Mac Gaming News

• Get revenge on all those Angry Birds later this month in Bad Piggies. Coming to iOS, Mac and Android.
• Sims 3: Supernatural expansion pack is now available for the Mac.
• Lego Batman 2: DC Superheroes is now available for the Mac. 
• Get awesome retro gaming for your iPad with the Activision Anthology app. It’s free right now!
• Avengers Initiative game is now available for iOS. Reviews indicate it’s really good!
• Valve is launching more community features for users.
• New Apple patent reveals iPad with gaming buttons on backside of the device!
• A new interactive board game is coming for the Mac. It’s called Frost Wars: The Rise of Fatty Sparkles. Intrigued? So are we!

Apple News

• Despite hackers saying they got millions of Apple users’ data, the FBI denies their claim.
• iPad sales are overtaking PC sales in schools.
• Word has it Apple has a streaming music service in the works. Watch out Pandora.
• For the 8th time, Apple is number 1 in Smartphone customer satisfaction.
• Apple are also supposed to be announcing a new line of iMacs soon.
• Apple now allows more countries to purchase apps in volume. This good news for businesses.
• Despite fervor earlier this year, looks like there won’t be an Apple Television any time soon.
• Even though Apple said they did not want the patent suits to affect component deals, Apple are shifting iPhone component suppliers away from Samsung.

Our Posts

• Tuesday’s 20%: Duke Nukem Forever

Mac Gaming News

• Incredible Indie RPG ‘Bastion’ is now available for the iPad! With tweaked controls and a gorgeous soundtrack, this game is completely worth the $4.99 asking price. That’s $10 less than Steam and console versions!
• The beautiful looking Indie game ‘Crow‘ is now available in the Mac App Store and has full Game Center integration.
• Another successful Indie game, Closure, is coming to Steam for Mac.
•  Square-Enix’s ‘The World Ends With You: Solo Remix’ is now available for iOS.
• With a heavy heart we report that the majority of awesome game development studio Freeverse have been given the axe.
• First-person horror game ‘Anna’ creeps onto the Mac September 21.
• Episode 3 of TellTale’s Walking Dead game is now available.
• Arcade shooter Luftrausers is coming to Macs this fall.
• Ever wanted to play an iOS game where you fight the evil additive chemicals in tobacco? Well now you can.

Apple News

• In case you hadn’t heard, Apple won its patent case against Samsung. Some say things will change forever, while others think Apple worked a broken patent system. 
• Internationally, in Japan Apple lost to Samsung and in South Korea they were BOTH found to be partially guilty.
• Apple and publishers make concessions in an ongoing antitrust case involving iBooks.
• Despite worldwide court disputes, Samsung is working hard to maintain their components relationship with Apple intact.
• Help from Apple’s Geniuses is now available online.
• Apple Stores are running low on 27-inch iMacs. Rumor has it this means a refresh is on the horizon.
• Looks like there’s new malware out there targeting Macs and stealing passwords. Be careful out there.
• Apple rejected an app that tracked American drone strikes in Pakistan.
• Apple also rejected politically charged Angry Birds-like game Angry Election this week.
• Always wished you could use your iPad like a typewriter? Now there’s a ridiculous (but awesome) accessory for that.

Our Posts

• Labor Day Weekend Sale: All Civilization IV Titles 50% Off!
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Mac Gaming News

• Lord of the Rings Online, the popular MMO based on Tolkien’s Middle Earth has finally been announced for Mac.
• Plants vs. Zombies 2 has been announced for 2013.
• Broken Sword: The Serpent’s Curse has been announced for 2013.
• Counter-Strike: Global Offensive is now available. Grab it an get your war on.
• After its huge success on iOS, Tiny Troopers is coming to the Mac.
• Diablo III has introduced a new ‘Paragon System.’ Read about it here.
• Little-known (these days) 1982 console Vectrex has an iOS emulator coming soon. Retro gaming ahoy!
• The Simpsons iOS game has been quietly re-introduced to the App Store.
•  Space Nazis. That says it all really for the imminent release of a game based on the movie ‘Iron Sky.‘ Who doesn’t want to play something like that?
• Want a great headset that you can use on both your Mac and your console of choice? A rather nice looking one has arrived.

Apple News

• The Defense rests. The Apple v. Samsung case is now in the hands of a jury.
• Apple will now appeal the Kodak patent ruling.
• In even more litigious news, Apple is being sued by an ex-worker that says Steve Jobs personally promised him a lifetime job.
• Looks like conditions for the Apple supplier Foxconn in China are thankfully improving.
• An update to Mountain Lion (10.8.1) was released yesterday. It fixes a number of bugs. 
• Apple pulled all the controversial “Genius ads” from their homepage and YouTube.
• Apple held 69% of the tablet market last quarter. 
• There have reportedly been 300 million visitors to the Apple store since last October.
• Sick of the painfully slow Facebook iOS App? The latest update is supposed to be faster than ever. 

Our Posts

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• Under The Radar: The Best Indie Mac Games You’ve Never Played
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Mac Gaming News

• Star Wars: The Force Unleashed: Ultimate Sith Edition arrives this week for Steam and the Mac App Store. Aspyr give discounts on additional Star Wars titles and offers free games!
• It’s Pitfall’s 30th Anniversary! Celebrate with this new version of the game for iOS.
• MMO Sequel PlanetSide 2 will be available on the Mac.
•  Diablo III adds “Hero Profiles” for greater connectivity.
• Military strategy game Frontline Tactics coming to Mac, iPad and iPhone, promises cross-platform co-op and casual play.
• Some reports suggest iOS is the most popular gaming platform of ALL TIME. 
• Action-RPG Enternal Fate debuted at QuakeCon. It’s supposed to be focused on PvP action for both the PC and Mac. They have a Kickstarter page here.
• Just for fun, here’s some awesome Zelda decals for your Mac.

Apple News

• iOS 6 is dropping the YouTube app. Don’t worry, Google is working on a stand-alone app.
• The lawsuits keep coming. Now Apple is being sued in China over FaceTime patents.
• Some users are reporting degraded battery life after installing Mountain Lion.
• Apple works on revamping security of password resets for iOS.
• The App Store in China accounts for 18% of worldwide downloads but only 3% of revenue. Nobody’s paying, apparently.
• According to surveys and studies, the public is ready for an Apple Television.
• Speculation’s running wild on the iPhone 5. The latest rumor? MagSafe doc connectors.
• Tired of waiting for the iPhone 5? Sprint has mega deals on the iPhone 4S. Now get one for as low as $149. 

Our Posts

• Aspyr Offers Up Force Unleashed for Free, Other Star Wars Discounts
• How to Play Your Favorite Mac Games on Your Apple TV
• Tuesday’s 20%: The Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition

AirPlay Mirroring has been available for quite some time now, linking iOS devices to your Apple TV, making photos, videos and even gaming possible on the big screen. For many it was an exciting development, but not because of what it was, but what it indicated for the future. After all, while Plants vs. Zombies on your television sounds cool, it lacks the same zest as playing a large map of Civilization V on your television. With Mountain Lion, Apple have included OS X mirroring in AirPlay, bringing us one step closer to the sort of seamless gaming experience we’d want.

We decided to test this new functionality the other day and want to report the results for those interested in the possibilities of this new feature. We’ll explain how to set it up and what our results were.

(more…)

Mac Gaming News

• QuakeCon is this weekend! Watch the live stream here.
• In honor of QuakeCon, Aspyr are having a 25% off sale on their id Software titles. Good for both the Mac App Store and here at the GameAgent store. Frag away my fellow gamers.
• Baldur’s Gate: Enhanced Edition will have cross-platform multiplayer. 
• Third-person adventure game Tink will be coming to OS X, other platforms.
• Spy vs. Spy now released for iOS, #1 on App Store! Includes both the original and retina graphical versions. This is a stone-cold classic game and completely worth the $0.99 asking price.
• Want a Beta key for ‘Guns of Icarus’? Check this out.
• Check out this preview of ‘Overgrowth‘. Looks like an incredible game.
• Kickstarter-funded game ‘Cognition’ met its goals and looks like its well under way.

Apple News

• The court battle between Apple and Samsung gets serious this week. Now Apple accuses Samsung of jury corruption. 
• Mountain Lion has now sold over 3 million copies.
• Like the iPad Smart Cover? Apple filed for a patent that incorporates a display into the cover!
• Apple buys AuthenTec, a security company for $365 million.
• A Taiwanese university claims Siri infringes on its patents.
• iPad Mini and iPhone 5 info is trickling out. This makes some good arguments why they won’t arrive at the same time.
• Hulu Plus comes to the iPad. Amazon Instant Video does as well!
• Just for fun, here’s pics of every iPhone prototype prior to the first one’s release.

Our Posts

• Peace, Love and Rockets: Inside QuakeCon, The Woodstock of Gaming
• Quicksave: 25% Off All id Software Games!
• The Importance and Future of Quake
• Tuesday’s 20%: Quake 4

Mac Gaming News

• To celebrate the release of Mountain Lion, Aspyr and Feral Interactive are having a sale! Save on must-have titles like Bioshock, Call of Duty and Quake 4.
• Valve adds tons of new content to Left 4 Dead 2, including the community-created ‘Cold Stream’ mission.
• Mark your calendars! Baldur’s Gate: Enhanced Edition arrives on Macs and iPad September 18th.
• Blizzard’s Mike Morhaime address the Diablo III community about patches and other concerns.
• Indie Royale offer 10 great games for dirt cheap in their July Jubilee Bundle! There’s only 4 days left so act now!
• Feral has released screenshots of their upcoming Empire: Total War Gold Edition and it looks pretty sweet.
• Statistics show that half of Steam for Mac users are on MacBook Pros. File that under duh.
• Namco Bandai releases iOS game Sky Gamblers: Air Supremacy for Mac on the App Store.

Apple News

• OS X Mountain Lion arrived Wednesday. Opinions are mixed, but this 24 page review is impressive and thorough.
• Apple’s Third Quarter Financial Report is in.
• Finally, Apple offers developers a workaround for the In-App Purchase exploit.
• Oh the delicious irony! The company who sued Apple for $60 million over the name ‘iPad’ is now being sued by their law firm.
• Removing one irritation at a time, Apple says iOS 6 will not require users to input their passwords when downloading free apps and games.
• Apple’s latest patent is for TV-based “5D technology.” I hope it helps us taste colors.
• Apple files patent that is either for game controller or using Apple devices to control games. Either way, proof of Apple becoming serious about gaming is exciting.
• Billions in profits hidden? Apparently overseas tax issues have Apple a large chunk of change for a rainy tax day.

Our Posts

• Game Center Ushers In New Era of Mac Gaming
• OS X Mountain Lion FAQs
• Retina Support Added to Aspyr Games
• Tuesday’s 20%: Star Wars: Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy

This week Apple releases the latest and greatest iteration of its operating system OS X, titled Mountain Lion. With tons of new features, apps and services, it’s a lot to take in. We here at GameAgent want to help ease the transition for you by providing some general information, and most importantly, how it will affect your gaming.

Read below to find out the answers to important questions.

Mac Gaming News

• Here are some compelling reasons why HTML5 will succeed for gaming.
• ‘Amazing Alex’ doing incredibly well on iOS App Store, coming to Mac, other systems soon.
• This Kickstarter idea wants to turn your iOS device into a gaming console. It’s design is based on the NES and looks super sweet!
• ‘Awesomenauts’ announced for Mac, release date pending.
• Torchlight II details are surfacing thanks to a making-of blog.
• Speaking of Torchlight, a Chinese game company is accused of copying the original game’s assets. The side-by-side comparison is hard to deny, fellas.
• Do you like cats? What about cats with jet packs? Well then this game needs your help!

Apple News

• While still not confirmed by Apple, all news outlets point to a July 25th release date for the new OSX Mountain Lion.
• Apple’s In-App store was hacked earlier this week, making in-app purchases FREE. Despite their best efforts, they still haven’t been able to stop it.
• In the UK, a judge has issued a court order that Apple must publish a notice stating that Samsung did NOT copy Apple. Ouch. How you like dem apples…Apple?
• The Barcelona Apple Store will be the first to feature a unique logo.
• Apple is backpedaling on their withdrawing from EPEAT standards. Expect most of their products back on the list soon.
• Apple looks to expand their offices in Austin, Texas with a new land purchase.
• According to this, Apple has been awarded the ‘mother of all patents.’

Our Posts

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Mac Gaming News

• The Steam Summer Sale is live! Go now and get great games for ridiculously low prices!
• A culturally insensitive Chinese game was pulled from the App Store.
• Studies show gamers of the Western world are unfamiliar with cloud gaming, but are very interested in it. As G.I. Joe once said, knowing is half the battle.
• The Witcher (available for Mac) and The Witcher 2 (coming soon to Mac) combined have sold over 4 million copies!
• Baldur’s Gate 2: Enhanced Edition for Mac will be released sometime in 2013.
• Amazon now has free games for Mac users.
• YoYo Games has released 10 of its games on the Mac App Store.
• Use it for outdoor gaming or writing, now there’s a SOLAR-POWERED iOS keyboard!

Apple News

• None of Apple’s computers are EPEAT certified as environmentally friendly. Of course they have a counter-argument.
• Samsung wins UK patent suit over Apple. Judge claims Samsung product, “not as cool.” HA.
• After resolving one Chinese lawsuit last week, Apple is now involved with TWO new lawsuits in the country. After Apple’s loss last week they must smell blood in the water.
• Apple’s involved in yet another lawsuit, this time with a noise-canceling technology company.
• Apple’s cracking down on sites trying to sell access to iOS6 beta copies.
• OSX Mountain Lion is right around the corner! Developers have received the Golden Master and there are some great Mountain Lion previews out there.
• Apple wins a patent on ‘iTravel’ application but still drags their feet on NFC mobile payment.
• Hand tips:  Check out this great how-to for making iPhone ringtones easily and this explains how to turn your old OG iPad or iPad 2 into a dedicated e-reader.

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