EA employs Cider to bring games to Mac OS X

by Christopher Grant { Jun 12th 2007 at 2:27PM }

All of those "games" that Electronic Arts pledged to bring to the Mac? Well, they're not doing it alone, they've got some help. Transgaming, the folks behind the Cider portability engine, are going to do it for them just like they did with GameTap's Myst Online: URU Live. As Apple's marketshare (or, more importantly, mindshare) grows, giant publishers like EA will naturally see business opportunities there. Cider allows the financial feasibility of supporting a niche platform not geared towards gaming.

There are some downsides of course. While Transgaming insists their software wrapper offers little to no slow-down, the reality is that there's still some translation happening. But if you can't notice it, no big deal right? Well, if you're running a PowerPC Mac, you won't be able to notice it at all since you won't be able to run these games. Part of Cider's magic comes from the software's Intel Mac requirement, so if you're running a machine more than a couple years old, you won't be eligible. But that's par for the course for PC gaming and just another way Mac gaming is growing up.

[Via TUAW]

Tags: Cider, EA, MacOSX, Transgaming

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Conrad Quilty-Harper @ Jun 12th 2007 1:26PM

Bye bye Mac video game publishing/porting houses.

Imus @ Jun 12th 2007 2:33PM

Will my Mac still be able to bring me porn?

john @ Jun 12th 2007 3:04PM

Interesting, I remember them announcing Cider a few months back, but I wrote it off as a pipe dream (as I do most efforts to reinvigorate Mac gaming). With a big publishing house like EA using it, it might just have some promise. I wonder if the numbers would work for smaller publishers, or if a porting company like MacPlay could use this to increase the amount of ports they bring over.

That said, I'm a Mac owner and the only game I play is Halo 1 online (keyboard and mouse FTW). I don't really see myself playing that many games on it even if they do become more plentiful. I'm just too used to it being the work machine, and the TV/Wii/360 being the fun machine. That and they never seem to port the games that I actually want to play (Grim Fandango, plz).

Brian @ Jun 12th 2007 3:08PM

Personally, I want Squeenix to port FFXI to the Mac.

Digital Fox @ Jun 12th 2007 3:27PM

I actually use the new version of Parallels to play my Windows games on my Mac right now, while I wait for Apple Cider (GET IT!?) to catch on. Until then, I'll continue playing FFXI and Freelancer in Parallels.

C. Grant @ Jun 12th 2007 3:31PM

John: You can thank me later.
http://www.versiontracker.com/dyn/moreinfo/macosx/29897

GoonieGooGoo @ Jun 12th 2007 3:51PM

Methinks its still cheaper to buy or build a brand new PC to run games perfectly rather than to get an Intel Mac to emulate Windows games.

We've heard the games for Mac Mantra before.....could this finally be when companies actually live up to it?? We'll see.....but I'm doubtful.

DjFIL @ Jun 12th 2007 4:32PM

I'm just wondering how a MacBook's GMA 950 chipset (with 64mb ram) are going to handle these games... though the only one I'm really interested in is Tiger Woods.

Will @ Jun 12th 2007 4:36PM

#7 GoonieGooGoo

Psssst... some of us already have Macs... so no, buying a new computer wouldn't be cheaper. Although I agree with john, #3 above, mostly my gaming is on Wii/360/PS2, etc.

My problem is placeshifting. iMac and PS2 in the office (well, with an XBox), and the Wii and 360 plus MacMini are all in the living room. Too many screens and consoles all over the place. I want to be able to shunt whatever I want to whatever location I want, based on screen location.

ibike2live @ Jun 12th 2007 5:26PM

If Cider is so good and so fast, why are NFS, BF2142 & C&C3 not on the store shelves right now??

jmcdougall @ Jun 12th 2007 8:56PM

I've been a Mac user for about 12 years now. Macs have never been that great for games but in the old days you could always get something. Myst, Marathon, Dark Forces, Lode Runner, and Civilization II were all regularly played on my LC 575.

But these days, what I can play on my MacBook? WoW and umm... umm.. I got Sims 2 but it didn't run very well.

Hopefully this initiative by EA can help turn things around a bit. Otherwise we can all just install bootcamp and XP and be done with it..

The ZeroCorpse @ Jun 12th 2007 9:59PM

I play WoW, City of Heroes, Star Wars Empire At War, Half Life 2, Sims 2, Neverwinter Nights, and Deus Ex, and they all work GREAT on my MacBook (2GHz C2D, 2GB RAM, 160GB HDD, Intel GMA chipset). I get so sick of people griping about the GMA 950; It works fine for standard gaming. It's not great for hardcore stuff, but it's definitely not slow when used on a maxed-out system.

One trick, though, is to disable the second CPU core for some games. Deus Ex works like a charm with just a single core, but doesn't know how to handle two.