Spore will launch simultaneously on Mac and PC later this year, reports Cnet. An official announcement from EA is expected today out of MacWorld where EA will apparently preview the everything-sim on – you guessed it – Macs. As with EA's previous PC-to-Mac titles, TransGaming technology will handle the conversion process. Spore is expected to be one of several EA games targeted for simultaneous release this year.

"[We] think the Macintosh user is somebody who is, typically, a creative individual," said EA Maxis VP of marketing Patrick Buechner, "Part of the appeal of the Mac is that it allows you to do creative things very easily. And we think that lines up very closely with what you can do with Spore ... So it just feels like a natural place for Spore to be, and we're thinking about it up front rather than as an afterthought."

Just a few scant weeks after revealing to Joystiq their plans to release a Mac client, GameTap has outlined the details of its branching service, which will debut with the free ad-supported "Lite" model for Apple users on June 28th. Like its PC counterpart, GameTap's Mac Lite client will feature a rotating selection of 30-40 games, but will not support newer Windows-based offerings like Tomb Raider: Legend. The "Deluxe" pay-to-play service will follow later in the summer, with a goal to provide a catalog of nearly 500 titles, including Saturn and Dreamcast games -- but again, Windows titles are out; so no episodic originals like Sam & Max or American McGee's upcoming Grimm. The Deluxe client will also support online multiplayer modes featured in GameTap's "Challenge" games category.

Like Myst Online: URU Live and EA's forthcoming Mac lineup, GameTap for OS X will utilize Cider emulation technology, which is only compatible with Intel-based Macs. Cider will support cross-platform competition, allowing Mac and PC players to face off in Challenge games. Which will prevail: the one-button mouse or two?

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]

GameTap announced today that the Mac OS X port of Myst Online: URU Live -- built using Transgaming's Cider technology -- is available for download. Rand Miller, CEO of Cyan Worlds and creator of Myst Online, offered this heartfelt sentiment: "Many of the original Myst fans were Mac users, so for GameTap to reopen the door to this audience really means a lot to Cyan on a personal level."

Though we're sure there's lots of hugging going on in the Cyan Worlds offices this morning, we're just excited to test the Cider-built version and see how it compares to the existing PC client. A reminder: while your $10 monthly GameTap subscription buys you full access to the GameTap service, Mac users should know that Myst Online is the only GameTap offering that will work natively on your computer. Our recommendation for Intel Mac users: play URU Live natively, Boot Camp the rest.

Already a GameTap subscriber and want to take the Mac version of URU Live online for a spin? Head on over to this login page, enter your GameTap login information and get downloading!

With Apple's transition to Intel processors completed earlier this year, and emerging technologies such as Cider promising full compatibility with Windows games, the Mac platform is seeing even fewer native releases these days. But there are still some gems for dedicated Mac gamers this holiday season:

• Age of Empires III
• Big Bang Brain Games
• Call of Duty 2
• Cars: The Videogame
• Civilization IV
• Dominions 3: The Awakening
• Quake 4
• Sims 2: Nightlife
• Spongebob Squarepants Diner Dash
• WingNuts 2: Raina's Revenge
• World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade (coming in Jan.)
• X-Plane 8.5

Apple's gaming page has additional information, and check out last year's holiday recommendations for a little more variety on your Mac.

The Heroes of Might and Magic series has long been a mainstay of Mac gaming, and Freeverse plans to continue the tradition by delivering HoMM V for OS X this Christmas. However, it is uncertain if Ubisoft's popular strategy title will ship as a native Mac app, or if it will come wrapped in TransGaming's Cider emulation software.

Freeverse's Colin Smith had previously indicated the game would be a full blown port, but at the end of last week, he told Inside Mac Games that his company is now "actively evaluating" Cider for HoMM V. This would be an interesting test for Cider, given Heroes V's hefty hardware requirements, and it could be just what TransGaming needs to get their new portability engine off the ground.

See also: Cohen on Mac Pro's gaming prowess

TransGaming, makers of the Linux-based gaming virtualization software Cedega (née WineX), have announced an ambitious Mac OS X variant known as Cider (like Apple cider, get it?). Unlike Cedega, Cider is not being targeted towards end-users, but rather to publishers and developers eager to capitalize on the growing Mac OS X userbase but wary of investing in a niche platform.

With Apple's new Intel-based Macs capable of running Windows natively, Cider's allure is from its ability to run Windows games from inside Mac OS X. No dual booting necessary. How does it work:

"Cider is a sophisticated portability engine that allows Windows games to be run on Intel Macs without any modifications to the original game source code. Cider works by directly loading a Windows program into memory on an Intel-Mac and linking it to an optimized version of the Win32 APIs. Games are simply wrapped up in the Cider engine and they work on the Mac."

Our spidey sense is alerting us to the grist-filled rumor mill called "the internet" which is currently vibrating with its semi-annual Mac expo buzz. Monday kicks off WWDC, which promises "the world's first look at Leopard," the next version of Mac OS X. And, if we were a betting blog, we'd put our money on Apple announcing some sort of built-in virtualization software (å la Parallels). But we're not, so we won't. Regardless, software like Cider promises another end to the Mac gaming doldrums, if Apple doesn't beat them to it.

[Thanks, KBeat]