugaru as the lesson. According to their sales stats, the game's Linux and MacOS versions account for 50 percent of its overall sales. "Not all five percents are created equal," he says. For the right game, hee has a point.

Developing for MacOS and Linux has a word-of-mouth effect disproportionate to what you get with a game written for Windows, Rosen says. Maybe the spread isn't as large, because of the numbers involved, but within those communities, that kind of endorsement can really drive sales. Lugaru's went up 122 percent thanks to his decision to develop for those languages, he says.

"Having a Linux build meant coverage on Slashdot," he says. "A lot of people heard about and supported Lugaru simply because we had a Linux build. ... A small minority of your users will go crazy with your game and spread it all over the place. On the Internet, all it takes is one thread on a popular forum, and you've literally got hundreds or thousands of new visitors. Basically, a small amount of your users can make a huge difference for you."

Two barriers stop the Linux/MacOS conversation before it gets started — the perception that it's harder to develop on those two platforms, and the idea that they're so unprofitable that only unusual up-front guarantees make it worthwhile.

"There is the famous case of Half-Life 2. Valve wanted a $1 million dollar advance on the Mac OS X version. No Mac developer has this kind of cash to front, and Apple decided not to foot the bill either, perhaps on principle of the unusual request. There is no technical reason that Mac users can't have Half-Life 2—it's simply messed up business development."

It's a reasonable argument if you keep it in its proper context — indie gaming, where developers with a good idea, their own agenda, and where Steam distribution serves their purposes just fine, can see some growth and throw Mac and Linux gamers a bone. No one's suggesting this overrides the financial prerogatives of a mammoth like Electronic Arts or Activision. But it is something to consider.

Indie Dev Suggests Peers Should Support OS X, Linux Gaming [Ars Technica]
Why You Should Support MacOS and Linux [Wolfire Blog]

“Players will soon be able to join the battle of good versus evil in the most popular comic book MMO on both the PC and Mac platforms…and in the same game world,” commented Brian Clayton, executive producer of City of Heroes for NCsoft West. “Given Mac’s fame as a platform for creative people and City of Heroes’ unprecedented character customization options, I think City of Heroes is a perfect fit for the Mac gaming community.”

Of course City of Heroes will already run on an Inter-based Mac using Boot Camp, but this news just makes it that much more convenient.

NCsoft and TransGaming Announce City of Heroes for the Mac

Battle of Good vs. Evil Now Available on Two Platforms

SEATTLE and TORONTO, Ontario, October 30, 2008 – NCsoft®, the world’s premier publisher and developer of massively multiplayer online games (MMOs), today announced a partnership with TransGaming, Inc. (TSX-V: TNG) to bring their award-winning City of Heroes® franchise to the Apple® Macintosh®. The game has been enabled for the Mac by TransGaming, a leading developer of portability technologies for the electronic entertainment industry. City of Heroes for Mac will be available for public beta testing with the release of the game’s thirteenth expansion, Issue 13: Power and Responsibility later this fall. The official launch will occur pre-holiday this year with a special digital-only Mac edition of City of Heroes, available across all NCsoft West consumer territories.

“Players will soon be able to join the battle of good versus evil in the most popular comic book MMO on both the PC and Mac platforms…and in the same game world,” commented Brian Clayton, executive producer of City of Heroes for NCsoft West. “Given Mac’s fame as a platform for creative people and City of Heroes’ unprecedented character customization options, I think City of Heroes is a perfect fit for the Mac gaming community.”

In City of Heroes, the most popular comic book inspired MMO on the market, players craft their hero or villain identities and join millions of other player created characters in a constantly expanding universe. Unparalleled character customization is a hallmark of the City of Heroes franchise. Players can choose from hundreds of different powers and thousands of costume options, resulting in near limitless personalization. Players may go it alone or band together with others in super groups.

City of Heroes for Mac was made possible using TransGaming's CiderTM Portability Engine, which acts as a "wrapper" around the game software, enabling it to run seamlessly on Intel-based Macs. The partnership with NCsoft to develop and publish City of Heroes for Mac offers the Mac gaming community its first opportunity to do battle in the streets of Paragon City™ and the Rogue Isles™ in a persistent universe with no differentiation between the PC and Mac. “NCsoft’s City of Heroes MMO is an incredible franchise and TransGaming is thrilled to provide Mac gamers the ability to demonstrate their creativity by building their own heroes and villains and immersing themselves in the battle between good and evil,” commented Vikas Gupta, CEO & president of TransGaming. “Through Cider, the Mac version will parallel the developments of the PC version, providing all game updates, new features, and storylines simultaneously on both platforms.”

The City of Heroes Mac Special Edition digital product will be sold at the PlayNC store and at GameTree Online. City of Heroes is rated "T" for Teen. For more information about City of Heroes go to http://www.cityofheroes.com.

"Ubisoft is extremely excited about the partnership with TransGaming to bring our titles to the Mac," said Jay Cohen, senior vice president of publishing at Ubisoft. "This is the perfect opportunity to reach the growing Mac community so they can enjoy games such as CSI: Hard Evidence and our Petz franchise with Catz and Dogz."

Oh. That's...nice? Finally Mac gamers will be able to experience the titles PC gamers have been raving about for ages! I assume we'll see something a bit more meaty (yes, I know Petz have meat) as the partnership continues.

TransGaming to Bring Ubisoft Titles to Mac

Ubisoft® Games for Mac Now Available for Purchase and Download at GameTreeOnline.com

Toronto, Canada – July 2, 2008 – TransGaming Inc. (TSX-V: TNG), has announced that video game publisher, Ubisoft (PARIS:UBI.PA), is collaborating with TransGaming to distribute video games on Mac via TransGaming's CiderTM Portability Engine. TransGaming, a leading developer of portability technologies for the electronic entertainment industry, has signed a multi-title agreement with Ubisoft that will bring titles immediately to the Mac community via gametreeonline.com, TransGaming's digital distribution portal. The partnership extends TransGaming's publisher network and offers both parties a revenue-sharing model in addition to TransGaming's Cider licensing fee.

"Ubisoft is extremely excited about the partnership with TransGaming to bring our titles to the Mac," said Jay Cohen, senior vice president of publishing at Ubisoft. "This is the perfect opportunity to reach the growing Mac community so they can enjoy games such as CSI: Hard Evidence and our Petz franchise with Catz and Dogz. To expand our business position and serve the growing Mac gaming community, additional key titles will follow later this year, including several day-and-date releases this Fall.

Ubisoft ranks among the top three independent publishers of video games in the world and has chosen to leverage TransGaming's technology to deliver multiple Mac titles each year. All titles for Mac are being made possible using TransGaming's Cider Portability Engine, that acts as a "wrapper" around the game software, enabling it to run seamlessly on Intel-based Macs. This collaboration by two industry leaders will serve to provide the Mac gaming community with a significant increase in the availability of video games, while simultaneously improving the timeliness of Mac games on sale to the consumer market, a dual benefit rarely possible prior to TransGaming's Cider Portability Engine.

"We are delighted to offer consumers Ubisoft's titles through our digital distribution portal, GameTree Online, and at traditional Mac retail locations over the next few years. Ubisoft has been creating award winning games for Windows-PC and I have no doubt that Mac consumers everywhere will be thrilled to have access to this great content," commented Vikas Gupta, CEO & President of TransGaming Technologies. "Leading publishers continue to recognize the value of TransGaming's Cider Engine to bring their high quality content quickly and efficiently to the growing Mac community. The addition of Ubisoft titles further broadens the Mac games market and provides further evidence that TransGaming is the partner of choice for Mac enablement."

Ubisoft's Petz® series will be available immediately for consumers to purchase and download at www.gametreeonline.com. Other Ubisoft titles that have never been available on Mac before will be deployed throughout the Summer, and simultaneously in the Fall with the Windows-PC platform releases.

Serving the gaming industry for many years, TransGaming is a technology leader signing Ubisoft, another top-tier publisher, will ensure all Mac consumers have the game-title availability they demand. TransGaming is 'Broadening the Playing Field' as more and more consumers choose Mac as their personal entertainment solution.

Penny Arcade Adventures [Xbox.com]

"Those kind of games were never designed to be played by users with physical disabilities," Niemeijer said, "but with universal access software, such as on-screen keyboards, they can be played also by people with physical impairments."

Niemeijer became a developer of universal access software for Mac in 1996, after a friend of his was paralyzed in an accident. With a number of websites already available for PC gamers with physical impairments, Niemeijer decided that the Mac gaming community needed its own centre of support, too. Niemeijer calls the website a collaborative effort, right down to the website's banner (partially shown above), which was created by an individual who can only move his head.

All of the website's team members, currently four editor/contributors and three contributors, use assistive technology to interact with their computers (all Macs). They speak from experience in their articles on hardware and software using assistive technology for the Mac, reviews of Mac games, and other issues that arise with assistive technology. Anyone who uses assistive technology on a Mac is welcome to contribute to the website, which Niemeijer says has received very positive feedback so far from the assistive technology community and the website's users.

According to Niemeijer, the games that work best with assistive technology are ones that offer a windowed mode of gameplay, otherwise the assistive software won't be accessible during gameplay. He also said that games which allow for multiple forms of input and output work well.

"Games that can be played with keyboard or mouse or joystick or game pad will allow many more people to play then those that only accept keyboard input or only joystick input," Niemeijer said. "Similarly, games that rely only vision or hearing in terms of output exclude people. If a hint or story line is only spoken by the game, deaf users will be left out. If information is only visual, vision impaired users will be left out."

Once the barrier of accessibility has been lifted from the world of gaming, Niemeijer says that online games provide a world of options to people who can't otherwise go outside to play soccer, golf, or travel to other countries. It provides them with new experiences they may not have without assistive technology.

"The nice thing about many of the online games is also that no-one knows you have a disability," Niemeijer said. "In the virtual word there are no disabilities."

To give you an idea of the impact that assistive technology can have, Niemeijer's company AssistiveWare has created a video of one of Assistive Gaming's editors, Michael Phillips, playing a number of video games, including Unreal Tournament 2004 and World of Warcraft.

Hahaha! "Mac gamer demographic." Anyway...

According to the main man at IMG, Tuncer Deniz, his info comes straight from the folks at Apple, following an e-mail trail that involved Newell and Mr. Steve Jobs himself. It doesn't seem like an unreasonable request to me. Just charged Mac users a thousand bucks for the game and you'll recoup your costs in no time. We're quite used to overpaying for all things Apple.

Thanks for the heads up, Kaji.

One Million Reasons Why Half-Life 2 Isn't on the Mac [Inside Mac Gaming via Apple Insider]