Gaming on the Mac: Bigger Than You Think

Spore and Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare added to a steadily growing list.

Everyone knows that you can't play real games on a Mac. At least that used to be the case. But last year's announcement that EA was teaming up with TransGaming to use its Cider technology to port over some of the publishing giant's new games meant that Mac owners could use their machines for more than just podcasts and movie making.

Spore is coming to the Mac during 2008

In its promotional material, TransGaming, which is also working with numerous other "top-tier" publishers, describes Cider as a "sophisticated portability engine". Basically, the company takes games designed to run on Windows-based PCs and wraps the code in compatibility software that allows it to run on Macs.

One of the biggest advantages is that the process is fast - really fast. In an FAQ on its site, TransGaming says that optimizing a Windows game for the Mac takes "hours to a mere few days as opposed to the traditional months to years."

That's good for developers because it means that they don't have to work on another version of their games just to be able to serve Mac customers - still a small part of their overall target audience. It's good for Mac owners because, well, let's just say the selection of games on the Mac isn't the reason so many people are switching.

Cider is specifically designed to work with Intel chips, but as luck would have it Apple has been in bed with Intel for quite some time now. All its new machines, including the recently announced MacBook Air, run Intel chips. The move has been good for business.

Mac hardware sales have been growing steadily since the switch to Intel from IBM's PowerPC. In the three months up to 31 September, Apple sold more than 2.1 million computers - all of them equipped with Intel processors. Year-on-year growth was 34 per cent. All that success means there is a bigger potential audience for Mac games.

Apple's new MacBook Air

Developers seem to have noticed. EA was in early. Last year the company brought some of its biggest franchises to the Mac, including Need for Speed, Madden and Tiger Woods. This week EA announced that it is again working with TransGaming, this time to offer Mac owners the chance to play Will Wright's new game, Spore.

Spore is the Sims creator's latest brainchild, a game that brings together elements from his past hits into an experience that literally lets players control life, from the cellular stage all the way along the evolutionary path culminating in advanced civilizations capable of interstellar travel.

EA, which is showing off Spore for the Mac at this week's MacWorld show in San Francisco, says that the game will arrive later this year, which is also when it says it will deliver the Windows version.

It's not just cerebral games that are coming to the Mac either. Activision this week announced its support for the platform, confirming that it will have a Mac version of last year's first-person shooter hit Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare out in May.

The company has handed development duties to Aspyr Media, a game shop located in Texas that has built its name on top-quality conversions for the Mac, including previous Call of Duty and Medal of Honor games.

For Apple fans, it's another show of support and yet more proof that soon everyone will know that you can play real games on a Mac.

Alex Wollenschlaeger
Editor, Kikizo