The Current State of Mac Gaming: Commercial Reality of Today

Last time, I wrote about history of gaming on the Mac.  We took a look at how it came to be in such a sorry state by the time Apple announced the move from PowerPC to Intel architecture.  We left off with the reaction to the Intel switch from developers, commentators and users. Some predicted the transition would be the final death-knell of Mac games, since there was no longer a barrier to playing Windows games on the Mac. Others suggested it would kill the porting industry, but only harm rather than destroy business for the few surviving developers of original Mac games. The more optimistic types thought it might be a boon for Mac gaming, as both porting and multi-platform development would be significantly easier now that Macs were built from the same parts as their PC brethren.

Glider PRO

The quintessential paper plane simulator, John Calhoun's shareware classic Glider first emerged in 1988 "for all Macs". Its basic premise involved the player guiding a paper plane through 15 rooms, while avoiding obstacles (including a cat) and keeping the "glider" airborne, with the help of upward air movement from vents. Subsequent versions added new rooms, features, and obstacles, but the gameplay remained essentially the same.

Glider's simple mechanics and undeniable charm spawned a dedicated fan community, consisting mostly of modders, who created new levels or "houses" for the game. There was even a fanzine for a few years in the mid-90s.

Glider PRO, the fifth major version of Glider, was released in 1994 for Macs running System 7 or better. It was repeatedly updated to run on newer hardware, and even got a commercial release on CD, before publisher Casady & Greene went out of business in 2003. John Calhoun released all versions of Glider as freeware soon after.

The Current State of Mac Gaming: How It Got This Way

The Mac isn't exactly known for its ability to play games. And given the repeated snubbing from big publishers and developers in recent years, this isn't without reason. But it hasn't always been a wasteland for games, sparsely populated by a handful of the PC's sloppy seconds. In this series of articles I will discuss the highs and lows of Mac gaming.  We start with some history, then we will look in-depth at the current situation, and finally we will take a look to the future.

Will the tablet succeed?

Next week we will be introduced to a new product from Apple.  This product will be the long rumored tablet-device which Steve Jobs has been intimately involved with for the past couple of years.  I don't care what the device is called (my money is with iPad at this point), what I do care about it is what the device can do for me.  I'm a gamer; so why should I care?

Final Fantasy Coming to the iPhone

Seems like there's just a ton of iPhone news for us over the past couple days; and now we have news that Square Enix is bringing one of the most successful RPG series of all time to the iPhone and iPod Touch.  In December of 1987 the original Final Fantasy was released for the Nintendo Entertainment System.  Since then Final Fantasy has released twelve sequels (most recently Final Fantasy XIII for Playstation 3 and Xbox 360) and countless spin-offs.

On Wednesday, Square Enix posted a series of screenshots to their facebook page under the title "FINAL FANTASY and FINAL FANTASY II for iPhone / iPod touch".  The only other information included is:

"Over 20 years since the original releases, FINAL FANTASY and FINAL FANTASY II are coming to iPhone / iPod touch!  Release date: TBA.  Stay tuned!"

The interface appears to be slightly modified from the original GUI elements we have seen in previous remakes of the game.  This implies that Square Enix is taking advantage of the touch screen to navigate menus as opposed to other ports and remakes which have centered around an overlay gamepad.

View more of the screenshots after the break.

Sega Announces Ultimate Genesis iPhone Emulator

Sega, creator of the original Sega Genesis console system, has just announced Sega's Ultimate Genesis app for the iPhone and iPod Touch.  Fundamentally, this free app allows the purchase of many classic Sega games such as Sonic the Hedgehog ($5.99) and Golden Axe ($4.99).  This app appears to be a fully featured emulator which downloads authentic ROMs of the original games; this means you receive the most authentic experience possible.

What is unique about this product is that it is an emulator and appears to be in direct conflict with Apple's AppStore policies.  Current Sega Genesis emulators for the iPhone are available only on jailbroken iPhones (genesis4iphone video above; ignore terrible music).  Others have successfully released similar products for the iPhone including C64, which is a Virtual Console-esque app for the Commodore 64.

The app is free and includes one free game; Space Harrier II.  Anyone else want to see Road Rash or General Chaos on the iPhone (or iPad) as much as we do?

Apple Boot Camp Now Supports Windows 7

Apple has just released an update to Boot Camp that includes support for Microsoft's latest incarnation of their operating system; Windows 7.  The update also fixes a number of bugs, addresses a lot of various issues, and adds support for Apple's latest peripherals.

This update adds support for Microsoft Windows 7 (Home Premium, Professional, and Ultimate), addresses issues with the Apple trackpad, turns off the red digital audio port LED on laptop computers when it is not being used, and supports the Apple wireless keyboard and Apple Magic mouse.

The new version is Boot Camp 3.1 and is available in 64-bit and 32-bit flavors.  Support for Windows 7 requires an authentic copy of Windows 7 or a legitimate Windows 7 upgrade.  A number of systems are not supported by Boot Camp 3.1, including iMac, MacBook Pro, and Mac Pro models introduced in 2006.

"Come see our latest creation" Gaming Oriented?

Multiple sources are posting that many gaming related media outlets as well as game developers have been invited to Apple's January 27th media event.  The overwhelming majority of news sites and analysts expect Apple to be introducing their tablet device and recent reports from Fox News, the Wall Street Journal, and CNN have brought up the possibility of iPhone OS, iLife, and iWork updates.

Snes9X Updated to v1.52

byuu on the forums pointed out an update to the popular Super Nintendo emulator Snes9X.  This open source emulator sports incredible compatibility and has been the most popular Super Nintendo emulator for Windows and Mac for years.  This update includes a large amount of bug fixes, an updated sound core, and some Leopard and Snow Leopard specific changes.

While Snes9x sports a must faster emulation core, if you are looking for cycle-exact emulation try out Richard Bannister's BSNES.

Genesis Plus v1.3.1

Richard Bannister has updated Genesis Plus to v1.3.1.  The sole new feature in this version is support for Game Genie cheat codes.  Genesis Plus is a very accurate emulator for Sega Genesis games.  If you are using an older machine or you are having speed issues with Genesis Plus it is recommended you use Generator.

Richard Bannister is a popular Mac emulator porter and author, currently maintaining a library of over twenty-five emulators.  If you are looking for emulators for the Spectrum ZX to the Virtual Boy, Bannister's site is the place to check first.