Arnold Kim at MacRumors:
Apple appears to be getting even more serious about gaming on the iPhone and iPod Touch. We’ve long known that Apple has been positioning the iPod Touch as a gaming device, and Steve Jobs even acknowledged to the New York Times the success of this initiative:
?Originally, we weren?t exactly sure how to market the Touch. Was it an iPhone without the phone? Was it a pocket computer? What happened was, what customers told us was, they started to see it as a game machine,? he said. ?We started to market it that way, and it just took off.”
Apple is now recruiting for a game developer with “3-4 years of video game development experience” who has shipped at least one high profile title. Apple did ship one game (Texas Hold’em) for the original App Store launch but has yet not released any other games under their own brand. Apple has also recently hired Graeme Devine a notable game developer who was also the lead designer for Halo Wars. While the purpose of these hires is unclear, it seems Apple is starting to take gaming very seriously.
Continue reading ‘Apple serious about games?’
Lara Croft: tomb raider extraordinaire. She is considered one of the most notable game characters in the somewhat limited history of video games, you know, in comparison to the history of something like grave robbers.
Continue reading ‘Tomb Raider Anniversary for Mac’
MacZot email me with details of a bundle of apps over at The Mac Sale, which includes CrossOver for Mac:
CrossOver Mac allows you to install many popular Windows applications and games on your Intel Mac. CrossOver includes an easy to use, single click interface, which makes installing Windows software simple and fast. Once installed, your application integrates seamlessly in OS X. Just click and run your application directly from the OS X Finder. Clicking a Windows file or document — including email attachments — will launch the appropriate Windows program, allowing you to work on the files. Best of all, you do it all easily and affordably, without needing a Microsoft operating system license.
If CrossOver for Mac and nine other interesting apps take your fancy, head over and use the code THEMACGAMER at checkout and get a further 5% discount!
In many ways choosing whether to invest in creating a game for the App Store is a little like deciding whether or not to invest in a third world country run by a colorful despot. Sure it’s rich in resources and opportunities but your investment could also fall prey to its unpredictable bureaucracy and market. In short the App Store is a little like Venezuela and Chavezland: there is money to be had in the land of Steve. The question is how to approach it. There is no better comparative study in my mind than Skee-Ball and Ramp Champ.
Skee-Ball sells for $0.99 (and has since release) and is #1 in the Paid Apps in the US. Ramp Champ sells for $1.99 and doesn’t show up in the Top 100 Apps or Games. It would be easy to call this a case of frugality trumping design but this isn’t about the $1 difference. There are apps that cost $1.99 or higher that are in the Top 10 or Top 25. There’s something else going on here. I bought both games and settled in for some quality time.
Continue reading ‘A pair of games with balls’
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