Yesterday’s keynote address by Steve Jobs at the World Wide Developer’s Conference in San Francisco brought a couple of bits of gaming news alongside all the information about Leopard. Present on stage were EA co-founder Bing Gordon, announcing EA’s return to Mac development, and John Carmack of id, bringing word of their next graphics engine-cum-game. EA has pledged Mac releases from four of their biggest titles this summer, including Need for Speed: Carbon, Command and Conquer 3, Battlefield: 2142, and Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. id has promised technical mumbo jumbo. So, will these native Mac games have a chance given the folks who just run their games in Parallels, or dual boot themselves into Windows?
Valve’s Steam platform continues to attract developers and publishers. The latest to enter the sauna is Capcom, who have annnounced future releases of Devil May Cry 4 and Lost Planet: Extreme Condition, as well as the special edition of Devil May Cry 3, which will be arriving later this week. Here’s the interesting quote from the article, from Capcom exec Mark Beaumont: "With the PC Market becoming a larger part of our business, we’re naturally focusing our attention on digital distribution." See? PC gaming isn’t dead. Still.
Joystiq has a brief interview with Gamecock’s Mike Wilson regarding their alternative to E3, dubbed EIEIO, which will have its inaugural event this summer. I look forward to seeing what Gamecock manages to push out through the gates, and I wish them well with their alternative gaming lifestyles.
I’m feeling pastoral today. Here’s a clip of Harvest Moon Heroes for you. I don’t bring it up for any particular reason, other than to point out that these games always make me feel like a hobbit, and that Harvest Moon: Innocent Life on the PSP is something charming. Of course, I liked A.I., so my judgment may be impaired.
To round out your day, and give you something to do if you’re bored at work, here’s a brief history of Oregon Trail, or How I Learned To Control An Avatar And Shoot That Fucking Buffalo. Thanks, it seems, are due to the state of Minnesota.