Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Gaming, Software, WWDC
EA officially backs off of Mac releases
Shame on you, EA! Shame! Back at WWDC, you promised to release four of your franchise games simultaneously on PC and Mac in July. But July came and went, and we saw (and played) nothing.And now EA has told Apple Insider that Mac faithful shouldn't have held their breath on those promises-- Madden 08 was the big release on Tuesday, but while it did appear on PC, the Mac version has been officially delayed until "September or October" (which means late December, in videogame-release-speak). Additionally, even EA doesn't know what's going on with its own games-- they claim that Battlefield 2142, Command and Conquer 3, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, and Need for Speed Carbon are all in stores, but when asked which stores they were actually in, EA didn't have an answer.
I can't say I'm surprised-- for all the talk at WWDC, the Mac isn't quite the platform of choice for most game makers, and who knows who would have actually bought any of those games on Mac if they had been released (I wouldn't have). But the fact is that EA stood on stage at WWDC, and got lauded for it. Don't talk the talk if you can't walk the walk, Electronic Arts.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
samual icky said 10:55PM on 8-16-2007
Now I admit I'm not the gamer type of person however It seems EA is ensuring they don't sell any games. Lets see your releasing Madden 08 when the season is nearly over... I bet sales drop exponential fast on PC/XBox/PS3 systems after the week two of the season... November thats what week 11?
I predict Madden 09 on the Mac will then be axed due to poor 08 sales.
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Bruno said 11:07PM on 8-16-2007
I think Football video games do better post-season. During the season fans watch REAL football.
In any case, EA used to make some great games. Back in the day. Early Amiga days and the hey-day of the C-64. Ah, memories. Now they just market the same game under different names year after year.
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kevinm said 12:00AM on 8-17-2007
EA is such a sad company today. EA used to be proud of their games, like what the founder wanted, and what the name implied. Looks like they are a bunch of lazy asses working there now.
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Microdot said 12:10AM on 8-17-2007
they didnt even take the time to properly port the ps3 version.... what makes you think (outside of their lies) that they would even remotely care about the mac platform?
to hell with EA. i will not purchase their crap anymore, and havent for quite some time now.
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Angela said 12:15AM on 8-17-2007
Bait and switch? Breach of contract? Smoke and mirrors?
C'mon Mr. Jobs, if you're going to sell your company's image on someone else's promises, you'd better be prepared to take the fall when they bail out on you. This EA fiasco wouldn't have been so bad if Steve hadn't made such a huge deal out of this on stage. Next time people won't believe him so quickly.
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Andrew said 12:28AM on 8-17-2007
Well, it's not like my GMA 950 is really hungry for more games.
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David Chartier said 12:39AM on 8-17-2007
Can the Jackass of the Week award be given to a company?
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Q. said 1:09AM on 8-17-2007
This is an unfortunate situation that marks a bigger problem for Apple, and that is the lack of ways to draw the windows gaming crowd to Mac. I personally am cross platform, and the only reason I still have a windows machine is because it gives me the option to game if I want to. Put simply, for a company that is so set on "Options", and "Breaking the Mold", Apple sure does fail when it comes time to cater to a significant number of PC users who would willingly switch if Apple supported games better. Hopefully with the introduction and implementation of things like Cider, Apple can get itself out of the rut so to speak and get on top once and for all.
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Greg G said 1:12AM on 8-17-2007
-_-
Damn you EA!
There are plenty of gamers using Macs. Macs are the best computers for everything else, the only industry lagging behind is gaming.
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initials.bb said 1:29AM on 8-17-2007
what a bunch of fu$#ing wankers.
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Mr.Clicky said 4:35AM on 8-17-2007
Forget about American football what about the other football? You know the one the majority of the World watches and plays (you guys call it soccer). I'd buy EA FIFIA Football titles as soon as they hit the shelves (providing they were close to the PC equivalent of course EA)...
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Jon said 4:54AM on 8-17-2007
This doesn't surprise me. EA is the Microsoft of videogame publishers (not including Microsoft, obviously). They try to compete with licensing and other legal means rather than competing through the quality of their products.
The games would probably have run like crap compared to the PC versions anyway, as they were being run through Cider.
However, id and Epic (developers of Quake and the Unreal series respectively) always make their engines cross-platform and their engines are used in a LOT of games from different genres.
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Sander Backus said 5:42AM on 8-17-2007
You can order 4 games now @ The apple store, with about a week ship date.. but they are coming..
http://www.apple.com/games/trailers/ea/
A version of Need for speed carbon is already circulating on bit-torrent
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Chris said 8:27AM on 8-17-2007
HP 3 was the last one to have a Hogwarts where you could walk around and do whatever.
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cs0875 said 8:39AM on 8-17-2007
I agree with Q, one of the reason I don't own a Mac is gaming. I love to game, and I can't on a Mac. I wish I could afford 2 computers, but I can't, plus I don't have the room. I have a custom built rig, (I keep adding to it as time goes on, 1TB RAID 0 array when my 2 barracudas come from Newegg)to keep up with games. I can't play 95% of the games I like on a Mac. I know you are probably thinking he just bought 2 500GB HDs, but they were only $150 each. I have the ability to add piece by piece as I have money. I unfortunately can't spent $1700 at one time.
Why can't Apple make a system with a powerful video card, and convince game makers that their system is viable. If they can take an MP3 player and dominate the market, they should be able to convince game makers that can be in the gaming market. Until then, I am probably going to be stuck with my PC.
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Graham Hall said 8:49AM on 8-17-2007
I thought the whole thing with Cider was that it was supposed to be real easy for the developer. Apparently, it's still too much work for Electronic Farts.
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stainboy said 9:45AM on 8-17-2007
what stumps me here is that people are saying that Apple doesn't have a Mac with a good gaming graphics card.
there's this Mac called the Mac Pro, have you heard of it? maybe it doesn't come with a great stock one, but you can always upgrade. my G5 has been upgraded to an ATI X800 and for my moderate gaming needs it's been great.
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Krzysztof said 10:56AM on 8-17-2007
#15....Why can't Apple make a system with a powerful video card, and convince game makers that their system is viable. If they can take an MP3 player and dominate the market, they should be able to convince game makers that can be in the gaming market. Until then, I am probably going to be stuck with my PC.
I'll tell you why, Mac owners tend to have a life! Compared to the fat lazy pimpled PC gamers. Mac can dominate the MP3 market because it is a tool developed for those who actually get out of their mom's basement and and breathe God's fresh air. I think the episode of South Park "world of warcraft" summed up what PC gamers are all about. Hey... just my 2¢
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bebop said 11:11AM on 8-17-2007
"I'll tell you why, Mac owners tend to have a life! Compared to the fat lazy pimpled PC gamers. "
Says the guy who spends all day going to Mac sites creaming himself over the new icon for iMovie.
I love OS X and Macs, but some Mac fans are a tad silly. As soon as Apple and Mr. Jobs comes out with a killer gaming Mac, you'll instantly love computers that play games and go on and on how great Apple's is.
Apple has a huge whole in its lineup. The computer between the Mac Mini and the Mac Pro. The iMac only works for those who need no upgradability and doesn't already have a nice monitor (meaning very few people). Acting like this whole doesn't exist is pure fan-boyism.
You can still love Macs, and be a supporter of Apple, without thinking that 100% of everything they do is just perfect.
Plenty of people are asking for it Apple, give us a Core Duo desktop computer in a case like the Mac Pro has, that is upgradable, for $1000 to $1500. Most people don't need a Mac Pro that can have 4 video cards, 16gigs of ram, and 99 terabytes of space (that last one was a dramatization of course, but you get my point) for $3000.
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Doug said 11:17AM on 8-17-2007
Madden 08 on the PC isn't the next-gen game it is on the 360 anyway. It's a carry-over older version.
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