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How To Waste Time (4/22/99)
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If you're anything like us, you realize what a conundrum it is (or, maybe, was) to be both a big games fan and a Mac user. In general, the age-old claim that there's "no software for the Mac" is pretty weak; we've certainly never had any trouble finding software that does what we need it to do. When it comes to games, though, we've got to admit-- there's a lot more variety on the Windows side of the fence. Worse still, the "big" games often take months or even years to be ported to the Mac, assuming they make it here at all. But of course ever since the iMac debuted (and a stretch before), Apple's been making big strides in persuading developers that Macintosh development is worth their while. We've been reaping the early benefits of that push for a while, now, what with Tomb Raider and Unreal on the shelves. And the best is still to come; LucasArts has returned to our happy platform by committing to a Mac version of the upcoming Star Wars: Episode I Racer, and John Carmack has pulled a 180° and announced that Quake II and Quake 3: Arena will both make it to the Macintosh soon.
And the good news just keeps on coming! MacAddict just posted some exclusive tidings. First of all, Aspyr Media will be doing their part to fight the long-standing dearth of sports games for the Mac by porting Electronic Arts' Madden NFL 2000. Expect it to surface this September-- at the same time as the PC version. Ahhh, simultaneous release... gotta love it. And that's just the tip of the iceberg. Sierra, historically not a big Mac supporter, has not only announced that Half-Life is being ported, but they've also committed to simultaneous Windows and Macintosh releases for all future titles. Lastly, Blizzard has announced that Diablo II will be released for the Macintosh "a few months after the PC version," though, as gamers who heard them say that about StarCraft, we're not holding our breath. Still, it's great to hear, nonetheless.
We've long suspected that the Gistics study which showed Mac users being more productive than Wintel users was due in large part to the disparity in entertainment software selection. Now that we Mac folk are starting to get access to a wider variety of time-wasting, brain-rotting, how-did-it-get-to-be-3-o'clock-in-the-freakin'-morning titles, we're expecting the platform productivity average to go straight down the crapper. Which, of course, suits us just fine. Happy fragging.
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SceneLink (1482)
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 | | The above scene was taken from the 4/22/99 episode: April 22, 1999: There's a veritable plethora of great games heading for the Mac, so prepare to throw your productivity out the window. Meanwhile, even as Sears is rumored to be preparing an iMac roll-out this summer, JCPenney may be planning on iMac sales through its 1999 holiday catalog, and Mac OS 8.6 is hot, free, and ready to roll...
Other scenes from that episode: 1483: iLove Your Style (4/22/99) So we've got a couple of national retailers selling iMacs, now; there's CompUSA, still going great guns, and there's Best Buy, who apparently exists primarily to lend a sense of comic relief. In addition, rumors have been floating around that Sears will climb back on the Apple wagon to sell iMacs and iBooks this summer... 1484: It's Gold, It's Free (4/22/99) The improvements just never stop... If you've still got the wind blowing through your hair from the rush of running Mac OS 8.5.1, you might have to resort to pharmaceutical help in order to calm down in time for Mac OS 8.6...
Or view the entire episode as originally broadcast... | |  |
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