If you're anything like us, you realize what a conundrum it is (or, maybe, was) to be both a big games fan and a Mac user. In general, the age-old claim that there's "no software for the Mac" is pretty weak; we've certainly never had any trouble finding software that does what we need it to do. When it comes to games, though, we've got to admit-- there's a lot more variety on the Windows side of the fence. Worse still, the "big" games often take months or even years to be ported to the Mac, assuming they make it here at all. But of course ever since the iMac debuted (and a stretch before), Apple's been making big strides in persuading developers that Macintosh development is worth their while. We've been reaping the early benefits of that push for a while, now, what with Tomb Raider and Unreal on the shelves. And the best is still to come; LucasArts has returned to our happy platform by committing to a Mac version of the upcoming Star Wars: Episode I Racer, and John Carmack has pulled a 180° and announced that Quake II and Quake 3: Arena will both make it to the Macintosh soon.

And the good news just keeps on coming! MacAddict just posted some exclusive tidings. First of all, Aspyr Media will be doing their part to fight the long-standing dearth of sports games for the Mac by porting Electronic Arts' Madden NFL 2000. Expect it to surface this September-- at the same time as the PC version. Ahhh, simultaneous release... gotta love it. And that's just the tip of the iceberg. Sierra, historically not a big Mac supporter, has not only announced that Half-Life is being ported, but they've also committed to simultaneous Windows and Macintosh releases for all future titles. Lastly, Blizzard has announced that Diablo II will be released for the Macintosh "a few months after the PC version," though, as gamers who heard them say that about StarCraft, we're not holding our breath. Still, it's great to hear, nonetheless.

We've long suspected that the Gistics study which showed Mac users being more productive than Wintel users was due in large part to the disparity in entertainment software selection. Now that we Mac folk are starting to get access to a wider variety of time-wasting, brain-rotting, how-did-it-get-to-be-3-o'clock-in-the-freakin'-morning titles, we're expecting the platform productivity average to go straight down the crapper. Which, of course, suits us just fine. Happy fragging.