TransGaming's Cider... Gaming for Intel Macs

InsideMacGames reports on TransGaming's announcement of a software portability engine called Cider.

Cider allows video game developers to deploy their Windows-based titles to Apple's new Intel-based Macs quickly and easily without the need for "traditional" porting.

According to the press release, this portability engine could allow publishers to release to both Windows and Mac simultaneously, ending the long delays that Mac users have come to expect with gaming titles.

With Cider, game developers and publishers can easily extend their triple A portfolio to Intel Mac without any effort or delay which means that avid Mac gamers will have access to triple A video games coincidental with the Windows release

Cider requires no changes to the original source code. Instead, Cider actually loads the Windows-based game and links them to a set of optimized Win32 APIs. The process is similar to how WINE/CrossOver works allowing users to run Windows applications under Mac OS X without emulation.

These games, of course, would not run on PowerPC Macs, and could have consequences with Mac-focused developer companies which have provided porting services in the past.