joystiq posts

Filed under: Gaming, Software, Developer, iPhone, App Store

Peggle on iPhone delayed to May 12th

by Mike Schramm (RSS feed) on Apr 30th, 2009

Bad news for those of you who've been drooling to play Peggle on the iPhone. As you may have noticed, it didn't come out in March as we were originally told. The good news is that our friends at Joystiq have gotten a new date for the addictive PopCap game's release on the App Store, and it's close. The game will be out, we're being told, on May 12th. There's no price given yet, but we're with Joystiq on this one too: it probably won't be as low at 99 cents. At $9.99, it would probably be worth it (Peggle is awesome) but pricey -- we're guessing the price will end up right around $4.99.

Joystiq's been playing the game too (lucky peg-hitters), and while they are saving their full impressions for an upcoming review, they hint that the game won't disappoint. We can't wait -- even though Peggle is pretty much everywhere already, from the Mac to Xbox Live to the classic iPod and even in World of Warcraft, there's still room for a little portable Peggle in our lives.

Tags: app-store, date, games, iphone, ipod-touch, joystiq, may, may-12, peggle, popcap, pricing, release

Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Gaming, OS, Software, Odds and ends, Freeware, Apple

id pushing hard for Quake Live on the Mac

by Mike Schramm (RSS feed) on Feb 25th, 2009

Our good friends at Joystiq recently spoke to id games' John Carmack (the man behind games like Quake and Doom, and fervent supporter of Mac gaming), and heard that id's new product, Quake Live, is headed to our OS just as soon as they can get it there.

Quake Live is a free, browser-based, multiplayer-only version of the popular first-person shooter, and it's Windows-only at the moment and packed -- I've tried to play, but have been locked out by thousands of people ahead of me in server queues. Even some of the developers at id are having issues. One of them (a Mac user, apparently) complains that even he has to jump into Boot Camp just to play his own game.

A little more significantly, Carmack says he recognizes that while there are lots of other choices for PC gamers, a game like Quake Live could make a much bigger splash on Mac and Linux, where there aren't as many other developers and titles grabbing for attention. We've heard that before -- while developers claim there's not a big enough base for them on OS X and Linux, the truth is that some of your best and most loyal customers will use Macs.

Good to see that Carmack recognizes there's an audience here who want to shoot each other online, too. Hopefully we'll see Quake Live running on our machines sooner rather than later.

Tags: browser-based, developers, free, id-games, interview, john-carmack, joystiq, linux, mac, ports, quake-live, windows-only

Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Gaming, Software, Odds and ends, iPhone, iPod touch

Peggle coming to the iPhone in March

by Mike Schramm (RSS feed) on Jan 24th, 2009

We actually heard this last year, straight from Apple, but here's confirmation: PopCap Games has told our sister site Joystiq that Peggle, the distractingly cute-looking yet extremely addictive puzzle shooter, is coming to the iPhone in March of this year. If you've played Peggle (or any of PopCap's games, really) you'll know why this is so exciting, and if you haven't yet played it, you'll be in for a treat.

Word of the game apparently sneaked out via Popcap's official Twitter account, and while it was originally deleted (someone decided they didn't want to talk about it yet), the company later confirmed the game and the month of release. Of course, the game is currently available on the classic iPod, but it'll be that much better with touch-screen goodness added in. Extreme Fever!

Tags: app-store, apple, dropping-balls, extreme-fever, gaming, iphone, joystiq, peggle, popcap-games, scoring, twitter

Filed under: Gaming, Retail, Software, Odds and ends, Apple

Apple to show off THQ's De Blob at Apple Stores

by Mike Schramm (RSS feed) on Oct 4th, 2008

The good folks at THQ just dropped us a note that they've signed a pretty big deal with Apple -- their game, De Blob, which I played at E3 and previewed for Joystiq (and talked with the creator for TUAW), will be installed on in-store iPhones as a demo game. They say that the game's use of the accelerometer and solid 3D graphics (you use the accelerometer to bounce a little blob around a 3D world and paint various buildings in the environment) was what brought Apple to choose the game as a software demo for their handheld.

The good news is that De Blob is a quality game, but the bad news is that it's from a large developer like THQ -- Apple has shown a bias in their official outlets for larger companies like EA, and it's disappointing to see that when lots of the best games on the store are coming from much smaller developers. On the other hand, to their credit, Apple has occasionally passed the spotlight to smaller devs, so hopefully this won't be the only game to ever see a demo in the brick-and-mortar stores.

And the other good news here is the Apple seems to finally be giving gaming a space in their marketing, if not in their culture as a whole. For a long time, gaming has had to take a backseat at Apple, but the recent push behind the iPod as "the funnest iPod ever" and these in-store displays point to an Apple that finally recognizes how widespread especially casual gaming has become and how important it is to selling computers nowadays.

Tags: apple, de-blob, demo, display, ea, free-demo, gaming, instore, instore-demo, joystiq, marketing, the-funnest-ipod-ever, thq

Filed under: Gaming, TUAW Business

Win a bunch of games from Freeverse

by TUAW Blogger (RSS feed) on Aug 22nd, 2008

Rounding out the last of our back to school giveaways, we'd like to give you a shot at wasting time. School can't be all about studying and learning, can it? Of course, if you happen to be in school for game design this could actually be homework... Plus, if you don't win, there's always Jared and SimStapler. The point: we want you to have fun.

Big thanks to Freeverse for the prize package, which includes your choice of a Freeverse iPhone game (Wingnuts Moto Racer and Sudoku iPhone are currently available), plus the following games: Hordes of Orcs, Kill Monty, Neon Tango and Big Brain Games. That should give your Xbox 360 a break.

To enter, tell us your favorite non-videogame game from your childhood (like chess, Parcheesi, Risk, etc.). The other rules (same as always) are below.

Open to legal residents of the 50 United States, the District of Columbia and Canada (excluding Quebec) who are 18 and older.
To enter, leave a comment telling us your favorite game (not a video game) from childhood.
The comment must be left before August 24, 11:59PM Eastern Time.
You may enter once.
One winner will be selected in a random drawing.
Prizes: One iPhone game (up to $10), Hordes of Orcs ($24.95), Kill Monty ($19.95), Neon Tango ($24.95), Big Brain Games ($29.95)
Click Here for complete Official Rules.

Tags: back-to-school, freeverse, games, gaming, giveaway, joystiq

Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Gaming, iPod Family, iPhone, App Store

Ask the Readers: iPhone games you can play with your own music?

by Mat Lu (RSS feed) on Aug 3rd, 2008

I have a confession: I like playing games on my iPhone. But I also like listening to my own music. Like chocolate and peanut butter these are two things that should go together. The only problem is that many iPhone games have their own (generally lame) music that stops the iPod app from playing.

So for the sake of myself, and others like me, I thought it would be good to get a list of iPhone / iPod touch games which allow you to play while listening to your own music. Unfortunately, I don't have the budget to buy all of the hundreds of games on the iTunes Store for research purposes, so I thought I'd throw it out to the readers. I'll get us started with a couple of my favorites: Enigmo and Moonlight Mahjong Lite (both iTunes links).

What games allow you to play while listening to your own music?

Tags: App Store, AppStore, games, iphone, joystiq, music

Filed under: Gaming, iPod Family, iPhone, App Store

First Look: Chimps Ahoy!

by Erica Sadun (RSS feed) on Jul 14th, 2008

Gallery: First Look: Chimps Ahoy

Griptonite Games' Chimps Ahoy! is a silly, fun breakout game. I'm not a huge breakout fan (to be fair, I'd rather clean my house and do my taxes) but Chimps' beautiful graphics and silly music won my heart. It's a graphic design tour de force. You play by throwing a coconut between a pair of monkeys, chipping away at inner barriers. Control the monkeys by sliding your thumbs up and down the sides of the screen.

The introductory material made me think that game play was going to be a lot more complicated than it was (game play is quite easy) and there's no accelerometer support. Plus it's a breakout game -- but there's no getting around that part. But if you enjoy breakout games, Chimps Ahoy!'s multiple levels and bright inviting screens offer a nice twist on the genre.

Given their high design standards, I can't wait to see what other products Griptonite delivers at App Store.

Chimps Ahoy! costs $9.99 and can be played on the iPhone and iPod touch.

Tags: breakout, First Look, FirstLook, game, iphone, joystiq

Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Gaming, Multimedia, iTunes

Touch Arcade interviews maker of iPhone Chopper

by Mike Schramm (RSS feed) on Jun 5th, 2008

Touch Arcade has a nice interview up with David Frampton, author of both the Mac game Chopper and its upcoming port to the iPhone. Apparently the game is feature complete and now in testing, so hopefully it'll be one of the first apps up on the App Store when it arrives, supposedly sometime this month.

The game will use the iPhone's accelerometer to control the little helicopter, and Frampton says it's both a blessing and a curse, in that it makes things more fun to control, but the iPhone also has to be held at a certain angle to center it out (they're planning to get around this by adding a way to calibrate it for different playing situations). He also talks about how the iPhone's OpenGL ES version works, and says that, despite our worries about battery life, the iPhone is able to churn out a pretty consistent FPS as well as keeping battery usage fairly low. To be fair, Chopper is probably on the low end of graphics potential, but we'll take any good news we can get here.

The game is still on track for a release in late June, and while even Frampton doesn't have details to share about the App Store's launch day, Apple's past support of this title means that if any third party games make it into the App Store, this one will definitely be there as early as possible.

Tags: app-store, chopper, david-frampton, design, games, interview, iphone, joystiq, majic-jungle, opengl-es, touch-arcade

Filed under: Gaming, WIN Business

Massively offers bi-weekly roundup of Mac MMOs

by Cory Bohon (RSS feed) on Apr 15th, 2008

Massively, one of Weblogs, Inc.'s newer gaming blogs, recently started a Mac-centric feature devoted to all things MMO. MMOS X is published bi-weekly and tells you all about the latest native Mac MMO's ... none of that virtualized or Bootcamp stuff, only the good native games.

So, if you're looking for some great MMO's for your Mac, be sure to head over to Massively twice a week.

Thanks to Barb for the tip.

Tags: Barb, joystiq, Mac, Massively, mmo, MMOs

Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Gaming, Multimedia, Retail, Odds and ends

Will Wright: Mac users will love Spore

by Mike Schramm (RSS feed) on Feb 15th, 2008

Well, who won't, right? If you haven't read a single gaming blog this week (you serious worker bee, you), then you may not have heard the big news: Will Wright's rumored-to-be-a-masterpiece Spore has gotten a release date. It's hitting stores (for both PC and Mac simultaneously-- now that's what I like to hear) on September 7, 2008. Which means that later this year, PC and Mac users alike will be playing God, and creating creatures that virtually evolve from amoeba form all the way up to space travel.

Mac|Life got a chance to sit down with Will Wright himself, and not only did he reveal some fun news about the game, but he thinks it will especially appeal to Mac users-- they expect the creative creature creator to do great things with Mac minds. Unfortunately, the game is a Cider port, and ~~it's being released by Aspyr (that's right, I'm breaking my informal press boycott on them to talk about Spore-- don't disappoint me, Aspyr~~ *see update below) but Wright sounds like he's expecting quality from this release, so I guess we should, too.

And just like all the other great developers out there, he's very interested to see what happens with the iPhone SDK -- Wright is apparently an iPhone owner, and would love to get Spore on there. Believe me, Will -- I'd love to play it.

[Via IMG]

*Update: Aspyr has contacted us to say that they are not publishing the game. And at first I was confused, because Lucy Bradshaw specifically mentions Aspyr in the interview. However, after reading it a few times, it seems that Bradshaw is actually giving reasons for why they decided not to go with Aspyr-- their native ports come out too late, and EA wanted to release Spore simultaneously on all platforms.

Aspyr also notes to us that they only do native ports, not Cider ports. So I guess my informal boycott against Aspyr is still on, but we're still not guaranteed to get a good game out of this: Madden '08 was created using Transgaming's Cider, and that didn't turn out so well. Wait and see.

Tags: aspyr, cider, creature-creator, gaming, iphone, joystiq, mac-life, maxis, spore, transgaming, will-wright

Filed under: Gaming, Video, Education

Guitar Wizard coming for Mac

by Mat Lu (RSS feed) on Jan 9th, 2008

The guys and gals over at our sister blog Engadget were keeping busy at the recent CES and have turned up some interesting products with a Mac angle. In the video above they're checking out a new music instruction software package called Guitar Wizard which works a lot like the Guitar Hero game (our coverage). The key difference is that Guitar Wizard uses a real guitar and actually teaches you something about playing. The kit consists of the software and a midi pickup which can be attached to your own guitar for $150, or you can get a kit that includes a guitar as well for $300. New songs will be downloadable at 99 cents each.

Tags: education, edutainment, engadget, game, guitar, Guitar Hero, Guitar Wizard, Guitar-Hero, Guitar-Wizard, GuitarHero, GuitarWizard, joystiq, learning, music-education

Filed under: Gaming, Hardware, Retail, Software

Guitar Hero III previewed, will release Oct. 28

by Mike Schramm (RSS feed) on Oct 4th, 2007

Gametap's got a quick look at the new Guitar Hero sequel, coming out for the Mac later this year, and the biggest news is that they've got a date: the PC and Mac versions are shipping simultaneously with the consoles on October 28. Rock on! Apparently you'll also be able to use the mouse and keyboard to play (although, come on, Guitar Hero is all about that guitar controller that ships with the game), and this part is pretty slick, too: PC and Mac users will be able to play against (or with) each other online. Very, very nice.

No system requirements yet, but I'm guessing that, like Tiger Woods and Madden, this is going to be for the non-integrated video cards only. Still, if you've got the kit to run it, it'll definitely be a good time. Our sister games blog Joystiq has rounded up the entire setlist for the game, with YouTube links to every song in it. In fact, if you've already got Frets on Fire working, you can start practicing now -- you'll need it if you want to shred against me.

Tags: and, aspyr, games, guitar-hero-iii, joystiq, preview, rock, roll, setlist

Filed under: Gaming, Humor, Software

Penny Arcade game coming to Mac next year

by Mike Schramm (RSS feed) on Aug 27th, 2007

The Penny Arcade Expo was held this past weekend in Seattle, Washington, and we got lots of news about the Penny Arcade videogame, officially titled (you might want to sit down for this one) Penny Arcade Adventures: On the Rain Slick Precipice of Darkness, Episode One. I told you it would be long.

The game is scheduled to appear on PC, Mac, and Linux (as well as downloadable on consoles) in 2008, and will feature a robust character creation system, and all of the Penny Arcade characters. The "Episode One" part also hints at what might be an interesting mechanic-- you'll be able to create a character in the first game, and then carry that character over other episode releases. Joystiq reports that the game looks good, and should be a fun, if short, experience.

So look for an interactive Penny Arcade on your Mac next year. And in the meantime, watch out for those Claw Shrimp. They're vicious.

Tags: joystiq, mac, ontherainslickprecipiceofdarknessepisodeone, pax, pennyarcade, release, videogame

Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Gaming, Retail, Software

Puzzle Quest rated by ESRB for Macs

by Mike Schramm (RSS feed) on Jul 25th, 2007

Our sister site Joystiq reports that Puzzle Quest, the handheld puzzle-slash-RPG sensation, has been rated by the ESRB for a Mac release. The news isn't that surprising, as Puzzle Quest has already been slated to appear on almost every platform but the Mac (although PS3 hasn't received the love either). It is great news, as Puzzle Quest is supposed to be a terrific game, and it is exactly the kind of casual game that belongs in OS X.

An ESRB rating isn't exactly official confirmation, but it does usually mean that the game is playable, so chances are we'll see the game released sooner rather than later (if I had to guess, I'd say by this holiday season, but don't quote me on that). If you happen to have a PC box around, there's a demo available right now, but from all reports, if you like puzzlers and/or RPG games, this game is good enough to pick up sight unseen.

Tags: casual, casualgaming, esrb, joystiq, mac, nintendods, puzzle, puzzle quest, PuzzleQuest, release, rpg

Filed under: Gaming, Multimedia, Software

GameTap Lite client (finally) released

by Mike Schramm (RSS feed) on Jul 10th, 2007

The long awaited GameTap client for the Mac is out (direct download right here), and our (newly redesigned) sister site for all things gaming Joystiq put together this video (complete with music from "Psycho Mother$*#^ing Soldier"), along with a pictoral preview of what you can expect when you download and install.

According to Joystiq, the Transgaming setup works very well-- they even found an Xbox 360 controller driver to use with it, and the client brought them right into OS X arcade gaming heaven. There are apparently some games you can play for free, but most games will require a subscription; we're told it's 99 cents for the first month, and it'll be about $7 to $10 a month after that, depending on how often you pay. This client is actually the "Lite" version-- GameTap says the deluxe version is coming later this year which will offer full screen gameplay, the ability to download more games while playing, and "a richer game environment," whatever that means. What are you waiting for? Download that sucker and go psycho, solider!

Tags: client, games, gametap, joystiq, psychosoldier, release, software, subscription

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