Tsk, tsk, tsk Zynga. Copying other people’s games is frowned upon and you know better.

The guys at NimbleBit, creators of Tiny Tower, called out Zynga for their blatant copying of certain game design elements in their “new” game, Dream Heights for iOS.

Ian Marsh, one of the three guys at NimbleBit, tweeted an image to Zynga that exhibits how Zynga got their “inspiration.” We’ve got the same image after the jump for your convenience if you wanted to take a look at the comparison screenshots in the image as well as what NimbleBit had to say about this whole thing.

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Now, as the iPhone has reached an almost cult status, the focus has been drawn to the extensive Apple App Store and the development of said apps. Many developers, both large companies and indie have crossed over to the mobile app market, seeing potential to hit it big. Looking at the large-scale success of games and apps in the mobile market makes it hard not to see mobile app development as a gold rush, and believe me, everyone is wanting in.

The popularity and dream of striking gold with a mobile app can be compared to entering the lottery. Billions of people each year enter local lotteries, many daily, with the hopes of cashing in.

With just the Apple App Store, the market is flooded with apps ready to make a quick buck with the marketplace expanding to over 500,000 active apps. So with this overflow of apps, do you stand a chance making a popular game? Sadly, the odds are against you, my friend. (more…)

Aspyr Media has been busy lately and has released TWO new games today!

Hot on the heels of the Tomb Raider II release on the Mac App Store, the iconic Lara Croft now has another iconic game character to keep her company: Duke Nukem!  Duke Nukem Forever is now available on the Mac App Store and brings all the same badassery and attitude the Duke’s fans have come to expect.  Fans can expect the full Duke Nukem Forever experience, including an incredibly arsenal of over-the-top weapons, non-stop action, an unprecedented level of interactivity, and a range of “bodacious multiplayer modes.”

Like Civilization V: Campaign Edition before it, Steam and Steamplay features have been removed from this Mac App version of Duke Nukem Forever, but the online multiplayer is still there and is now powered by GameSpy.  Gamers can get a taste of the Duke’s paincake for only $29.99.

In addition to the Duke Nukem Forever release, Aspyr Media has also launched their latest foray into the world of mobile gaming: Poker Pals!  Developed by Aspyr Media and published by famed iOS publisher Chillingo (see: Angry Birds, Cut the Rope, Feed Me Oil, and tons of other greats), Poker Pals redefines the classic game of 5-card draw.  Described as “poker meets word games,” Poker Pals has players battling it out on a grid-based table trying to create the best poker hands and earn the most points.

Features:

• Grid-based poker allows for a limitless number of winning hands
• Base on the ultra-popular Texas Hold’em rule set
• Use wild cards in the corners of the board and your opponents’ own cards to rack up massive points
• Turn-based gameplay
• Play against the AI or your friends, online or locally

Poker Pals is available for the iPhone and iPod ($1.99) and is also available in HD for the iPad ($3.99).  It’s an incredibly fun (and addicting!) game, and we highly recommend you at least check out the available free version now!

With all the big excitement yesterday about the announcement of the newest iPhone model (hello, iPhone 4S!), we got a little curious about just how many iPhones and other iOS devices Apple has sold over the years.  So we took a look at Apple’s quarterly financial statements–and we were blown away.

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We cap the week off with the news that the boys and girls at Feral Interactive are busy (TWO major game announcements in ONE week?!?). Looking at their track record, though, I guess it’s not really news after all?

Apple and Apple-Related Gaming News

• Feral Interactive drops bomb #1 that the recently-released Deus Ex: Human Revolution is coming to Macs!
• If you have access to the iTunes App Store, go play Jetpack Joyride NOW.
• Is your Mac starting to show its age? Check out this handy guide to determine if it’s time to upgrade.
• Inside Mac Games interviews Aspyr’s own Elizabeth Howard on what to expect in the near and distant future.
• A MacBook that never loses power? It’s not science fiction.
• Feral Interactive drops bomb #2: Batman: Arkham Asylum is also coming to Macs, and very soon!

Gaming Stories in General

• Inside Mac Games brings updates on the hotly-anticipated Diablo III!
• Getting too old for gaming? The fine writers at Cracked provide a handy checklist that will confirm your worst fears.

Our Posts

• Civilization IV Now Available on the Mac App Store
• Civilization V Gets a New Low Price

If you had told me a smart-phone would have one day carved a huge chunk out of the handheld gaming market, I’m pretty sure I would’ve just scoffed in your face and told you that no way in hell would that be possible. Well, seeing as how Apple mobile gaming with the iPhone has taken off to claim over 40 million gamers and around 34% of the entire American portable gaming market, I am inclined to eat my own words. (more…)

Please extend a warm welcome to Michael Simpson, our newest social media marketing intern.  Michael is a graduate of Westwood College with a degree in game software development.  He “aspyr”s to one day be a game designer, specifically in the areas of game mechanics and/or balancing.  Michael has always been into competitive gaming, and lately has been fairly obsessed with Riot Games’ League of Legends.  Some of his favorite games include Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, Shadow of the Colossus, Limbo, and Silent Hill 2.  For his first entry, we asked Michael to comment on the future of Mac gaming, and the larger picture of gaming on Apple devices in general.

The future of gaming on the Mac is going to rely heavily upon choices made by Apple.  Looking to the past, one can see that Apple hasn’t made much effort to support gaming on its OS, until quite recently.  One of the largest breakthroughs was Apple’s shift to Intel processors and then later the release of Boot Camp, though this ultimately still promoted playing games through a Windows OS (part of the problem).  While this is a temporary way to satisfy fans of gaming, it’s not the answer to gaming natively on a Mac OS.  The laziness Apple has exhibited in the past with game software has been a large bane to gamers who also love Apple PCs and Mac OSX.

Problems of the Past

Historically speaking, Apple has taken too much of an ambiguous stance toward gaming on their platform.  A great example of this is an old interview with Gabe Newell, the co-founder of Valve Corp.  Gabe reveals that he and others at Valve had been in talks with Apple many times, trying to get the ball rolling on Valve software releases for Mac operating systems.  According to Gabe, Apple was hesitant to follow through with them on a repeated basis.  Given Valve is responsible for arguably some of the greatest games in recent history, Apple’s choice to not follow through on this opportunity should leave doubts toward their commitment to Mac gaming.

Gabe has his eyes on you, Steve

Full Steam Ahead

While choices like this have made Apple’s aim to make gaming “serious” on a Mac dubious at best, recent developments have been significantly more promising.  With Valve’s announcement that Steam would be available on the Mac, it seems that they were finally able to get through to Apple.  Though the number of games currently available through Steam is limited in comparison to the PC version, the fact that Steam is available for the Mac period is a huge boost to Mac gaming.  Steam makes games incredibly accessible and therefore offers increased exposure as well.  Both of these things are needed to increase the likelihood of game developers releasing Mac ports in close tandem with their PC counterparts.  Essentially, Steam makes a future where a Mac gamer is no longer logging into their Windows partition to play a given game a very viable possibility.

Excellent...now if only the Macintosh Steam had a design that appealed more to its user base...

Gaming Alternatives

With Steam breathing life into Mac gaming, there’s some assuredness to its growth.  However, the future of gaming and Apple may be more closely associated with other apple products – namely, the Apple iPhone and iTouch.  The iPhone in terms of app support is fairly dominant among mobile devices, and experienced iPhone developers are highly sought-after in the job market.  Apple has the ability to take the iPhone and do to the rest of the phone industry what PCs essentially did to Macs in terms of gaming.  If Apple continues to put time into iPhone and iTouch graphics and app support, the sky is the limit as to what these devices could achieve.  When there are 99 cent games in the app store that are giving better experiences than ~$30 Nintendo DS/Sony PSP games, who is to say that such a device couldn’t potentially steal sales from the handheld industry?   With Nintendo’s 3DS launching at a $249 price point (slightly more than the base iTouch retail of $229), the iTouch and its future generations can be seen as a reasonable alternative, especially for more casual gamers.  This isn’t even taking into account the plethora of other features that the iOS can offer.

ChAIR Entertainment’s Infinity Blade, running on the Unreal Engine 3, makes me a complete believer in the potential of the iOS to deliver some amazing games in the future.

A Hopeful Future

While Apple has found a bit of a gaming niche with the iOS app store, there are still strides to be made if the Mac is to be considered a true alternative to PC gaming.  Fortunately with the launch of Steam for the Mac, Apple now has a stronger foothold to challenge PC dominance.  Most importantly, Apple must continue to make a strong push for gaming and continue to show that it’s a market they wish to capture.

How do you feel about Steam on the Mac?  Is Steam going to be Apple’s big ticket item toward driving Mac gaming, or just a small stepping stone in the right direction?  What about other online game services, such as Aspyr’s GameAgent Store or the Mac App Store?  How about the gaming support on Apple’s mobile devices?  Feel free to leave some comments below with your opinions!

For those not aware, Apple is launching a brand new Mac App Store on January 6, 2011.  The Mac App Store promises to bring the ease and functionality of the iOS App Store (for iPhone, iPod, and iPad) to Mac computers everywhere.  You’ll be able to search for thousands of different apps for your computer, and purchasing, downloading, and updating these apps should be easier than ever.  The apps also promise to be portable across different Mac computers.

We at Aspyr are particularly excited about the prospects and potential the Mac App Store could have for gaming.  As almost anyone that’s paid any attention to the iPhone and iPad probably know, these devices have turned into incredibly popular gaming devices, with tons of new, innovative, and accessible games available for users of all ages and interests.  You’ll be able to find content from Aspyr in the Mac App Store in the opening days of the store’s launch.

However, we want to know: what do our fans and customers think about and expect from the Mac App Store?  Will there still be a market for boxed retail applications?  Will you still purchase your favorite games from traditional outlets, like the GameAgent store and/or Steam?  Let us know in the comments if and/or how you expect the Mac App Store to change the way you use your Mac!

Do you have an iPhone, an iPod Touch, or an iPad?  What about two, or even all three, of them?  Well, this post is for YOU.

Aspyr’s totally rocking iOS apps these days, and after our recent interview with Mac gaming legend, Glenda Adams (go Maverick Software!), we were anxious to preach about how awesome some of our own apps are. (It’s our blog–we can do what we want)

First up? FutureU (FREE).

Some of you may recognize this game from our GameAgent store.  Well now we’ve made it way more mobile with versions available for the iPhone, iPod Touch, and the iPad.  This SAT Prep Game is a painless new way to prep for the SAT. Sharpen your critical thinking skills, build relevant knowledge and reduce test anxiety with a collection of games that feature curriculum from Kaplan, the leader in SAT prep. Study on your own time and for however long you like. There is no easier – or more fun – way to become a better problem-solver, boost your confidence and up your SAT score!

Any students looking to boost their SAT scores should definitely give this game a look, especially with college applications due right around the corner (seriously, that corner will get here sooner than you know!).  It’s really a lot of fun–way more fun than your typical SAT prep course.  As mentioned above, you can set your own study schedule, which is always great, plus you get the bonus of no hand cramping from the loads and loads of writing you would be doing otherwise!  Also, it’s FREE!  You don’t have to do good on the math section to know that’s a great deal!

Next is Aspyr’s newest entry, the Walkë Talkë app ($0.99).  This app utilizes Apple’s new Game Center app to allow you to wireless talk with your friends.  Talk, plan and play with any of your Game Center contacts directly, AND without using any of your minutes!

Outside of these two new entries into the app market, Aspyr has three other classics you should take also take a look at.

• Buggled ($0.99) is a fun and active game of multi-touch finger dexterity.  Ladybugs have run rampant and it’s up to you to keep those bug b!tc#3$ in check.
• VooDude ($0.99) gives you your own personal voodoo doll. Take a picture, place it on the doll, and then go to town! You can use the accelerometer and touch screen to shake, pin, burn, and toss the doll around, all while the doll responds with true ragdoll physics.
• FriendZoo (FREE) transforms each of your contacts into a colorful zoo exhibit, complete with a variety of animals to match up with your friends’ personalities. Tired of looking at your best friend’s face?  Turn him into a tiger!  Tired of that squawking girlfriend of yours?  Turn her into a parrot!  Wait…

Glenda Adams worked at Aspyr for almost seven years as the Director of Development, responsible for leading our Mac game development studio and making our lives easier by providing guidance into all things technical.  She is a rare breed of person who can make technology understandable and accessible for those of us who aren’t technically minded. Before her employment with Aspyr, she was President of Westlake Interactive, the development house responsible for many-a-Mac-port such as Tomb Raider II Mac, The Sims Mac and many others.  Not only did Glenda manage the work on these games, she also took part in the actual code-writing as well!

Glenda has participated in bringing great games to the Mac for over 20 years and now uses that expertise to bring great apps to iOS.  Glenda left Aspyr in May of 2009 to pursue development for the iPhone and to run her company Maverick Software.  Some of her hits include Cupcakes, the long-running #1 seller in the iTunes Kids Game category; More Toast!, the first of her More Foods apps to make a big splash; and More Cowbell, an App that launched on the iTunes store in its early days which helped us all enjoy Don’t Fear the Reaper in a whole new way.

We at Aspyr and GameAgent are still great friends with Glenda and are huge fans her work, so we wanted to check in with her “on the record” so we could share some of her great insight with our community.  

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