GameSpy Attempting to Dump Mac Gamers 137
An anonymous reader writes "Inside Mac Games reports that GameSpy is trying to license its way out of supporting the Mac." From the article: "The impact of GameSpy's pricing tactics could be devastating to the Mac gaming market. A number of recent games on the Mac such as Battlefield 1942, Medal of Honor: Breakthrough, Neverwinter Nights, and others use GameSpy."
First post. (Score:2, Interesting)
Anyone know the before and after cost of the SDK license?
Re:First post. (Score:5, Insightful)
GameSpy was a great thing...8 years ago. Started by a Navy man that wanted a quick and easy way to find and connect to Quake servers, but it turned into a mega-corp somewhere and adopted many MS techniques of crush and conquer. FilePlanet use to be great for game downloads, but now I can't get anything even with a logon (I'm not paying them for that crap when there are many other download sites available).
This affects more then just Macs, it affects everything they touch. Soon you'll need to logon to read the news at planetquake.com or even need to PAY them to read the news.
People need to stop relying on GameSpy and show them we are not going to put up with their crap...unfortunately most people WILL put of with their crap because they are too lazy or narrow minded to find something else.
Re:First post. (Score:2)
If GameSpy wants to try to hurt the Mac game community, the game community should hurt them more. Make their business model no longer viable by coming up with a free (as in beer) replacement. One possible place to start would be grafting the functionality into AIM, Freenet, or some other P2P system.
Better yet, use DNS. For your local LAN, use mDNS. For the internet as a whole
Re:First post. (Score:1)
Re:First post. (Score:3, Informative)
GameSpy sucks anyway (Score:4, Interesting)
Re:GameSpy sucks anyway (Score:3, Interesting)
Although I don't really game too much nowadays, but I CS-Source it up whenever I go to my friend's house. I'm seriously considering building a PC JUST to play HL2 and CS-source.
btw, I'm the man, my GameRanger ID is only 2 digits.
Re:GameSpy sucks anyway (Score:2)
As for the service itself, there are "in-game server browsers" and they're displayed in GR itself so you don't have to even run the game to see them. Basically, just look at the UT or Quake series for an example. You can either start a GR-listed game or a mas
Re:GameSpy sucks anyway (Score:2)
What part of in-game do you not understand? :-P
Gamespy, where have you gone? (Score:5, Interesting)
Then they switched and became a really unappealing, money grubbing company. I even bought one of their for-life gamespy 3d licenses which they want me to upgrade. They switched to a for pay product and I don't think they put any money into the old one.
Use to be a great source as well for downloads, now it's waiting in line for a public ftp server. Why haven't they embraced torrents?
What happened at this company?
Re:Gamespy, where have you gone? (Score:2, Insightful)
they can't charge for torrents, or make you buy a super-ultra-platinum-extra-bonus membership for only $6/month.
Re:Gamespy, where have you gone? (Score:2)
They could certainly make you pay for access to the torrent tracker. There are several trackers that require passwords to download from them. empornium is probably the most obvious example of this.
Re:Gamespy, where have you gone? (Score:1)
Also, it was QSpy back then, not Gamespy.
Re:Gamespy, where have you gone? (Score:1)
-Bjorn
sad day for gaming (Score:5, Interesting)
Yes, i know platforms range--ps2, xbox, gamecube, DS, cellular, etc. PC and Mac run on the same TCP protocol, just different internal programming (just like all platforms, after i think about it).,br>
If they are dropping supprot for a (fledging?) platform, then they might as well do it for Gamecube (Network adapter? whats that?), or even PS2, since it seems that it does not have the same online userbase as the xbox.
why isnt there a competitor to GameSpy? At least, one that is just as popular?
Re:sad day for gaming (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:sad day for gaming (Score:5, Insightful)
Bullshit. Gamespy use to have free versions, and gave the SDK's away so they could lock companies in. Now that they are Bigger, they cant afford to offer the SDKs You always develop the SDK and give it away for free, you make your money on the license later.
And building on OSX is much easier now, if you have a standard platform, you can cross develop a customer client that works on both. One of the nice things about OSX is games run in OpenGL on top of a unix based OS. (Can you say Linux port anyone?)
BTW, what is an alternative? Could All Seeing Eye [udpsoft.com] be the replacement?
Re:sad day for gaming (Score:2)
I don't see how, since they don't offer anything for Mac or Linux.
Re:sad day for gaming (Score:2)
It sees everything!
Re:sad day for gaming (Score:2)
Please don't think PC users get the royal treatment. If it wasn't for the new Doom 3 and HL2, the PC gaming would have been virtually dead compared to the console market. Ah.... That's what Apple needs, their own console!
xfire for macs (Score:1)
Re:sad day for gaming (Score:5, Funny)
I, too, long for the old days when companies didn't have to think about their costs or profits. When they did whatever would make slashdot users happy. Whatever happened to those days?
Re:sad day for gaming (Score:2)
Gamespy is a company (Score:1)
-Jeff
So? (Score:1)
Re:So? (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:So? (Score:3, Insightful)
Don't get me wrong, I use my Macs every day. One runs my music studio, another is about to become my new web server, and my iBook goes with me everywhere gets used for just about every other computing task that I do.
But when I want to play games, I do so on either a Windows PC or a console. I'm all about using the right tool for the job.
Yes, I could play World of Warcraft on the eMac I use for recording music, but why bother when an el-che
Nice example (Score:5, Insightful)
Lucky day for Mac gamers? (Score:5, Funny)
Shortsighted move... (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:Shortsighted move... (Score:2)
Eh, no, not really. In an application like this where it's almost all GUI, Linux and MacOS use completely different APIs. The networking end would probably be similar, though.
Re:Shortsighted move... (Score:4, Funny)
Re:Shortsighted move... (Score:2)
Re:Shortsighted move... (Score:1)
It doesnt actually run the POSIX commands correctly, it acknologes that Windows cannot run it.
There's 2 different meanings from "Posix Compliant". 1 is that we acknologe the API and do not just immediately halt the program. 2 is if it actually acknologes the command and correctly processes it.
Windows does 1, but not 2.
Why did Windows put Posix complaincy in the OS? The Military wanted it.
Re:Shortsighted move... (Score:2)
Fool, that's just what they want you to think! There's a POSIX GUI standard, alright, but it is being suppressed by the Big 3. But the Internet routes around censorship! You can get the standard at http://www.$@#di'n+++[NO CARRIER]
Re:Shortsighted move... (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Shortsighted move... (Score:2)
At least, doesn't exist by Mac standards.
Oh Well (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Oh Well (Score:2)
Re:Oh Well (Score:2, Insightful)
Then you don't really understand the point here. The issue here is that a lot of games are made on the PC use gamespy. They are then ported over to the Macintosh and the gamespy browser is also ported. This allows Mac and PC users to game against/with eachother. This is done in the game, its the developers choice to use this browser, not the gamers. It isn't as s
Is there....... (Score:1)
America's Army (Score:4, Informative)
What's the use of GameSpy, anyway? (Score:2, Interesting)
AFAIU GameSpy is a tool that helps you to locate other players that want to play the same game online. So, if they drop the support for my OS or fuck up things in other ways, I'll quit using it and search for companions/opponents somewhere else and with another tool or no tool at all.
So, what's the big fuzz around this?
Kosi
Re:What's the use of GameSpy, anyway? (Score:3, Interesting)
The PC devs will pay the cash and make Gamespy internal and integral to their product, and the Mac devs won't be able to license Gamespy to make their ports talk. That's the big picture they're painting.
Re:What's the use of GameSpy, anyway? (Score:2)
Re:What's the use of GameSpy, anyway? (Score:1)
I guess I should be affected by this somehow.... (Score:5, Interesting)
I own both a Dual 1.8 G5 and find the Mac to be a superior platform over Windows for everything I do in computing.....EXCEPT gaming. For that, I have my 3000+ homemade box.
As I get older, I dont game as much or as often. I expect there's a lot more like me in the same boat, they used to be hardcore gamers back in their 20's but I'm a lot more interested in producing and making videos and music these days.
Mac beats the PC hands down for that. ( for me )
Re:I guess I should be affected by this somehow... (Score:3, Interesting)
I will however take a moment to bash some of the Mac users though. They whine about not being able to play a specific game on their
Re:I guess I should be affected by this somehow... (Score:2)
Re:I guess I should be affected by this somehow... (Score:2)
Compare this to Linux users -- Oh Quake III for Linux was delayed two weeks so I had to buy the Windows version, the bastards.
Re:I guess I should be affected by this somehow... (Score:4, Funny)
and... a toaster?
Re:I guess I should be affected by this somehow... (Score:1)
Re:I guess I should be affected by this somehow... (Score:2)
I may be naive, but... (Score:1)
Who cares? It's a free market. (Score:3, Insightful)
Screw GameSpy, they suck (Score:2, Insightful)
If they want to be the defacto game search interface for the industry, they need to get off their lazy butts and do it right. And while Ma
OpenPlay (Score:2, Informative)
You like open source (or semi... APSL [apple.com]) and cross-platform?
OpenPlay [apple.com] is a start. Been around a while, but I don't know of any net games that use it. The mailing list seems to still be active [apple.com], but I'm not a member, so I can't tell you what they're really up to.
Most of these comments are talking about how the end-users are suffering from GameSpy - it's really the developers. If I wrote an app and licensed GameSpy because they had a cross-platform SDK, I'd be pissed if they then told me that one of those plat
Re:OpenPlay (Score:2)
The stats show 47.2% activity in the last week, and it is listed as 'mature', or level 6.
This could perhaps be exactly what is needed to relinquish control of cross-platform network gaming from the likes of GameSpy. It just needs more exposure, since hardly any game developers are likely to have heard of it.
Gamespy as cybersquatter: who needs 'em? (Score:5, Interesting)
In the PC world, hardcore gamers avoid Gamespy like the plague (and we don't bother to read its crappy ad-driven "content" online, either).
Apple can easily remedy the problem we're discussing by making a gaming browser part of OS X. No need to let a third party squat on what should be a seamless interchange between client and server, managed by the OS.
Re:Gamespy as cybersquatter: who needs 'em? (Score:1)
Re:Gamespy as cybersquatter: who needs 'em? (Score:2)
Mac only... I guess Americas Army etc will move to it.
Whatever, I am a ww2 online gamer
What the developers say about it (Score:5, Informative)
Re:Microsoft Involvment (Score:1, Insightful)
But honestly how much effort does it take to support the mac sdk? From a coding perspective, isn't it just getting a list of servers from another server? I thought all the important work would be on the server side, isn't that what people are paying for? what the server provides? a list of other servers? I mean that functionali
Relying on another is a good way to get hurt (Score:1)
Something I'll be interested to see... (Score:5, Interesting)
Years ago I played a MMO flight sim called "Warbirds" (It's still around I think, but it's a shadow of its former self). When they went from version 1 to version 2 (3D models), they didn't release the Mac version concurrently. Version 2 had its own troubles, but it was just gorgeous. The models were beautiful. However, we spent several months staying in the old V1 arenas because a significant number of our squadmates were Mac jockeys. It wasn't fair to leave them behind, so we tried to keep them involved.
I wonder if current clans with Mac members will try to do something similar to support them.
What does it mean for linux ports? (Score:1, Offtopic)
Re:Why Steam (Score:2)
Re:Why Steam (Score:2)
http://www.kali.net/
Kali.net (Score:1)
I can say this.. Jay Cotton the writer is a decent guy from what I saw and heard of him. Not only was he an avid gamer, but he also listened quite well to the community. When we asked for a linux version, he actually provided a few months later. (unfortunately no one ever used it.)
Apparently the fee is $20 FOR LIFE! I still have my old registration code somewhere I think. I may dig it out and g
Re:Why Steam (Score:1)
Comment removed (Score:5, Informative)
Re:In other words, Multiplayer Mac Games are Dead (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:In other words, Multiplayer Mac Games are Dead (Score:2)
You miss spelled game console.
Re:In other words, Multiplayer Mac Games are Dead (Score:2, Funny)
Re: (Score:2)
Re:In other words, Multiplayer Mac Games are Dead (Score:2, Informative)
Re:In other words, Multiplayer Mac Games are Dead (Score:1, Insightful)
Actually, that's exactly this Mac users wanted to do. I wanted to play with my friends online.
So I dropped my Everquest account and switched to Lineage and Shadowbane. Problem solved.
On the Internet, no one knows you're a dog, but they damn well know if you're a Mac
Re:In other words, Multiplayer Mac Games are Dead (Score:5, Informative)
You DO realize Starcraft (and all Blizzard games) is available for the Mac, right? You could be playing against Mac gamers every time you log on to battle.net, for all you know.
Re:In other words, Multiplayer Mac Games are Dead (Score:1)
Re:In other words, Multiplayer Mac Games are Dead (Score:1, Funny)
Re:In other words, Multiplayer Mac Games are Dead (Score:1)
Re:In other words, Multiplayer Mac Games are Dead (Score:2, Informative)
Blizzard rocks (Score:1)
I own a Powerbook G4 (latest model), but I don't really game on it, nor did I buy it for that reason. But a company that's willing to support what I consider in general to be a superior OS gets plus marks from me. Windows as an OS pr
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:All Seeing Eye (Score:1)
Of course, that posits that there are such software houses in great quantity that consider the Mac platform a significant market *worth* supporting with time and money.
The value of GameSpy to consumers is a function of the number of other GameSpy users. Do we really believe that eliminating Mac
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:All Seeing Eye (Score:1)
Selling the rights for a flat fee would be criminally stupid on the part of the original developer/publisher or MacSoft's part. There would be some shared reward, more like:
$500,000 up front for the rights,
then $2 per unit for the first 100,000 units,
then $4 per unit for the next 100,000 units,
and $5 per unit for all other units.
Shared profit, mitigated risk.
I'm also sure there's lots and lots of review to ensure that the Mac product/version
Re: (Score:2)
Re:All Seeing Eye (Score:1, Insightful)
Re:All Seeing Eye (Score:3, Insightful)
It has zero to do with programmer competency and everything to do with API choices. If your game is programmatically tied to Windows, odds are it will not be ported.
Personally I think this is a stupid move by developers, but that's just me.
Re:All Seeing Eye (Score:2)
I personally can't stand Gamespy. I REALLY hate games that bundle Gamespy - but it's the free version complete with ads. So I get to watch ads to play the game I spent $50 on.
The problem I can see is if the embedded browsers using Gamespy stop working when it pulls Mac support.
Re:All Seeing Eye (Score:2, Informative)
It's kind of like how MacOS users used to get onto Kazaa and Audiogalaxy. Someone would write a piece of software (your "another tool") that would talk to their servers, then the servers would be modified and you'd lose your connection.
If Gamespy decides it doesn't want Mac users to connect to their servers anymore, then they'll cut the cord just like my example above. They are, in fact, doing just that with their
Re:All Seeing Eye (Score:2)
Re:All Seeing Eye (Score:1)
That was always a problem with games like Quake 3. The Mac patch would be behind the PC patch by a week or so, and you would be out in the cold until the patch came out.
Re:Not To Defy Mac Loving Moderators, but... (Score:2)
Other than that I fundamentally agree with you... This is a place, that Apple could step in, and help significantly....
Re:Not To Defy Mac Loving Moderators, but... (Score:1, Informative)
If by "around 1-2%" you mean "6%", you are correct.
Re:Not To Defy Mac Loving Moderators, but... (Score:3, Insightful)
THIS is where PCs make the good sales: governments and corporations, and neither of those outfits are into gaming.
Hasn't been a decent game since Unreal Tournament anyway...
Re:Not To Defy Mac Loving Moderators, but... (Score:3, Funny)
Five Years Ago called. They want their hype back.
Widespread use of Linux on the home user's desktop was a pipedream which precious few believe anymore.
Re:How dare they... (Score:3, Insightful)
You talk the way you do because you're in the majority. Were fortune to change, you'd feel the way we do.
Re:How dare they... (Score:2)
The knock on effect of stopping Mac support on a game tracker for us is to stop 2 windows users per mac user from playing the game too.
Cross-platform support is a important feature in this kind of networking product. If they drop support for any used platform then the numbers for all the others will suffer too.