Our List of Highly-Anticipated Upcoming Games for OS X (2010)

For too long, computer gaming has been a strictly Windows-only business. But that’s slowly but surely changing, as signified by the recent availability of the popular Steam platform for Mac, and soon, Linux. But what’s really exciting is that big game producers aren’t just porting old games to OS X *cough* Quake 4, Halo 1, etc. *cough*, nor is the world of OS X gaming going to be limited to indie publishers and lame (though very much appreciated) games with graphics on-par with those from the 90s on other platforms.

We’ve compiled a list of our top highly-anticipated games for OS X, most of which are actually geared for simultaneous release on Windows and Mac, making it clear that Mac gamers will take a backseat no more. Honestly, we’re not going to bother ranking them or making this a “Top 10 Games for OS X this year” kind of article. This is just a geeky gamers’ list of games to look out for, on a Mac, soon. We’re not including games that were previously available on other platforms, because that’s just sad.

And, without further ado, here’s NeoSmart Technologies’ exclusive list of upcoming Mac OS X games, sorted by expected release date from the ones you can soonest get your grubby paws on to those you’ll have to not-so-patiently wait and pray for:

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Windows Isn’t For Gamers Anymore

For the past decade-and-a-half, “Windows” has been synonymous with “PC Gaming” – after all, no other PC platform has managed to satiate the undying hunger gamers are quite famous for. But now it seems that Windows is on the verge of losing its distinction as the gaming platform of choice – with nothing but Microsoft’s own machinations to blame.

Despite PC users’ widely-varying taste and preference in operating systems and platforms, gamers need Windows. In fact, one of the biggest reason people around the globe tend to dual-boot is their undying love for gaming and the fact that no other OS out there can boast the wide range of gaming titles and genres available for their platform like Windows can. The traditional choice faced by most non-Windows users has been to either install and dual-boot Windows or bite the built and buy a gaming console – ask us, we would know.

But this is all about to change, thanks to Microsoft’s reckless abandon for one of its few truly-loyal userbases.

When Microsoft first began its frenzied Vista marketing campaign in 2006, one of the points it focused on most and repeated over and over again was just how big of a gaming revolution Windows Vista was. Gaming was a large part of the Vista WOW campaign, but it has since failed to disappoint. But this isn’t an article about Vista, it’s about how Windows is poised to lose its gaming advantage if Microsoft doesn’t get its act together sometime soon.

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Halo 2 Release Date: May 8, 2007!!

Microsoft has just announced two birds with one press bulletin: Halo 2 will be coming to Windows Vista on a PC near you on May 8, 2007 — at the same time as Games for Windows LIVE goes public!

As the official press release states, Halo 2 for Windows Vista will have superior graphics compared to the Xbox version, and it’ll come with a Map Editor too (that we’ve known for a while now). It’s good to finally have a concrete date set for one of the most anticipated games in PC history.

Halo 2 was the most popular game for the Xbox, taking up where the original Halo for Xbox left off. Halo 2 and Microsoft/Epic’s Gears of War currently top the popular list for Xbox 360. Gears of War is another game PC gamers are looking forward to playing on the PC.

Following the May 8th release of Halo 2 for PC, another FPS game for Windows Vista will be released come June: Shadowrun. Shadowrun will PCs and Xbox 360s at the same time, making it the first true multi-platform experience on Games for Windows LIVE.