The anticipation for Apple releasing their quarterly financials this time around seemed to bring with it foamed mouth conjecture of a much higher volume than usual. With the company surpassing Exxon to become the most valuable company in the world; then lost that title a while back. There’s pundits on both sides preaching Apple’s bright feature with equal fervor as those lamenting its demise. It’s been almost two weeks since Apple released its financial results for the first quarter of the 2103 fiscal year.

Now that the dust has settled and your news feed isn’t flooded with people’s predictions, we figured it was a good time to take a look at many of the numbers in this report and pick out the ones we think would be of interest to you, dear readers. Maybe all those numbers in thick blocks of texts made your eyes glaze over like they did mine upon first reading it. So we’ve grabbed the most interesting data from this and put it in handy charts for your perusal. 

Let’s look at the big picture first. Since the last time we posted about Apple’s numbers in 2010, that number, which was 274 million total iOS devices and Macs sold over the course of five years. That number has doubled in just three years, with the total of iOS and Mac devices sold between 2010 and 1^st Quarter of 2013 is almost 540 million! Here’s a further breakdown by device:  (more…)

It’s an eye-rolling trope to some younger people, but the Internet revolutionized communication, technology and business in ways that are still unfolding today. Thanks to cheaper, easier access to equipment and software, burgeoning musicians and filmmakers are able to create like never before. With the help of sites like YouTube they can share their creations with the entire world—from their bedroom to yours. Through comments and blog posts artists now have a more direct line of communication with their audiences than in any previous time. This means entertainment industries that were controlled by an elite few in the past are increasingly shaped by their once-passive proletariat audience. It’s all quite remarkable if you stop and think about it.

Unfortunately, gamers haven’t quite seen the same sort of proliferation in the gaming industry the way other forms of entertainment have. Certainly it’s helped socialize gaming with more multiplayer gaming experiences than ever before, whether it be a Call of Duty deathmatch or as simple as a Draw Something sketch. But the creatives that design the games haven’t undergone similar democratized results that film and music have. Game development costs soar into the millions for most titles, making underdog low budget stories like Angry Birds or Temple Run more akin to winning the lottery than an industry norm. That’s all rapidly changing once again thanks to the power of Internet and the concept of crowdfunding.

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Mac Gaming News

• Steam has come to iOS with their new mobile app.
• Apple hiring former Xbox product marketing chief hints at Apple getting even more serious about gaming.
• Here’s how the iPad 3 might stack up against the tablet PC newcomers in terms of gaming.
• Ever wonder how mobile games went from select few playing snake on their phones to the cultural phenomenon it is now?
• Spin Doctor bring retro Macgaming to the iPhone. Hooray for old school Mac gaming!
• Worries about the iPad 3 not being able to reach it’s true potential crop up.

Apple News

• Apple is now the 3rd largest cellphone vendor!
• Apple CEO,  Tim Cook, donates $100 million to charity. Staying classy Apple!
• Final Cut Pro gets updated a bunch of new features.
• Leaked photos shed some light on what the iPad 3 is capable of.
• Apple computers are getting more and more prevalent in the business world.
• There’s a nasty bug in iMessage that might let others spy on your texts if you aren’t careful.
• Apparently there is a “strange” event on the horizon for the iPad 3. Wonder what it’ll be?
• Apple is predicted to sell up to 40 million in China in 2013.
• To combat line scalpers, Apple set up an iPhone 4S lottery. They really love their Apple products in China.
• Ever wanted to go to an Mac Museum? Well there’s one in Missouri set up by a crazy collector of Macs!

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For those of you a little behind on the news, Apple’s Q1 2012 revealed last week that they started off their fiscal year with a bang. Numbers in the report showed they achieved all-time record sales for their iPhone, iPad, and Mac. Not to mention that this quarter had the highest quarterly revenue and earnings EVER. Congratulations to you Apple! Let’s delve into some numbers and see just how awesome they did. (more…)

With the year quickly coming to an end, Apple has released the list their favorite games and apps on the Mac App Store for 2011. The Mac App Store has blown up since its launch earlier this year and has made it easier than ever to purchase games and apps for Apple devices.

Among the games featured in the Best of Mac App Store 2011, Aspyr Media, Inc. and Feral Interactive led the pack with an array of strategy, puzzler and first-person shooter titles including the Mac App Game of the Year 2011 going to Aspyr Media’s empire-conquring Sid Meier’s Civilization V: Campaign Edition!

Aspyr Media is also the proud publisher of other games that made the list:

• Call of Duty 4—Get your best killing streak while experiencing intense cinematic scenes of this well-loved game.
• Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic—Play as your favorite Star Wars character as you lead a gang of rebel freedom fighters to save the galaxy from the dark side.
•  The Secret of Monkey Island—Re-mastered with new music and hand-drawn animations, this classic puzzle game takes you through the Caribbean to find the secrets of Monkey Island.

Not to go under the radar, Feral Interactive ranked an impressive number of titles on the Best of Mac App Store 2011 list, including the mutant-battling Bioshock, the role-playing shooter Borderlands, the off-road racing Colin McRae: Dirt 2 and the wizardly LEGO Harry Potter.

As the days barrel on into the New Year, Mac App Store is an easy way to finish your holiday shopping. With a wide selection of games, this year’s Best Mac App list is sure to have something for everyone. Head on over to the Mac App Store and check out the favorites today!

So, lemme introduce you to a friend of mine…

Make the journey from petty thief to made man without getting pinched by the feds in Mafia II: Director’s Cut for Mac, available at the GameAgent Store! Immerse yourself into the criminal underbelly of Empire Bay and prove that you will do what ever it takes to climb to the top, no matter the price.

Feral Interactive delivers Mafia II Director’s Cut on Mac, featuring the original game plus additional story packs to keep all up and coming mobsters entertained for hours on end.

 

The extra content packs include:

• Betrayal of Jimmy–Learn how he is double-crossed while exploring the city, driving, shooting and stealing.
• Jimmy’s Vendetta–Play as Jimmy, a former hit-man, and unleash revenge with new missions and achievements.
• Joe’s Adventures–Dive into new adventures with this DLC, while uncovering new items, story lines, and locations.

Loaded with intensely cinematic cutscenes and a griping mobster narrative, Mafia II will have you saying, “forgeddaboutit,” at this year’s holiday dinner. It makes a much better stocking stuffer than a severed horse’s head–trust us.

All together, the game constitutes an offer you can’t refuse.  Download your copy today!

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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Here’s a couple of fun infographics passed down to me from our community manager Russ about the age-old battle between Mac Users and PC Users. They correlate personality traits with your preferred choice of computing device. Where do you fit in? (more…)

Apple and Apple Related Gaming News

• Apple is in yet another lawsuit. This time over patents with Samsung, who is seeking a US import ban on Apple products.
• Apple adds TRIM support and fixes to improve graphic performance in OS X Snow Leopard.
• Bungie’s Marathon is headed for the iPad. FREE OF CHARGE!
• iPad sales are expected to hit 40 million this calendar year.
• Speculation that the iPhone 3GS price may drop to zero!
• Ever wanted to see the inside of the Thunderbolt Cable? iFixit tore one apart for your viewing pleasure.
• Professional Video Editors give their thoughts on the new Final Cut Pro X.
• Rumors of the iPhone 5’s features are cropping up.
• Mac OS X Lion is expected out on July 6th!
• Cars 2 video game races onto the Mac.

Gaming Stories in General

• Rejoice Gamers! Video games are now under the protection of the First Amendment!
• Bungie created a new social and mobile gaming venture called Bungie Aerospace.
• Warcraft is now free-to-play! Well, it’s free until level 20.
• Age of Conan is following in the steps of WoW and will soon to be free-to-play.
• Playstation Plus is one year old this week!
• Want to buy a Wii peripheral that costs more than the Wii itself?
• The British really love their Call of Duty Black Ops.
• Farmville creator, Zynga , is going public quite soon.
• How young is too young for kids to start video gaming.
• Angry Birds has found a new home in China.
• The next Xbox may be just around the corner.

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Mac OS X 10.7 Lion Preview, an Apple video game console, and the PSN outage.

Apple Computing and Gaming

• A game for the iPhone that apparently involves driving immigrants from Mexico into the United States has been rejected by Apple.
• Apple places dead last in Greenpeace report.
• Apple releases third build of Mac OS X 10.7 Lion Preview 2 to developers.
• Free games with in-App purchases make up 40% of App store game downloads.
• Is this the year Apple launches a video game console?
• Netflix and Apple lead disruption of entertainment industry.
• Mac and PC users think differently.
• Apple tops Microsoft’s quarterly sales and profits.

More Gaming Stories

• Sony: Hackers of PSN, Qriosity gained access to data of 77M users.
• Microsoft saw revenue from its core operating system software slip in the first three months of the year as consumers begin to shift to buying tablet computers.
• Zynga buys British-based games company.
• GameStop to bring streaming video games to Android.
• Redbox announced that it plans to begin renting video games for $2 a day this summer.
• Beyonce sued by videogames company.

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