EA, id take bite out of Apple

By Tor Thorsen, GameSpotPosted Jun 11, 2007 5:58 pm PT

Megapublisher announces six Macintosh games; Doom-maker reveals new IP is coming to PC, PS3, 360, and Mac, promises new "Mac-related announcement."

Today at Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC), CEO Steve Jobs touted the fact that his company's Macintosh computer line is getting a double-shot of support on the games front.

id Tech 5 demo

The Carmack struts his latest stuff.

First, in the wake of its casual game push on iTunes, Electronic Arts revealed it will release several top-tier titles onto the Mac. After Apple CEO Steve Jobs talked up the number one third-party publisher, EA chief creative officer Bing Gordon took the WWDC stage.

"Starting in July, we're going to bring four of our biggest titles to run on [Macintosh] OS 10," Gordon told an enthusiastic crowd. The quartet in question includes favorites Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars, Battlefield 2142, Need for Speed Carbon, and the as-yet unreleased Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.

Gordon also revealed that following Phoenix, EA will start releasing majors games "simultaneously on the Mac" when they ship for other platforms. The first two titles to be released on this platform will be Madden NFL 08 and Tiger Woods PGA Tour 08, both due in August.

"Who run Bartertown?"

After Gordon, id software cofounder and chief technical officer John Carmack stepped up to begin a technology demo. "We were able to put this together fairly quickly, which speaks highly of the Mac platform," said Carmack, sporting a black-on-black three-button suit. He then emceed the first public showing of the all-new engine that will power id's forthcoming game, which was first revealed in 2004.

Titled "id Tech 5," the demo began with a swooping pan through a desert canyon filled with a shantytown straight out of Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome. Carmack talked up the fact the engine supported "a world that is entirely covered in unique textures." He said the sequence, which followed a MotorStorm-esque dune-buggy racetrack, had a whopping 20GB of texture information. He said that said information will allow designers to tweak any aspect of the textures "without affecting the stability of the game."

In his concluding statements, Carmack also revealed that id's as-yet unnamed new game will be formally unveiled to the public at the E3 Media & Business Summit next month. He also confirmed the game would be "running on the PC, PS3, Xbox [360], and Mac." Between E3's kick off and the 2007 QuakeCon convention, id will also "have another Mac-related announcement," Carmack promised.

307 Comments

  • NOFXBOY7789

    Posted Nov 19, 2007 5:52 pm PT

    hey decrosta try doing your my math lab on a mac

  • KingKongofDeath

    Posted Oct 9, 2007 6:36 pm PT

    Hurray! Gaming is the only area where Windows beats Mac. I hope that is changing.

  • ed_banger

    Posted Sep 19, 2007 4:12 am PT

    I have both a macbook pro and a fairly powerful PC. I pend 95% of the time on the Mac... I find it's just, well better.

  • Licurgo

    Posted Aug 6, 2007 12:22 pm PT

    OMG! Doom 3? Are you sure? I think that game is ok... Quake 4, for instance, is 10 times better...

  • isnuke

    Posted Jun 24, 2007 7:27 am PT

    No matter what anybody says: DOOM 3 was the most amazing game ever for me!! and Mac is definetly the machine i adore! id, Apple and Doom 3 rocks as far as i can see!

  • sindeal

    Posted Jun 19, 2007 12:51 pm PT

    And so it begins...

  • -polygonCOKE-

    Posted Jun 19, 2007 6:44 am PT

    v Agreed.

  • thomas_fogh

    Posted Jun 19, 2007 6:19 am PT

    Why not give better support for games on Linux first???? This would be a much more logical choice as both the PC and the MAC can run Linux.
    Both ATI and nVidia have Linux drivers, all we need are for games to support it!

  • rhmontinola

    Posted Jun 19, 2007 6:11 am PT

    After many years of visiting gamespot, this will be my first post ever. The reason for this is that it is really frustrating to see so many people arguing about something when they don't fully understand what they are comparing.

    First of all, please don't compare the two systems when you haven't tried and gotten used to either. Yes, trying is not enough; any system will seem like crap if you don't even take time to get used to it. How is it supposed to feel good/easy when it's completely different?? This goes to everyone out there, both pc and mac users. I mean, how are supposed to say that the system you use is better when you haven't fully explored the other? So post your argument only if you've tried both, and if not, just keep your flames to yourself until you do.

    heck you don't even have to buy one, just try form someone else...

    Secondly, this isn't like a console war. You have to understand that pc's and mac's are computers that do other things besides play games. Thus sales/market share is not affected as much as the consoles by the mere presence of games. Popularity will ultimately depend on how well the pc/mac performs its primary function of being a computer.

    Anyway, i hope this clears up some of the pointless arguments on the board. As for me, i own and use both a pc and a mac and have taken both systems apart (both literally and figuratively) and am pretty familiar with how both work. I have an opinion about which is better, but i wont even bother posting it because there is no argument strong enough to penetrate the thick skulls of fan-boys. All i can say is this: 'Be open to everything. We live in a world that constantly changes, and being closed to something because it is different is the one sure way to be stuck in the past.'

  • pinthepimp

    Posted Jun 19, 2007 12:26 am PT

    I can't believe the closed-mindedness of some people here...Have you actually used a Mac ? If so then maybe you just had your eyes closed...

    I build machines personally & set machines up with XP on a daily basis, I was tasked with a 2 Yr old Powerbook (G4 version, not C2D.) The system is a breath of fresh air compared to XP..Can't really comment on Vista as I've only just started using it on my MediaCentre.

    My main PC is a 2.4Ghz C2D, 2GB RAM & ATI X1950 Pro, plays games pretty good (can't justify an 8800 GTX, or Ultra for that matter.) But I'll be buying a MacBook to replace my aging Notebook, when I get the cash together, why ? They just seem to work, there is useful software installed when you first start it, and they've won the most innovative company award for three years running for a reason. Dont get me wrong - I don't want Mac's to dominate, then we'll have another Microsoft on our hands, but they are starting to come into the mainstream.

    Oh and for anyone who truely believes PCs/Laptop are cheaper then Mac Pro's/MacBook & MacBook Pro's...spec up a PC that meets the specifications listed on their website..you'll find it pretty hard to get the same machine cheaper and with software suite to boot. (Btw, when Vista launched MacBooks were running it faster then any Windows Machine could, makes you think don't it ?)

    For anyone who doesn't believe what I say, do a google search, learn something

    Just like to say I cant wait for Manhunt, GTA IV & Mass Effect (I'm aware 2 of those are on X360, hence M$, but i'd have to say it's my fav console...except when it crashes...)

  • maynardgilmour

    Posted Jun 18, 2007 9:49 pm PT

    I just do not get why people bicker over systems. Mac, PC, Xbox, Wii, Playstation. They're all good. You can't go wrong.

    I've got a PC because that's where all the games are. I've got a Wii because I like Zelda. I'll get PS3 when GTA comes out. I'll get the 360 when Halo comes. If there's a game that's only for the Mac that I can't do without, I'll go get a Mac.

  • tatton777

    Posted Jun 18, 2007 3:40 pm PT

    Mac people are the most illogical, but insanely passionate group of folks I have ever seen. Arguing with them is fruitless. They are kind of like a fundamental religious group. They BELIEVE that their systems are superior so they need to get in everyone face about it.

    Anyway, have fun with your Mac's and your belief systems. I will soon be starting an on-line Mac-Church that you can all send your Mac-Tithings to. I'll be using the money to get my second 8800 GTX... for starters.

  • victorer

    Posted Jun 18, 2007 11:49 am PT

    Actually, the marketshare for mac is 8%, and has doubled in a year and a half. Think if this continues for a long time? I only see a dark passage for Microsoft, crap products....

  • dryden555

    Posted Jun 18, 2007 10:02 am PT

    macs still have far less that 10% marketshare ronniepage588. Until that fact changes, a lot of your rant (it is a rant ya know) doesn't signify. Both consumers and businesses are voting with their dollar.

  • ronniepage588

    Posted Jun 18, 2007 9:13 am PT

    well, if mac can dominate in performance with every media form except for gaming against pc (movie editing whatever, photoshop, music, and basically anything to do with graphics art) then if gaming were to become big on mac, i'm sure it could dominate that in no time. seriously, whoever acts like they don't like macs need to grow the hell up and hop off gates balls. they ARE more user friendly, they DO run WAY better, they look WAY better and definetly a lot cooler. i would like to see mac introduce a computer designed for maximum gaming performance, (which the macpro pretty already is, and they didn't even have gaming in mind when they designed it, imagine if gaming is on the top of the list!) seriously, mac is soooo much more about the user experience and trying to satisfy their costumers than microsoft, just look at the friggin iphone, its like five years ahead in technology than any other cell phone being released this year. look at the mac mini, i have a friend who installed one in his car, thats brilliant! the mactv is really cool too. and don't forget ipod, there still isn't a single worthy competitor, zune was a joke. they tried making as pretty as possible, to FOOL YOU. That is microsofts entire way, fooling people by looks and advertisements and control over a lot of media to fool people. take a look at vista. what the hell? they tried sooooo hard to make its 'look' as visually impressive as mac and use that as one of the highest selling points. and yet, it still doesn't come close to mac in terms of visuals.

  • ReggieNametaker

    Posted Jun 18, 2007 3:37 am PT

    It's an undeniable fact: Macs have NEVER been good for playing games. Ever since the first mac in 1984 macs use in the gaming department was as minimal as it is now. But now we've moved from black and white displays made up of dots with no sound to apple machines that find running Call Of Duty 2 a chore.

    Despite this, it doesn't wade the fact that OSX and all macs released with intel processors are beautiful machines, just not built for gaming.

  • Wej_accept_it

    Posted Jun 18, 2007 1:55 am PT

    meh, after how bad Doom 3 was id aint got much to brag about, I mean come on, D3, when compared to like HL2 or H2, or FarCry, which game would you choose?

  • Fruity_mixer

    Posted Jun 17, 2007 11:27 pm PT

    i hate mac. i lost all respect for id....((

  • stewmang

    Posted Jun 17, 2007 9:34 am PT

    For some reason, the same exact arguments were going on in the "how to score 9000 points" comment forum. And since I feel like being a mediator today, I'm going to say how arguing about dominance is pointless and stupid. Oh wait I just did. I personally run a Mac Pro with Boot Camp. Works fine, despite what *ahem* other sites have said. But I'm very excited at the prospect of getting more game for my mac. Blood for the blood god!*


    *Steve Jobs

  • The_PC_Gamer

    Posted Jun 16, 2007 4:25 pm PT

    Just as the question on the poll said...and I voted for it...This is laughable at best. EA's funds and efforts are better spent elsewhere.

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