Let's face it - the Mac has never been big on games. The last year or so in particular has been especially quiet for Mac games. Many thought that Apple 's adoption of Intel processors - and the Mac's newfound ability to run Windows (and Windows games) - meant the Mac games scene was winding down.
However, Steve Jobs' keynote speech at Apple's Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC) included guest appearances from two of the gaming world's biggest names. The first was Bing Gordon of Electronic Arts - one of the world's largest games companies.
He admitted that his own daughters were Mac users, and that "we're seeing EA technologists move to Mac in droves". Gordon then announced that EA would be releasing Mac versions of four of its key titles in July. These would include the latest releases in four key series of games - Command And Conquer, Battlefield 2142, Need For Speed and Harry Potter.
He also confirmed that EA would be bringing further games to the Mac over the next few months. These would include some of its sporting titles, such as Tiger Woods PGA Tour '08.
3D game engine
The real teaser for Mac games fans, though, was the appearance of John Carmack, head of legendary games developer id Software (of Quake and Doom fame).
Carmack gave the first public demonstration of a new 3D game engine - running on a Mac - that id has developed for an entirely new series of games. Carmack didn't go into detail. But he said that more Mac-related info would be released at id's QuakeCon conference during the summer.
Cliff Joseph