Boo!  It’s Halloween weekend, and that means SCARY times for college football teams!  What’s come to be known as “Anarchy Saturday” in some circles, Halloween weekend has traditionally seen some of the greatest upsets in recent college football history.  Teams at risk this week?  #2 Oregon travels to traditional powerhouse USC to defend their current BCS ranking.  #6 Missouri travels to Lincoln, Nebraska, to face a Cornhusker bunch that is anxious to prove they still belong at the top of the Big XII and national standings.  And #13 Stanford travels to Washington to face a Husky team that’s ready to go behind star QB Jake Locker.  You know the drill, though–only one matchup can take the coveted spot of the CFB Game of the Week!

The Discounts

Admittedly, we’re at a wall right now.  With a super-fantastic strategy promo going on right now (ALL strategy titles 40% off!), a Force Unleashed promo going on right now (get The Force Unleashed: Ultimate Sith Edition, Mac or PC, 35% off with coupon #TFU2), AND a Halloween special going on (Doom 3 Mac, QUAKE 4 Mac, Necrovision PC, and Cryostasis PC 40% off each), we just couldn’t decide on any two sets of games to pit against one another this week.  So we’re doing the next best thing leaving the game choosing to you! (Sort of…)  In fact, we’re actually pitting all of our digital games against all of our boxed games!

• If the team representing our digital games wins, then all of our digital games (not currently on sale) will be discounted by 15%!
• If the team representing our boxed games wins, then all of our boxed games (not currently on sale) will be eligible for FREE shipping!

The Football Game

We’re taking it back to the Big 10 (11) this week with the matchup between the #5 Michigan State Spartans and the #18 Iowa Hawkeyes!  Michigan State has been on a roll this season, going undefeated through 8 games.  But the Hawkeyes are no slouch and are looking to keep alive a home win streak against the Spartans that goes back to 1989!  Will the Spartans overcome this hurdle and win at Iowa to have the inside track to the Big 10 title?  We’ll find out Saturday!

• If the Michigan State Spartans win, then the digital games deal will kick into effect Monday morning.
• If the Iowa Hawkeyes win, then the boxed games deal will kick into effect Monday morning.

The game is set to kick off at 3:30pm ET on ABC/ESPN.  Catch a full preview here. Still new to the feature?  Each week we will feature a marquee match-up between two college football teams.  Each team will represent a specific game or set of games available at GameAgent.com and an associated discount for those games.  The game discount(s) associated with the winning team will then go into effect the following Monday or Tuesday after the game and last for 3 days.  In order to get the discounts, you must use the specific coupon code that is generated once the winner is decided!  Finally, commenting on the blog or our Facebook page about the marque match-up, your favorite team, or football in general is highly encouraged–participants may get special benefits!

Halloween is this weekend, so we thought, “Hey, let’s discount some of our games!”  And so we did. We’ve got four of our scariest games on sale through this weekend, including Doom 3 (Mac), QUAKE 4 (Mac), NecroVision (PC), and Cryostasis (PC)!  In Doom 3 (Mac), you’ll face off against the forces of Hell in this classic FPS.  QUAKE 4 (Mac) will have you fighting fire with fire as your character gains the abilities of invading Strogg forces!  Necrovision (PC) sets you in the boots of an American WWI soldier as you take on hordes of demons, vampires, and other abominations.  Finally, Cryostasis (PC) has you navigating the haunted halls and corridors of a nuclear-powered ice-breaker ship in the Arctic circle as you use all of your wits and survival skills to figure out what happened to the crew. Act now to get 40% OFF each of these titles.  This promo is good through the end of the day (11:59pm CDT), November 1. (more…)

We recently sat down with the development team at Aspyr Media to ask some questions about their experience  working on the newest strategy game for the Mac, Sid Meier’s Civilization V.  In this first installment of a multi-part series, we take a quick look at the differences between Sid Meier’s Civilization IV Mac and Sid Meier’s Civilization V Mac.  We also look into some of the bigger development hurdles the Aspyr team has faced in working on Civilization V for the Mac.

Have some questions of your own for our development team?  Send them our way and we’ll answer them in upcoming DevDiary!  You can leave a comment below, post a message on our Facebook wall, or send your questions via Twitter to @Civ5Mac.

What are the major differences between working on Civ IV and Civ V?

The most notable difference has been incorporating SteamWorks for networking and matchmaking into the game which replaces GameSpy.  SteamWorks offers many features including games saved to the SteamCloud, matchmaking, PC-to-Mac play and multiplayer servers.  Users will need to download the Steam client and create a Steam account; this will allow users game authentication, auto-updating, achievements, potential downloadable content support and more.  As this is our first SteamWorks enabled Mac title this has been a learning experience, but the net result for the end user is a more integrated PC-to-Mac experience.

Civilization V on the PC was a significant rewrite of Civilization IV.  The GameBryo rendering engine and ScaleForm UI engine were replaced with all new Firaxis code, the Python scripting was replaced with Lua, Fork and Granny middleware were integrated, D3D Effects was replaced with a new Firaxis system, etc.  Much of our experience porting Civilization IV Mac has been of little use predicting issues that we will encounter with this port.

Additionally, RapidXML middleware is used for parsing XML assets, replacing the MSXML-based code in Civilization IV Mac.  This has helped in avoiding the significant challenges we encountered simulating MSXML in Civ 4.  Fonts are supported directly in the Firaxis renderer using their own XML-based font format, which again has helped in avoiding the difficulties with font metrics that we encountered with Civ 4.

This has been a completely unique experience from our Civilization IV Mac porting experience with a new set of challenges, but in the end it’s turning out to be a great Mac game which we hope our Mac users will enjoy immensely.

What have been the biggest development hurdles in making this game?

In addition to the fact that working on Civ 5 has been nothing like working on Civ 4?  (Kidding…)  Perhaps the biggest challenge in developing Civilization V Mac is simply the timeline.   We’ve been working very hard to get the game available for holiday so folks can enjoy playing this holiday season.

Today we’re posting the first projected system requirements for playing Civilization V on your Mac.  Please keep in mind that these are only projected estimates and NOT the final system requirements. Expected Minimum Product Spec Requirements:

• Operating System: 10.6.4 (Snow Leopard)
• CPU Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo (Dual-Core)
• CPU Speed: 2.4 GHz
• Memory: 2 GB RAM
• Hard Disk Space: 8 GB
• Video Card (ATI): Radeon HD2600
• Video Card (NVidia): Geforce 8600
• Video Memory (VRam): 256 MB
• Media Required: DVD-ROM (Physical, boxed copies only)
• Peripherals: Macintosh mouse and keyboard

Other Requirements: Initial installation requires one-time Internet connection for Steam authentication; software installations required (included with the game) include Steam Client, Microsoft Visual C++2008 Runtime Libraries and Microsoft DirectX. (Edit: A little miscommunication on our end–sorry!) Internet Connection and acceptance of Steam™ Subscriber Agreement required for activation. See www.steampowered.com/agreement for details. We’ll post final system requirements once they have been cemented, likely close to the product’s release.  In the meantime, check back with the GameAgent NonBlog regularly.  We’ll be posting more info on Civilization V Mac in the coming days, including a Civ 5 Mac Developer Diary! Update: The final specs have been set and can be found on the Civilization V product description page at GameAgent.com.  Still have questions about whether the game will run on your machine?  Contact our support team with your own system specs, and they’ll be able to help you determine how well the game will run!

Say what? Two game announcements in two weeks?

Can’t argue the facts, though–not only is Civilization V coming to the Mac, there is indeed a new RollerCoaster Tycoon game on the way, too!  RollerCoaster Tycoon 3: Platinum will feature the original RollerCoaster Tycoon 3, RollerCoaster Tycoon 3: Soaked!, and the all-new to the Mac RollerCoaster Tycoon 3: Wild!  RollerCoaster Tycoon 3: Platinum will be arriving this holiday season.  We’ve posted the full release below:

ROLLERCOASTER TYCOON® 3 PLATINUM ANNOUNCED FOR THE MAC AUSTIN, Texas (October 25, 2010) – Aspyr Media, Inc. announced today that RollerCoaster Tycoon® 3: Platinum is coming to the Mac this holiday season. Rollercoaster Tycoon 3: Platinum licensed from Atari Interactive, Inc., includes RollerCoaster Tycoon® 3, RollerCoaster Tycoon® 3: Soaked, and for the first time on the Mac, RollerCoaster Tycoon® 3: Wild. RollerCoaster Tycoon 3: Wild for the Mac gives you the ability to add animal exhibitions, enclosures and animal viewing galleries to your RollerCoaster Tycoon 3 amusement parks. Train your lions and tigers to perform in choreographed shows. Pamper your animal pairs and they might breed! Be sure to maintain your animal enclosures to prevent escapes, and whatever you do, please don’t mix the predators with the prey! RollerCoaster Tycoon 3: Wild! also contains twelve Wild!-themed scenarios, two new wild design themes, dozens of additional rides and coasters, and the ability to create safari expeditions to make your guests roar with delight. In addition, we have added challenges to the scenarios and several novel scenery elements to give you more ways to play RollerCoaster Tycoon 3. RollerCoaster Tycoon 3: Soaked! Mac brings a range of options to the RollerCoaster Tycoon 3 series as players select form more than 50 new rides and coasters, and use the Swimming Pool and Waterfall Designers to easily create shimmering pools, waterfalls, whirlpools and wave machines. Careen down a gigantic water slide to a thrilling splashdown in an Olympic size pool; or hang ten in a halfpipe as you surf through the wave simulator. Choreograph your very own laser light and dancing water shows; or add performing killer whales to entertain your park guests. Treat your guests (and yourself!) to the latest rides and coasters, including the wet and wild RollerSoaker! RollerCoaster Tycoon® 3 Mac is the third installment of the world’s greatest tycoon game. Featuring incredible 3D graphics and the exclusive  CoasterCam™, you can now see your park from any angle and ride what you build. From street level to blimp, feel your park pulse with fun and excitement like never before. For news and information on RollerCoaster Tycoon 3 Mac please visit Aspyr’s website at www.aspyr.com

Hit the jump for some more pics. (more…)

Super exciting games this past weekend as well as some real clunkers (*cough* Texas *cough*).  Regardless, we had one game that meant more than the others, and the outcome means it’s time for discounts! In our featured matchup, the Missouri Tigers emerged victorious over the Oklahoma Sooners, 36-27.  It was a hard-fought game on both sides, but Missouri put it away in the 4th quarter, outscoring the Sooners 16-6.  In addition, the Tigers were able to stop Sooner QB Landry Jones with an interception to permanently swing the momentum their way in the 4th.  Alternatively, Missouri QB Blaine Gabbert looked great while throwing for 308 yards and a touchdown.  It was the first time Missouri had beaten Oklahoma since 1998.  You can catch a full recap here. Since the Tigers won, we’re putting Star Wars: Battlefront (Mac) up for sale at a 50% discount!  In addition, the game will ship at 50% off as well.  Finally, if you buy one of our featured strategy titles at the 40% discount in addition to Battlefront, you’ll then be able to get FREE shipping!  Just use coupon code #Mizzou at checkout to take advantage of the deal!

Is it just us, or does each week of college football seem to get better and better?  There are once again a ton of great games to watch this weekend, including some battles between unbeatens.  The Mad Hatter Les Miles and his undefeated LSU team take on the surging Tigers of Auburn and star QB Cam Newton.  Wisconsin will be looking to avoid an upset themselves a week after defeating #1 Ohio State when they travel to Iowa to take on the Hawkeyes.  And Nebraska looks to bounce back against the Oklahoma State Cowboys after a tough loss to Texas last week (woot!).   However, only one game can be featured in the coveted CFB Game of the Week!

The Discounts

With what seems like nearly half of our game library on sale at 40% off through November 2 (yeah, Civ 5 Mac!), we’ve narrowed the discounts down to a few games we haven’t featured in a while.  This week we’re putting up action title Star Wars: Battlefront (Mac) against the classic action adventure Lord of the Rings: Return of the King (Mac).  Both games are excellent titles and well worth a playthrough if you’ve never tried them!

• If the team representing Star Wars: Battlefront (Mac) wins, then you’ll be able to grab Battlefront at the customary 50% off!  You’ll also enjoy a customary 50% discount on shipping!
• If the team representing Lord of the Rings: Return of the King (Mac) wins, then you’ll be able to pick up the Tolkien title at 50% off!  Similarly, you’ll enjoy a shipping discount of 50%!

Finally, to add a little wrinkle to the typical 50% off deal, purchasing one of our featured strategy titles at 40% off in addition to the winning game will net you FREE shipping!

The Football Game

This week we’re featuring one of the battles between two unbeatens: #1 BCS-ranked Oklahoma Sooners vs the #11 Missouri Tigers!  The Sooners can expect a tough game as they travel to Columbia, MO, for the showdown.  However, Oklahoma has won 19 of 20 against Missouri, including the last 7 in a row.  The Tigers will definitely have their hands full and will need to play excellent football if they want to achieve the upset!  Catch a full preview here.

• If the Missour Tigers win, then the Star Wars: Battlefront (Mac) deal will kick into effect Monday morning.
• If the Oklahoma Sooners win, then the Lord of the Rings: Return of the King (Mac) deal will kick into effect Monday morning.

The game is scheduled for an 8pm ET kickoff and will air on ABC. Still new to the feature?  Each week we will feature a marquee match-up between two college football teams.  Each team will represent a specific game or set of games available at GameAgent.com and an associated discount for those games.  The game discount(s) associated with the winning team will then go into effect the following Monday or Tuesday after the game and last for 3 days.  In order to get the discounts, you must use the specific coupon code that is generated once the winner is decided!  Finally, commenting on the blog or our Facebook page about the marque match-up, your favorite team, or football in general is highly encouraged–participants may get special benefits!

For those of you on the edge of your seats, here’s the official trailer for Civilization V Mac: You can tell it’s epic because it features Keith David, among a selection of other quality voices.  For more trailers from your favorite Aspyr Mac and PC games, check out the GameAgent YouTube channel!

Hey, guys, there’s been a ton of excitement and buzz surrounding the Civ 5 Mac announcement.  Understandably, there’s also been a ton of questions!  We definitely want to answer them all and have posted a few below with answers.  Keep in mind the game is still in development, so we’re not yet able to answer each and every question.  However, we PROMISE to get you all the information we can as soon as we’re able!  In the meantime, check out the questions below and keep sending us your own!

Q: Who is making the Mac version of Sid Meier’s Civilization® V?

A: Aspyr Media, Inc., is the developer and publisher of the Mac version of Civilization V.  Aspyr has been the Mac publisher of the Civilization games on the Mac since their release of Civilization III: Complete and ports PC content natively to the Mac.  As the Mac publisher, Aspyr Media will manage the sales, marketing and distribution of Sid Meier’s Civilization V Mac.  For all questions regarding Civilization V Mac please contact Aspyr Media directly through either pr@aspyr.com or support@aspyr.com.

Q: When will Civilization V Mac be available?

A: Civilization V Mac will be available this holiday season through gameagent.com, apple.com, amazon.com and many others!  Check aspyr.com and blog.gameagent.com for the latest news on Civilization V Mac.

Q: Will Civilization V Mac be available digitally?

A: Aspyr and 2K are working together to solidify a digital release plan and will announce digital release dates as they become finalized.

Q: What kind of DRM does Civilization V Mac use?

A: Civilization V uses Steamworks for DRM, multiplayer matching and achievements hosting.

Q: What is Steamworks?

A: Civilization V Mac is a Steamworks game and you will have to activate your game with Steam.  In order to access your game, you will need to install the Steam client and create an account.  Upon account creation you will be able to verify your game with the serial number provided (either as part of your retail package or your download) and play the game.

Okay, so maybe you heard that Civilization V is coming to the Mac.  Maybe you even heard it from us.  But hey, we just can’t help it–we’re just SO EXCITED!  So excited, in fact, that we’re launching a totally unprovoked, special–nay, EPIC–Deal of the Week Month!

Between now and the end of the day (11:59pm CDT) Tuesday, November 2, we’re cutting the prices of ALL of our strategy games by 40%!  Furthermore, these deals are good for ALL supported locales–if you can buy the game from us, then you can take advantage of the sale!  Is this a strategically sound move for us?  Who cares!  We’ll just blame it on our excitement over Civ V.  Hit the jump to see the totally expansive list of strategy titles NOW ON SALE!

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