Possible Bungie departure would open door to Mac games
Even as copies of Halo 3 have barely reached gamers' hands, reports have claimed that its developer Bungie may jump ship from Microsoft to pursue other games, and potentially other game platforms.
A source speaking with the Seattle Post-Intelligencer fueled discussion by alleging that Bungie had already declared its intent to leave its parent company, making the public announcement only a formality. Microsoft had reportedly agreed to the decision and had already been removing Bungie staff from its official roster as of Monday, with only concerns over affecting quarterly results (due October 6th) keeping either side from making a full announcement.
The decision by the game developer to walk away from what many have described as a lucrative partnership was not trivial, the insider claimed. Rather, the issue for Bungie was control over its own fate, which became more and more elusive as the firm's Halo games grew in popularity and Microsoft saw the game house as a dependable source of revenue.
"Apparently MS just wants Bungie to make Halo for the rest of their natural days," the source wrote in an e-mail message. "Bungie doesn't like how MS is constantly trying to 'handle' everything they do; the way they market their games, the way they interact with their fans [...], and how stingie [sic] they are with the profits (comparable to the rest of the industry)."
A separate tip handed to GameInformer appeared to corroborate the story and added that Microsoft's compensation was to earn both the rights to future Halo games and the right to first refusal, which would let the Xbox 360 maker become the first possible candidate to publish any future Bungie title.
Microsoft did not refute the claim outright, instead telling Kotaku that it had not publicized any agreement. "There's been no such announcement," said a spokesperson from Microsoft's public relations firm, Edelman. "We continue to celebrate the tremendous success of the global phenomenon that is Halo 3."
In spite of the conditions that would be attached to the deal, the departure would effectively return Bungie to the independent status it held before Microsoft's acquisition of the studio in June 2000 and would free the company to pursue games for non-Microsoft platforms, including the Mac, PlayStation 3, and Wii.
Bungie's shift in allegiance has often been cited as a prime example of Apple's inability to support gaming in recent years. While the game developer had started as a Mac-only company and continued to produce Mac versions of Oni and the first two Myth games virtually side-by-side with their Windows equivalents, the company was successfully courted by Microsoft, which put a halt to Mac development soon afterwards.
Whether the changes in the game industry over the past seven years would encourage a return to development was strictly a matter of speculation. Bungie itself refrained from commenting on the situation and instead redirected members of the press to Edelman, which again refused a definitive statement on the matter.
A source speaking with the Seattle Post-Intelligencer fueled discussion by alleging that Bungie had already declared its intent to leave its parent company, making the public announcement only a formality. Microsoft had reportedly agreed to the decision and had already been removing Bungie staff from its official roster as of Monday, with only concerns over affecting quarterly results (due October 6th) keeping either side from making a full announcement.
The decision by the game developer to walk away from what many have described as a lucrative partnership was not trivial, the insider claimed. Rather, the issue for Bungie was control over its own fate, which became more and more elusive as the firm's Halo games grew in popularity and Microsoft saw the game house as a dependable source of revenue.
"Apparently MS just wants Bungie to make Halo for the rest of their natural days," the source wrote in an e-mail message. "Bungie doesn't like how MS is constantly trying to 'handle' everything they do; the way they market their games, the way they interact with their fans [...], and how stingie [sic] they are with the profits (comparable to the rest of the industry)."
A separate tip handed to GameInformer appeared to corroborate the story and added that Microsoft's compensation was to earn both the rights to future Halo games and the right to first refusal, which would let the Xbox 360 maker become the first possible candidate to publish any future Bungie title.
Microsoft did not refute the claim outright, instead telling Kotaku that it had not publicized any agreement. "There's been no such announcement," said a spokesperson from Microsoft's public relations firm, Edelman. "We continue to celebrate the tremendous success of the global phenomenon that is Halo 3."
In spite of the conditions that would be attached to the deal, the departure would effectively return Bungie to the independent status it held before Microsoft's acquisition of the studio in June 2000 and would free the company to pursue games for non-Microsoft platforms, including the Mac, PlayStation 3, and Wii.
Bungie's shift in allegiance has often been cited as a prime example of Apple's inability to support gaming in recent years. While the game developer had started as a Mac-only company and continued to produce Mac versions of Oni and the first two Myth games virtually side-by-side with their Windows equivalents, the company was successfully courted by Microsoft, which put a halt to Mac development soon afterwards.
Whether the changes in the game industry over the past seven years would encourage a return to development was strictly a matter of speculation. Bungie itself refrained from commenting on the situation and instead redirected members of the press to Edelman, which again refused a definitive statement on the matter.
Comments
The rumor is not even confirmed and it wont be confirmed!
Sorry Mac, No Halo 3 for you!
And while you guys finish making "home movies" with your iMovie, me and other gamers around the world on PC platform (Funny eh? there are more PC gamers than mac users ROFL) will do some nice multi-player games! Oh wait....there is a chess game in Mac OSX
Alex Seropian and most of the original Bungie team left a long time ago to form Wideload, leaving Jason "Kiss Ass" Jones as the only remaining original Bungie developer in the hands of MS. I dunno how much Jason had an impact on the Pathway into Darkness story, the Marathon story or the Myth story but I'm guessing not that much. I think Jason Jones was the lead programmer so all the creative goodness went to Wideload. It kinda shows too. The Halo serie had a somewhat lackluster storyline.
The multiplayer aspect of Halo is excellent but...so was Marathon's and Myth's multiplayer...the multiplayer games are pretty much a direct copy of the previous games (King of the Hill, Kill the Man with the Ball, etc.)
I've never really played Oni (developed by Bungie West I believe and they had development problems that really put a damper on things...multiplayer dropped and levels that felt incomplete according to people that had played the game). I haven't really played Wideload's Stubb the Zombie...I heard it wasn't all that good but it sure was original in a sense.
Anyway...I don't feel like anything good will ever come out of Bungie ever again (or even Wideload)...even if they both produce Mac games. Although, I'm sure they would make more money than most game companies. I mean, if it says Bungie or Blizzard on the box it usually is a good game. And Bungie's games (cept for Oni and PiD) always had solid multiplayer (which seems to be the only thing people care about nowadays.)
Mac sucks @ Gaming; Microsoft wipes the floor with Mac when it comes to Gaming. It's kind a sad how the departure of Bungie is considered important news for Mac ROFL
The rumor is not even confirmed and it wont be confirmed!
Sorry Mac, No Halo 3 for you!
And while you guys finish making "home movies" with your iMovie, me and other gamers around the world on PC platform (Funny eh? there are more PC gamers than mac users ROFL) will do some nice multi-player games! Oh wait....there is a chess game in Mac OSX
Have issues much? How sad.
As it stands now, Bungie would be VERY stupid to sign an exclusive contract to make games for Apple computers.
I'm still pissed off over the interview with Valve's main guy about how Apple treats them. Valve only makes the most incredible PC games ever. I loved playing all there games on Steam. Valve titles kill all Halo series as far as looks and content. If Apple blows it with them, it just shows how clueless they are at gaming. They are limiting there overall sales in a big way. If I had a dime for all the people who told me they would switch to Apple if they could play games on them I'd be very well off indeed.
Man I actually miss my Windows based computer now. Thank goodness I bought that Xbox360 and can go pick up Valve's Orange Box this week and play it on there even though it won't look as good as the PC version.
Let's see how Leopard runs games natively...(fingers crossed).
Mac sucks @ Gaming; Microsoft wipes the floor with Mac when it comes to Gaming. It's kind a sad how the departure of Bungie is considered important news for Mac ROFL
The rumor is not even confirmed and it wont be confirmed!
Sorry Mac, No Halo 3 for you!
And while you guys finish making "home movies" with your iMovie, me and other gamers around the world on PC platform (Funny eh? there are more PC gamers than mac users ROFL) will do some nice multi-player games! Oh wait....there is a chess game in Mac OSX
You created an account to talk smack about what you speculate on. Your life must truly be dull.
Have issues much? How sad.
Truth hurts indeed....Doesn't it?
What does it matter anymore...
Alex Seropian and most of the original Bungie team left a long time ago to form Wideload, leaving Jason "Kiss Ass" Jones as the only remaining original Bungie developer in the hands of MS. I dunno how much Jason had an impact on the Pathway into Darkness story, the Marathon story or the Myth story but I'm guessing not that much. I think Jason Jones was the lead programmer so all the creative goodness went to Wideload. It kinda shows too. The Halo serie had a somewhat lackluster storyline.
The multiplayer aspect of Halo is excellent but...so was Marathon's and Myth's multiplayer...the multiplayer games are pretty much a direct copy of the previous games (King of the Hill, Kill the Man with the Ball, etc.)
I've never really played Oni (developed by Bungie West I believe and they had development problems that really put a damper on things...multiplayer dropped and levels that felt incomplete according to people that had played the game). I haven't really played Wideload's Stubb the Zombie...I heard it wasn't all that good but it sure was original in a sense.
Anyway...I don't feel like anything good will ever come out of Bungie ever again (or even Wideload)...even if they both produce Mac games. Although, I'm sure they would make more money than most game companies. I mean, if it says Bungie or Blizzard on the box it usually is a good game. And Bungie's games (cept for Oni and PiD) always had solid multiplayer (which seems to be the only thing people care about nowadays.)
Marathon was a blast, especially back at a university when it first came out and you had an entire campus store full of networked Macs with a bunch of students blastin' away.
I'd like to believe that this may perhaps inspire Apple to build computers with better graphics capabilities but I highly doubt it.
As it stands now, Bungie would be VERY stupid to sign an exclusive contract to make games for Apple computers.
I'm still pissed off over the interview with Valve's main guy about how Apple treats them. Valve only makes the most incredible PC games ever. I loved playing all there games on Steam. Valve titles kill all Halo series as far as looks and content. If Apple blows it with them, it just shows how clueless they are at gaming. They are limiting there overall sales in a big way. If I had a dime for all the people who told me they would switch to Apple if they could play games on them I'd be very well off indeed.
Man I actually miss my Windows based computer now. Thank goodness I bought that Xbox360 and can go pick up Valve's Orange Box this week and play it on there even though it won't look as good as the PC version.
Let's see how Leopard runs games natively...(fingers crossed).
For those uninformed: EFI is the Firmware used on Intel Macs. Apple went first.
http://www.intel.com/technology/efi/efi.htm
http://download.intel.com/technology..._ENG_Spr07.pdf
Download the Presentation and read it. The only player missing from the picture is Nvidia.
AMD/ATi is on-board, including Microsoft.
The reason the cards are limited is the fact that EFI isn't available for XP/Vista. The push will exist when SP1 arrives from Microsoft for Vista.
Hell Linux, OS X and Windows will all soon be EFI ready.
Mac sucks @ Gaming; Microsoft wipes the floor with Mac when it comes to Gaming. It's kind a sad how the departure of Bungie is considered important news for Mac ROFL
The rumor is not even confirmed and it wont be confirmed!
Sorry Mac, No Halo 3 for you!
And while you guys finish making "home movies" with your iMovie, me and other gamers around the world on PC platform (Funny eh? there are more PC gamers than mac users ROFL) will do some nice multi-player games! Oh wait....there is a chess game in Mac OSX
WTF. Seriously, would you really consider purchasing a PC (easily 1k+ for a decent one [compared to the specs on consoles]) just to buy limited and crappy PC games. Please, only games worthy to be played come out in consoles (with some exceptions). Besides, there's no PC out there that could compare to the PS3 for its price. Besides, PC gaming industry is going down rapidly.
You are so naive to think that there are more PC gamers than Mac users.
How's this....Prove it.
I loved playing all there games on Steam.
All three of them? Half Life, Half Life 2 and Half Life 2: Episode 1?
Valve may be cool but they've only produced 3 games in the past 10 years...all on the same franchise. Not good at all. If Valve had a serious portfolio of games, it would be awesome to have the games ported to Mac...but I think the Mac can live without the three Half Life games. At worse, you can play them in Boot Camp.
I'd rather have Bungie and Wideload producing original Mac games. Bungie created new game genres and wasn't scared moving away from a specific franchise. They brought to Mac games such as Minotaur (multiplayer dungeon game), PiD, Marathon (the fairly new concept here was being able to aim up and down in a 1st person shooter), Myth (this genre has never been reproduced to date...it was really fun), Oni (weapons and martial arts...new and fun...I'm sure I would have liked it even if it wasn't as good as it could have been).
Marathon was a blast, especially back at a university when it first came out and you had an entire campus store full of networked Macs with a bunch of students blastin' away.
Yeah.
Multiplayer Marathon was amazing. When I saw people playing networked Doom, I would chuckle a bit. They had no idea what they were missing.
WTF. Seriously, would you really consider purchasing a PC (easily 1k+ for a decent one [compared to the specs on consoles]) just to buy limited and crappy PC games. Please, only games worthy to be played come out in consoles (with some exceptions). Besides, there's no PC out there that could compare to the PS3 for its price. Besides, PC gaming industry is going down rapidly.
You are so naive to think that there are more PC gamers than Mac users.
How's this....Prove it.
Do you really.. really think Mac can stand up to PCs when it comes to games?
If the gaming market is as limited as you like to make it look like (Guild War, Battlefield, CS and ....) then why hardware makers bother to spend money marketing their products. Or maybe think there more people editing "home movies" rather than playing games?
and all those tournaments for PC gaming..is there even a Mac one?
Guys, Mac sucks big time when it comes to game! unless u live in your own fantasy world where Mac gets games (if any indeed ROFL)
Next year it could be Marathon Infinity 2.. and I'd be like.. ::yawn:: "so how 'bout those Mets".
And you know why? Because you are mother *ucking sell outs.
"No NUM... tell us how you really feel."
OK, Bungie.. why don't you take your rich sellout *sses and go make wii games. Better yet.... why not make PSP games...because I'll NEVER buy a title from you for my Mac. My Mac wouldn't let me. In fact... just for typing your name several times in this post she has taken away my dock privlidges for a week.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g7-Qg7-IvGI
Steve jobs really had alot of insight. That was until microsoft came in and threw millions at bungie.
As for steam, try cross over to run it nativly in osx (i havnt actually tried it but it looks cool and i hope multiplayer would work)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VCd5CQB914w
Do you really.. really think Mac can stand up to PCs when it comes to games?
So what? A PC can't stand up to a Mac when it comes to productivity, usability, stability, and return on investment. What's your point?
That's not the point. The point is when Bungie sold out to MS, ticked off Mac users said at the time: "no way MS will let you keep control." Those Mac users appear to have been correct.
Nobody cares if your gaming PC can beat a Mac or not. Apple's market is not the hard core gamer - that's why they don't include the best video cards in their consumer machines - that's why there isn't a mini-tower. Until a significant portion of Mac users demand Apple put better video cards into their machines, it's not going to happen.
Not that I don't think it'll never happen - in fact, I think Cider is helping bring more games to the Mac and thus, will bring more gamers. But it's not there yet.
It's kind a sad how the departure of Bungie is considered important news for Mac ROFL
The rumor is not even confirmed and it wont be confirmed
And yet, if it does happen, which it may, will you cry?
.
Do you really.. really think Mac can stand up to PCs when it comes to games?
If the gaming market is as limited as you like to make it look like (Guild War, Battlefield, CS and ....) then why hardware makers bother to spend money marketing their products. Or maybe think there more people editing "home movies" rather than playing games?
and all those tournaments for PC gaming..is there even a Mac one?
Guys, Mac sucks big time when it comes to game! unless u live in your own fantasy world where Mac gets games (if any indeed ROFL)
That is a falacy, as you can easily plug 2 8800s into the mac pro and boot to vista avoiding efi. A fully loaded mac pro with 2 8800s (or even better a quadro fx 5700s {or whatever they will call the next in the lineup}) will kill other computers just by being in the same room as them.
and yes i would say that there are more people doing creative things, like editing home movies, then playing any pc game on a regular basis.
x-plane is honestly the most demanding game ever and i will arguee this to the death with anyone. The mac gaming comunity is also more about content creation/ modding rather then actually playing games.
Playing games will likely get you no where, while doing creative arts is actually productive.
All three of them? Half Life, Half Life 2 and Half Life 2: Episode 1?
Valve may be cool but they've only produced 3 games in the past 10 years...all on the same franchise. Not good at all. If Valve had a serious portfolio of games, it would be awesome to have the games ported to Mac...but I think the Mac can live without the three Half Life games. At worse, you can play them in Boot Camp.
I'd rather have Bungie and Wideload producing original Mac games. Bungie created new game genres and wasn't scared moving away from a specific franchise. They brought to Mac games such as Minotaur (multiplayer dungeon game), PiD, Marathon (the fairly new concept here was being able to aim up and down in a 1st person shooter), Myth (this genre has never been reproduced to date...it was really fun), Oni (weapons and martial arts...new and fun...I'm sure I would have liked it even if it wasn't as good as it could have been).
Um...you left out Episode 2 as well as Portal. And how about Counter Stirke and Day of Defeat? The most insane fun in online play. It's more about quality than quantity anyway. And Valve quality has been unmatched by Bungie. Be it in graphics or storyline.
Yeah I bought Halo 3 and I have fun playing it, but to compare it to Half Life 2 would be absurd. I am sorry but aliens that bleed blue blood and sound like little children make the series way too kiddish compared to Half Life. Bungie also really dropped the ball in the graphics department with Halo3. Extremely underwhelming. It's one thing to argue that you need to keep graphics down when taking the scale of outdoor battle scenes into account but there is absolutely no excuse for the piss poor graphics during the cutscenes. They also have no platform excuse because Bioshock 3 and Gears Of War are both games that play on the same platform that are also older. They look much better than Halo3 and I am willing to bet Bungie had a lot more money at their disposal for development. They have no excuse for not wowing us with the graphics. What sold this game was hype. What sells Valve games is quality and content.
Not that comparing Valve to Bungie matters in this case. That's not really what my original post is about. We all have our favorite developers and that's great. In the end I'm all about having access to more games rather than choosing one over another. I enjoy having choices. what I am saying is that I doubt Bungie would waste their time with Apple either. What would be their incentive? MAYBE it's something in Leopard?
I read a post from a BLIZZARD tech in the WoW forums that there is something very exciting coming up in Leopard that the developers are raving about in BLIZZARD but cannot discuss yet until it comes out. I wish I could find the post to cut and paste it but it appears to be all about graphics capabilities. I am excited about this possibility. Perhaps it will be what brings us more games to our macs so we don't have to purchase PC systems just to game. Thank goodness we can still play WoW even though sometimes it can be a bit too slowpaced for my tastes.
Cheers.
Do you really.. really think Mac can stand up to PCs when it comes to games?
If the gaming market is as limited as you like to make it look like (Guild War, Battlefield, CS and ....) then why hardware makers bother to spend money marketing their products. Or maybe think there more people editing "home movies" rather than playing games?
and all those tournaments for PC gaming..is there even a Mac one?
Guys, Mac sucks big time when it comes to game! unless u live in your own fantasy world where Mac gets games (if any indeed ROFL)
on a similar note, what do you even know about pc gaming. I think i know more about that hardware and the games then you.
I mean come on. Do you think a PC user will pay for a mac machine so he can make home movies? for the sake saying bye to all the softwares that are windows compatible right?
ofcourse you call gaming waste of time. It's something that Apple can never get right so somehow you guys have to defend it!
While you guys are busing being "productive" and making home movies, Vista just sold more than Mac OSX ever did. Guess what? I got news for ya : Windows still rules the market! Get with the program!
By the way, how many software DVD players are available for mac except the one that comes with MacOSX?I can count many for windows tho!
What is it? nobody even bothers to develop a good DVD player for mac? man that must be sad!