StarCraft II Mac beta begins,Steam for Mac gets release date

With the iPhone's surprising dominance in the world of mobile gaming, and pending success of the iPad for tablet gaming, developers would be wise to ensure that the gamut of Apple devices are well-equipped to play video games. Two major developers in the gaming industry made announcements today that will bring some of the PC's biggest games to the Macs in the coming weeks.

Blizzard released the beta version of StarCraft II for Mac users today, weeks after the PC beta began. Like the PC's beta, Mac users will require a beta key to get in on the early action. The relative quickness in the release of and the fact that Blizzard is developing a beta for Mac users suggests that Blizzard will probably make good on a simultaneous Mac/PC launch for what may be the year's biggest non-console game.

While it's far from being a same-day launch, Valve's announcement of a May 12 release of the Steam client for Mac computers could be an even bigger milestone for gaming on Apple computers. The extent of Mac compatibility amongst the thousands-strong Steam library is still unknown, but Valve has stressed that it's own games will be on Mac (and multiplayer-compatible with PCs), so Mac gamers will soon be able to play some of the PC's best shooters, including Left 4 Dead 2, Team Fortress 2, Counter-Strike, Portal, and the Half-Life.

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With the iPhone's surprising dominance in the world of mobile gaming, and pending success of the iPad for tablet gaming, developers would be wise to ensure that the gamut of Apple devices are well-equipped to play video games. Two major developers in the gaming industry made announcements today that will bring some of the PC's biggest games to the Macs in the coming weeks.

Blizzard released the beta version of StarCraft II for Mac users today, weeks after the PC beta began. Like the PC's beta, Mac users will require a beta key to get in on the early action. The relative quickness in the release of and the fact that Blizzard is developing a beta for Mac users suggests that Blizzard will probably make good on a simultaneous Mac/PC launch for what may be the year's biggest non-console game.

While it's far from being a same-day launch, Valve's announcement of a May 12 release of the Steam client for Mac computers could be an even bigger milestone for gaming on Apple computers. The extent of Mac compatibility amongst the thousands-strong Steam library is still unknown, but Valve has stressed that it's own games will be on Mac (and multiplayer-compatible with PCs), so Mac gamers will soon be able to play some of the PC's best shooters, including Left 4 Dead 2, Team Fortress 2, Counter-Strike, Portal, and the Half-Life.

Any readers rocking Macs? Which announcement is more up your alley?