EA Games: Spiele kommen auf den Mac

Vor einigen Monaten berichteten wir bereits über die Möglichkeiten, auch am Mac zu spielen. Dabei tauchte der Name Cider bereits auf. Inzwischen wurde eine Pressemitteilung von TransGaming herausgegeben und EA Games wird genau diese Technik verwenden.

TransGaming entwickelt eine kommerzielle, auf Spiele optimierte Version von Wine. Die Opensource-Software Wine kann Funktionsausrufe an die Windows-API abfangen und verarbeiten. Damit gelingt es in vielen Fällen, Windows-Software unter Linux / Unix zu starten. Die kommerzielle Version Cedega ergänzt die grundlegenden Funktionen noch mit einer praktischen Benutzeroberfläche sowie einigen Detailverbesserungen.

Cider wiederum kann diese Wine-Funktion in ein Windows-Programm integrieren und erzeugt hieraus ein Mac OS X-Programm. Der Endanwender braucht sich um nichts zu kümmern und kann das Programm einfach unter seinem jeweiligen Betriebssystem genießen.

Pressemitteilung von TransGaming

TransGaming to Develop EA Titles for MAC OS X

Redwood City, Calif., and TORONTO, Canada . June 11, 2007 - Electronic Arts Inc. has announced plans to bring top-tier games to MAC OS X this summer powered by TransGaming's Cider engine, including: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Madden NFL 08, Tiger Woods PGA TOUR 08, Need for Speed Carbon, Command & Conquer 3 Tiberium Wars and Battlefield 2142.
TransGaming Inc., a Canadian-based leader in software portability, has opened up new playing fields for Mac users.

"Traditionally Mac users had to wait to play the latest blockbuster games," says TransGaming CEO Vikas Gupta. "We're thrilled that TransGaming's Cider engine will dramatically decrease the time it will take to bring EA's hit portfolio of games to a thirsty Mac market."

"Leveraging TransGaming's Cider technology to bring our hit franchises to Mac users is an exciting first step in delivering the video game experience that Mac users deserve," said Scott Cronce, EA vice president. "With the launch of these titles, it truly is the best time to be a Mac gamer."

Helping quench Mac gamers' thirst is Cider, the revolutionary new technology, developed by TransGaming that enables the releases. Eliminating the need to rewrite a video game for the Mac, Cider acts as an interpreter between the game's original code and the Intel Mac, imparting a great user experience on the Mac.

The four EA games set for release on the Mac this summer include:

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix: In Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, licensed by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, Harry returns for his fifth year of study at Hogwarts only to discover that much of the wizarding community has been led to believe that the story of the teenager's recent encounter with the evil Lord Voldemort is a lie, putting Harry's integrity in question. Worse, the Minister for Magic, Cornelius Fudge, has appointed a new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, the duplicitous Professor Dolores Umbridge. But Professor Umbridge's "Ministry-approved" course of defensive magic leaves the young wizards woefully unprepared to defend themselves against the Dark Forces threatening them. so at the prompting of his friends Hermione and Ron, Harry is convinced to take matters into his own hands. Meeting secretly with a small group of students who name themselves "Dumbledore's Army," Harry teaches them how to defend themselves against the Dark Arts, preparing the courageous young wizards for the extraordinary battle that lies ahead. With the ability to play multiple characters, including Harry Potter, Dumbledore and Sirius Black, the videogame of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix offers fans the opportunity to wield a wand, explore all around Hogwarts, and experience one of the most exciting and dangerous years in the life of the Boy Who Lived.

Need for Speed Carbon: The battle for the city is won in the canyon as Need for Speed Carbon immerses you in the world's most dangerous and adrenaline-filled form of street racing. As the police turn up the heat and force the races to the outskirts of the city, the battle ultimately shifts to Carbon Canyon, where territories and reputations can be lost on every perilous curve. Racing has never felt so dangerous where every turn is a matter of life or death. For the first time in a Need for Speed game, build a crew and race in an all-out war for your city against rival crews and opposing car classes. You'll risk everything to take over rival neighborhoods one street at a time. With online racing and the most advanced graphics and car customization tools ever, Need for Speed Carbon is the ultimate Mac racing game.
Battlefield 2142 . The year is 2142, and the dawn of a new Ice age has thrown the world into a panic. The math is simple and brutal: The soil not covered by ice can only feed a fraction of the Earth's population. Some will live, most will die. In Battlefield 2142, players will choose to fight for one of two military superpowers in an epic battle for survival, the European Union or the newly formed Pan Asian Coalition. Armed with a devastating arsenal of hi-tech assault rifles, cloaking devices and sentry guns, players will also do battle using some of the most imposing vehicles known to man. Massive battle Mechs wage fierce combat on the ground, while futuristic aircraft rule the skies. When facing one of these new behemoths, players will need to use their wits and an arsenal of new countermeasures like EMP grenades to level the playing field. Team play features allow up to 64 players to enter the action on the front lines as part of a formal squad, or work behind the scenes in Commander Mode to direct the strategic assaults of their teammates.

Command & Conquer 3 Tiberium Wars: The critically-acclaimed Command & Conquer series returns with Command & Conquer 3 Tiberium Wars. This highly-anticipated next chapter takes the popular series back to its roots in the Tiberium Universe and features the fast, fluid gameplay that Command & Conquer is known for and an epic story that will redefine storytelling and set the standard for the single player experience for Real-time Strategy games. It is 2047 and the stakes could not be higher. Tiberium-a self-replicating alien substance that has infected the Earth-is spreading like a radioactive ice age. The Global Defense Initiative, a high-tech alliance of the world's most advanced nations, is fighting to contain Tiberium, but Kane, the megalomaniacal leader of the Brotherhood of Nod has other plans for Earth. Kane's secret society turned superpower is bent on using Tiberium to take control and transform humanity into his twisted vision of the future. All-out war rages over Tiberium and the fate of the planet rests in the balance.