In our interview with Diablo 3 lead designer Jay Wilson, it was explained that there were no plans to bring the long-awaited title to any platform other than PC and Mac. However, in the six days that have passed since said interview, a couple of Blizzard higher-ups weren't quite as dismissive of the possibility of the dungeon crawler making an appearance on our primitive gameboxes -- though the language used to describe this possibility hasn't exactly given us high-apple-pie-in-the-sky hopes.

When asked about a console rendition of the third entry in the Lord of Terror-slaying franchise, Blizzard COO Paul Sams gave an inconclusive "I don't know yet," though Vice President of Game Design Rob Pardo suggested a console port was "theoretically possible," as out of all of Blizzard's franchises, Diablo would be the most console-friendly. We guess a theoretical "yes" is better than an actual "no", or a metaphorical "maybe", but we're still not holding our bated breath for a non-compy version of Diablo the Third.

The Diablo 3 FAQ is being hammered at the moment (we couldn't imagine why), but just in case you were worried, Blizzard assures us that the game will work on Apple computers. So sayeth the website: "As with all of Blizzard Entertainment's recent releases, Diablo 3 will ship for both Windows and Mac simultaneously." As for whether your Mac will be able to run the game, that's an as-of-yet unanswered query.

Sure, Mac gaming is becoming less of an oxymoron these days, but if you want to game with a keyboard, Windows is still the way to go. Fortunately, Codeweavers' has concocted a solution for those who want the PC gaming experience on Mac (and Linux!) without using Boot Camp or partitioning drives. Introducing CrossOver Games.

We're not going to get into the technical side of it because, quite frankly, we don't understand it all. The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) has an extensive hands-on and gallery walkthrough (see below) of the $40 program, and found the software satisfying overall, especially for use with Steam. (You can view a compatibility list here.) There's also a 30-day free trial available.

Cute graphics and sounds: Check. Clever puzzle mechanic: Check. Irresistible gameplay: Check. World of Goo hits the required bullet points to be an indie game darling. And comfortable Wii Remote controls make it a perfect fit to be in Nintendo's WiiWare lineup.

Players build simple structures by pointing and dragging living, bouncing goo balls. These spherical wonders extend a few arms to their closest neighbors, becoming rigid when the Remote button is released. Gamers have to figure out how to build bridges, towers, and other structures without toppling them over, all while trying to use as few balls as possible. In the end, they're trying to lead the remaining balls to a mysterious pipe that sucks them away at the end of the level.

I tried the action-puzzler at the Nintendo Media Summit and am anticipating its release sometime this year. (Developer 2D Boy says its work will be complete in the Summer, and Nintendo will schedule the release after that.) World of Goo felt great and could be poised to be an indie game that crosses over into commercial success.

Mac gamers can finally play a new demo for Return to Dark Castle, the game that keeps crying wolf about delaying its release date. The delays have gone on for so long that Mac gamers might see this as their personal Duke Nukem Forever. Teases picked up again a month ago, and the game's website uses caps and italics to stress that it'll release "very, VERY soon."

Even if the game never ships, the just-released demo is worth a quick play. It feels almost identical to its Mac gaming canon ancestors, with the same sharp controls. The old sound effects we remember from 1986 and 1987 are back. And while we would have lightly updated some of the basics -- like rats that disappear after being hit with a rock -- the unchanged action holds up surprisingly well.

Look, Return to Dark Castle, stop being such a tease. Even after all these years, your demo makes us miss you again. Come back very VERY soon.

Getting psyched for next week's Macworld Steve Jobs keynote? Some of us at Joystiq, despite their gaming deficiencies, do love Apple. We present to you a flash game created specifically for Jobs' morning routine next Tuesday. Move around the streets picking up keynote essentials and avoid undercover journalists trying to learn the company's new secrets. Note: this game is Mac compatible.

[Via Engadget]

That's what they say. Publishing monolith EA has announced that four of its Cider-powered Mac OS X titles are now available to purchase on Apple's online store today. The initial burst looks to satisfy a variety of Intel Mac gamers, including those who are partial to waging futuristic war (Battlefield 2142!), owning totally sick rides (Need for Speed Carbon!), casting ex-crucio-ting spells (Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix!) and, uh, waging even more futuristic war (Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars!).

The games will also materialize on minimalistic shelves within Apple retail stores, with Potter and Need For Speed arriving on Tuesday, 21 August. Battlefield 2142 and Tiberium Wars should arrive the following week on 28 August. Though the tardy titles, namely Tiger Woods PGA Tour 08 and Madden NFL 08, were promised to arrive on the same day as other systems at WWDC, you can now expect their respective balls to come crashing through the "September/October window."

In what could be the greatest game trailer of all time, this Wolf Quest video introduces the December, 2007 simulation title. You play a wolf capable of forming a pack with other players online, where you do wolfy things, like hunting, peeing on stuff, and howling. The game, being released through the Minnesota Zoo, will be a free Mac/PC download.

The trailer strikes an uncanny balance of mediocre (read: hilarious) production values and game content that genuinely looks fun. While the educational game may skew towards a younger audience, any animal fan might enjoy the title.

Screw Okami and Twilight Princess. See the new alpha dog after the break.

Perhaps the only thing more exciting than the news that versions of Puzzle Quest were coming to almost every platform would be this ESRB rating leading us to believe that none system would be left behind. Apparently, Mac and PS3 owners will soon get to experience the thrill of doing battle with a deadly Minotaur by switching gems into rows of threes.

We kid, but the portable versions of Puzzle Quest didn't leave our hands for weeks after we first grasped them. We're curious to see if their strange siren song works on home consoles too. Curious what all the hubbub's about? You can find a demo here.

[Via Siliconera]

GameTap tells us that beginning today they'll have Panzer Dragoon II Zwei (redundant, we know), Neo Geo's Samurai Shodown and King of Fighters '98. It's not all retro though, Eidos' dead-soldier-parts-talking Rogue Trooper will also be available. The games are available on GameTap's subscription service, but we're really still enjoying last week's addition of Psychonauts, which we hope gets added to the GameTap's expanding free service at the end of the month so nobody will have an excuse anymore not to try it.

But what we're really looking forward to is the debut of the GameTap's Mac capabilities next week. GameTap's blog is previewing what the Mac version will entail and the widgets they'll have available. Although newer games won't be supported just yet, a buffet of games for the Mac will be sweet. It may have taken 30 years, but it looks like Mac is finally getting its game on.

Another big announcement from Steve Jobs at WWDC today: Apple will be offering a new type of software for Macs this summer called "games" (pronounced "gaimz"). The new genre, being supported in a big way by publisher EA, will allow "players" to enter virtual worlds and take part in contests of skill. The first titles in EA's "game" line-up include Command & Conquer 3, Battlefield 2142, Need For Speed Carbon and Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. Later this year, Madden NFL 08 and Tiger Woods PGA Tour 08 will arrive on Mac at the same time as other systems -- apparently, "games" have been offered for several months elsewhere.

There are, of course, still plenty of unanswered questions. If you die in the game, does your corporeal form itself die? How does the on-screen man know what actions you want him to take? Do they come in teal? We'll keep digging.

In an interview with MSNBC, Bizzard's vice president of game design Rob Pardo reveals some juicy details about the development of StarCraft 2. The first design steps were taken back in 2003, nearly five years after the release of the original game. It wasn't until 2004 that development was in full-swing. The team also considered adding a fourth race to the mix but in the end decided to stick with the tried-and-true trio.

And the question everyone wants to know: when will we get to play StarCraft 2? Pardo initially responded with Blizzard's usual response: "It'll ship when it's ready." A gentle coaxing later, he elaborated with "The only thing I can give you [that's] concrete is it's not going to be this year."

Joystiq am cry.

Joystiq recently spoke with GameTap's VP of Marketing, David Reid, and their VP of Content, Rick Sanchez, about all the major changes coming to the service this Thursday. Most notable is the introduction of a free ad-driven GameTap service, effectively turning it into a hybrid, adapting casual game site Pogo.com's model while offering more than just casual games. One of the big recent announcements was that Tomb Raider: Legend will be offered free by this ad-driven service and GameTap even created a Lara Croft mega-site to showcase all things Lady Croft. We got a chance to talk to them about what's really going on with the service, which is still very unique in the gaming space, and future growth including ... Mac support.

So, let's start off with David [Reid, VP of Marketing]. GameTap has had some serious changes over the last couple years. The service has almost mimicked the life of a cable television station. Starting off by showing mostly re-runs geared to the demographic and slowly introducing original programming. Is this an accurate model of what we should expect in the future?

Well, yes and no. You've got some of the history there pretty accurate. Internally, we look at Cartoon Network at how GameTap got started. Turner Broadcasting has this core competence in acquiring content. That's how TBS got started, Cartoon Network got started and how GameTap got started. The real difference is [GameTap] was Turner's first direct consumer business, its first games business and first broadband business. There has been a big push in Turner to get digital fast and build on the expertise they had on the licensing front.

What you'll see more of is a less purist game business model and more of an overall broadcast model. Like our ad-supported games service. Providing publishers a much richer sense of opportunity to make money off their intellectual property. Right now, the games industry, it's very much like box office. Like a movie, you see the marketing, you go to the theater and get the experience. The digital retail business we're launching on Thursday is sort of like a box office premiere. Then our subscription business (what we've known GameTap as), which keeps getting better, is video-on-demand. Then the free service is your free broadcast television. So, our model, it's more like what film and TV does rather than what cable does.

Multiplatform game publisher, Aspyr Media, will stay current with its Mac roots by publishing that version of Enemy Territory: Quake Wars sometime this year. (Aspyr had previously mentioned those plans but today's statement marks the official announcement.) Aspyr has already released Doom 3-engine games on the Mac, and its port is being developed by in-house coders.

Quake Wars will be a tactical- and objective-based first-person shooter instead of the traditional Quake deathmatch. No release date has been named, but assuming that Aspyr is accurate when saying the Mac version will be out this year, PC and console versions may be out by the fall.

The Unofficial Apple Weblog has the best guide we've seen to making sure your Apple product and your Microsoft product not only play nice, but pretty much kick ass together as well.

We knew about some of the simple things like sharing your Mac's internet connection with your Xbox 360, and having it play nice with your iPod, but there's a slew of other things we were clueless about, like the shareware program that lets you use your Xbox 360 controller on your Mac. That'll come in handy while we try and master that Battlestar Galactica game.

Check out the full guide and spread the love.