I guess Jason D. O’Grady over at The Apple Core blog underestimated his own powers of prediction when he listed his wishlist for the final four buttons on the iPhone interface, which included Texas Hold’Em.

Fast forward to today, and it has now been confirmed that Scenario Poker will be developing an iPhone-capable version of Texas Hold’Em which will be the first third-party app for the iPhone (according to their website). A video preview of the game is available at their website.

Take a bigger bite of this apple…[link: The Apple Core blog posting]

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Take a bigger bite of this apple…[link: Inside Mac Games podcast download page]

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Although Apple has not given any firm answer, much less any clue as to the possibility of games on the iPhone, we can always speculate and fantasize how games would play. Here is an imaginative interpretation of how a racing game would look and play if it were made for the iPhone.

The use and placement of the acceleration and brake pedals and the steering wheel looks pretty convincing. I could actually see controls and mechanics like this working on the iPhone.

I must say though, with all the possibilities that multi-touch technology brings, I am actually surprised to see that this is the only fan-made mock gameplay footage posted on YouTube. Tsk tsk, fanboys.

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This may be wishful thinking or rumor but nonetheless Noheat reports that Nintendo has begun licensing some of their game content for Apple’s forthcoming iPhone.

“These exclusive games will be released on the iTunes Store at a $29.00 price point a few months after the iPhone launches. No word on whether Nintendo will be distributing iPod versions of these games.”

If true, this could be good news for potential iPhone owners but it’s a very questionable move for Nintendo. Considering Nintendo’s possible lack of control over the gameplay style and mechanics of their iPhone-ported games, not to mention the possible dent this may cause in their own mobile-gaming marketshare my fake-news-link-bait detector seems to be beeping erratically. I guess we’ll just have to wait for official confirmation.

Big question though…would you pay $29.00 for a game on a phone that you’ve already paid upwards of $600 for and will be paying about $100/mth for for the next two years? Godspeed you Richie Riches and early adopters…godspeed.

Take a bigger bite of this apple…[link: NoHeat article]

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The WWDC 2007 announced the winners of their annual Apple Design Awards and World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade 2.0, the world’s #1 Massive Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game (MMORPG) with over eight and a half million current subscribers, took top honors for “Best Mac OS X Game.” Coming in at second place was Wacky Mini Golf 1.01 (DanlabG).

Among the many reasons WoW: The Burning Crusade 2.0 was awarded the top prize was its continuous optimization for Mac OS X technologies such as mult-threaded OpenGL.

“The implementation of multi-threaded OpenGL utilizes the multiple cores found in every Mac, and brings a performance gain of 2X.”

It was also recognized because of its rich 5.1 surround sound technology and iTunes integration, which allows players full control over their iTunes while playing the game.
The Apple Design Awards, now in their 12th year, recognize technical excellence and outstanding achievement in Mac OS X software design and development.  To see a list of all the winners, click the link below.

Take a bigger bite of this apple…[link: Apple Design Award 2007 winners]

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Kaplan’s SAT Workbook 2007:paper :: Kaplan’s SAT Prep 2008:________

• (a) digital download
• (b) affordable
• (c) mobile
• (d) fun!
• (e) all of the above

If you chose “e” congratulations, you’re a nerd (in the best way)!

When I was in high school, all you had to do to score a 1500 on the SATs was to “ditch” school on the Friday before the Saturday test date, sit down with The College Board’s “10 Real SATs” study bible, and train the hellouta your brain by burning through every single one of those darn “10 Real SATs” in a 15-hour cram session sitting worthy of an ’80s movie montage set to Survivor’s “Eye of the Tiger.”

Nowadays, the kids need instant gratification. They want and need to study anywhere, anytime. Studying’s like a drug to them. That’s why Kaplan’s come out with SAT Prep 2008 for 5th generation iPods with iPod software 1.2 or later.

Like the SAT test itself, this Kaplan iPod “game” series is split into 3 sections/modules: Math, Reading, and Writing. Each is about 30-40 MB and are reasonably priced at $4.99/section.

For you high school students, remember that it’s never too early to start prepping for the SATs, and what better way to study than to solve some quadratic equations or do some analogies in between Rihanna’s “Umbrella” and Amy Winehouse’s “Rehab.” Plus, if you don’t have an iPod already, this is a surefire way to get your parents to buy you one.

Check the iTunes Store for more details.

*Warning: The use of Kaplan’s SAT Prep 2008 software for the iPod does not guarantee the user acceptance into Harvard, nor does it guarantee a higher score on your SATs. The developer only guarantees FUN.

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For those unfamiliar with Parallels, it’s a program similar to Boot Camp that enables Intel-based Macs to run Mac OS X and Windows simultaneously, with no reboot required.

The reviewer ran a handful of older games on it, including Dungeon Siege 2 and Max Payne 2. All in all the performance was sufficient but when it came to running DirectX 9 compatible newer games like The Sims 2 and The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, it just flat-out didn’t run.

Conclusion: Parallels 3.0 is a decent entry if you’re a modest gamer who enjoys the occasional DirectX 8.1 or lower-enabled game or if you need it to run other Windows apps, but if you’re looking to run newer higher end 3-D titles then Boot Camp is your best bet. But it is a step in the right direction so far.

But you don’t have to “take my word for it…dun, dun…dun.”

Ahh, I love the 80s…Reading Rainbow, Mecc games on the Apple IIe in the school computer lab….Geez, now I feel like playing Oregon Trail. Now that was some game. And the good news is that you wouldn’t need Parallels 3.0 to play it. But I digress.

For a more in-depth review of the program, click the link below for the full article.

Take a bigger bite of this apple…[link: Macworld Parallels 3.0 review article]

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Some recent downloads:

The Gnome Herder 1.0

Capture the naughty flying Gnome men to return them to their lonely wives in this challenging 3D game. (Freeware)

The Snowmen and the Crown 1.0

Free the Kingdom of the Snowmen from enchantment by restoring their Lost Crown in this non-violent 3D adventure game. A first person explorer game for children. (Freeware)

Minions of Mirth 1.24.3

A massively single player, multiplayer, persistent world RPG. Its epic scope and diverse gameplay will keep novice and hardcore players coming back for more, and more! (Freeware)

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In an interview with Transgaming software president and CEO Vikas Gupta over at Red Herring, he claims that EA:

“…had a lot of people internally who were passionate about the Mac. It was a good mix of corporate initiative with grassroots perspective.”

For those unfamiliar, EA announced the release of an array of titles for the Mac this year. They struck a deal with Transgaming to use its Cider technology to develop and convert these games for the Mac. He goes on to say:

“Mac gamers can look forward to many more high quality titles that have never been available before on the Mac. With the EA deal this is certainly the beginning. Our strategy [here] is to make gaming on the Mac mainstream.”

An article at Digital Arts also provides some evidence to show that developers are beginning to adopt the Mac not just for personal use but for developmental tasks as well.

At WWDC, while demoing their new Tech 5 gaming engine, John Carmack of id Software stated that

“Since many developers at id have made the switch to the Mac for their personal use, we decided it was now time to bring our core game technology to OS X,” stated Carmack during his demonstration, adding that “the latest Macs are the fastest systems in [their] offices” during certain processing tasks.”

It’s a good sign when the developers are becoming bigger fans of Macs. And they may have spoken: “Once you go Mac, you never go back.”

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This latest development puts to rest the previous rumor that it would launch in the early morning hours at Apple Stores and AT&T stores nationwide. This evening launch time may be a bid to level the playing field on launch day in case those with day jobs can’t play hookie for a day.

Reported quantities that will be available on launch day are 40 iPhones per AT&T store or 3 million in total.

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