transgaming posts

While Mac gamers have seen their prospects improve somewhat in 2010, the fact is that getting a native Mac port of a game previously released for other platforms can still take years to happen Case in point it the news today that over nine years after Grand Theft Auto III was first released the open world action-game is finally making its native Mac debut, along with its two immediate follow ups Grand Theft Auto Vice City and Grand Theft Auto San Andreas.

All three games, which were ported by TransGaming using its Cider technology, are now available to purchase and download at GameTreeMac.com exclusively for the next 30 days with all three games costing $14.99 each.

Mac gamers have had to wait a while but now the wait is over for those people who wanted to play a native Mac version of Dragon Age Origins Awakening. TransGaming announced today that the Mac port of BioWare's RPG expansion pack is now available via download on the GameTree Online web site. The PC and console versions of the expansion were released last March.

Along with Dragon Age Origins Awakening, TransGaming has also recently offered some of the RPG's downloadable content expansions to Mac owners. The DLC include Return to Ostagar, Dark Spawn Chronicles, and Leliana's Song. All are now available for purchase and download on GameTree Online.

Developer Riot Games' multiplayer free-to-play action-RTS game League of Legends has generated a solid fan following on the PC and it looks like Mac gamers will get their shot at playing the fantasy themed game. Today Riot Games announced plans to release a Mac native port of League of Legends sometime this summer.

The port will allow the Mac users to play the game against their PC counterparts. The port will be handled by Transgaming's Cider engine tools. League of Legends is also expected to launch its official competitive phase this summer as well which means both Mac and PC players will be able to participate.

It's pretty rare that a PC game is ported to the Mac these days and its even rarer when the PC and Mac versions are released at the same time. However that's exactly what's happening with the strategy-sim game The Settlers 7. The Mac port of the game is now available to purchase at GreenTreeOnline.com

The port is being handled by TransGaming who used their Cider tech to allow the Blue Byte-Ubisoft title to run on Macs. Both the regular and Gold Editon of The Settlers 7 are available to purchase and download with the standard edition also available in retail stores. There's no word if the Mac port will require that the game be always connected to the internet like the PC version.

There are no new PC games scheduled to show up in stores this Christmas week but if you are a Mac user you should be able to download and play the Mac version of Dragon Age Origins sometime today. The port of BioWare's hit RPG is being handled by TransGaming and will have access to all of the downloadable content that the PC version got when it was release early in November.

Other than that there's nothing else that's scheduled for this week that we know of. If there is a release of a notable downloadable game we will report on it in the regular news.

Usually Mac owners have to wait, and wait, and wait some more to get a native port of a PC game for their platform. That's not the case for Dragon Age: Origins, however. Electronic Arts announced today that BioWare's fantasy RPG is coming in a native Mac version on December 21.

The port is being handled by TransGaming and will be a digital download release only. Like the PC version the Mac port will come in both standard and deluxe digital editions with the deluxe edition containing all of the extra content that the PC version had. Both versions will also allow Mac gamers to get the downloadable content extras that were also released for the PC version. Pre-orders are being taken at the Gametree web site.

Usually Mac gamers get the shaft when it comes to getting native ports of previously released PC games. If they are released at all they usually are behind by months or even years after the PC versions are out. In the case of Star Trek D-A-C that's not the case at all as the Mac port of the movie-based game is now scheduled for release this December.

Transgaming is handling the Mac port duties for the game which was originally created by Naked Sky Entertainment. If you have a Macand have a hankering for some movie-based top down space shooting action, you can go ahead and pre-order the downloadable Star Trek D-A-C port for $8.99 at the GameTree online web site.

The idea of the living room PC where people can play PC games on their big screen televisions is a dream that's been around for a long time. However it's never really gotten mainstream traction. Now PC processor maker Intel is using its big investment mucles to a new effort called GameTree.TV, a games-on-demand project from company TransGaming.

You may have heard of TransGaming. They have created software to allow a number of PC games to run natively on Macs and Linux boxes. Now they are working on this new effort which will use a set-top box (powered by Intel's CE Media Processor) to allow PC games to be downloaded and played on demand for a person's TV. Specific financial details on Intel's investment in GameTree.TV were not disclosed. TransGaming hopes to launch GameTree.TV sometime in the second quarter of 2010.

Macintosh gamers have yet another MMO that will soon run natively on their platforms. Mythic Entertainment announcement this morning that a Mac version of their fantasy MMO Warhammer Online will be released for that platform sometime this fall, allowing Mac owners to play the game on the same servers as their PC counterparts.

The Mac port of the game is being handled by TransGaming using their Cider technology to put a "wrapper" around the code so it can run on Intel-based Mac computers. A beta version of the Mac client is already available to download. Current Warhammer Online players will be able to check out the Mac beta client in full but new players are limited to a 10 day free trial.

Mac gamers wanting more native games for their systems may be getting a break thanks to publisher Ubisoft and TransGaming. Today the two companies announced an agreement to use TransGaming's Cider software to port a number of Ubisoft titles to run on Macs.

Among the games included in the new agreement are Prince of Persia and Shawn White Snowboarding, both of which will be released in March via digital download."Select retail establishments" (and we certainly hope your retail establishment has been selected) will also be selling Mac versions of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation - Hard Evidence, Rayman Raving Rabbids and Petz Sports. These ports will also ship out in March.