So Thursday's the day that Apple makes its big pitch to the game developers of the world at E3, the largest electronic entertainment expo showcasing the latest and greatest game hardware and software in existence. According to MacWEEK, they are expected to focus on showing off the iMac, the Aquafresh-colored, beautifully-rounded consumer Mac that's already been compared to the new Volkswagen Beetle too many times to count. "Lookee here," we expect Apple to say, "we're gonna sell a ton of these things, and the Mac game market is much less crowded than the PC one, so if you get in now and release something awesome, there's a good chance you can rule the roost. The families that buy these iMacs are going to want to buy games for them; there's gold in them thar hills."

That Apple is present at E3 at all is fantastic news. They must feel a little lost, given that they haven't attended in years. The key to winning back market share in the consumer space is by encouraging the development of cool games. Of course, the key to attracting games developers is by having lots of market share; Apple hopes to attract a few early entrants by showing the potential increase in market share the iMac represents. And if that's not enough incentive, Apple might mention that GT Interactive reports that sales of their Mac consumer software rose over 100% in the first quarter.

We're just hoping that the inability to upgrade the iMac with popular 3D gaming cards like the TechWorks Power3D or the ATI XClaim VR doesn't make the game developers walk away shaking their heads. If Apple really intends to lure Windows game programmers to the Mac side of the Force, it's going to be a tough sell if those programmers can't depend on the graphics improvements and speed boost given by a 3Dfx VooDoo processor, for instance. Still, we're expecting to hear that the iMac is just the first in a line of consumer-targeted Macs, intended primarily to increase Apple's market share and mind share; we've still got our fingers crossed for an iMac-looking variant of the Power Mac G3 All-in-one, the more pedestrian-looking big brother of the iMac which is currently only available in the education sector. At $1499, the current AIO is only $200 more than an iMac, and comes with PCI slots, a floppy drive, and a full complement of Mac ports. With a few tweaks (like adding USB), that could become the gMac that games developers might really drool over. (For some reason, we envision translucent red plastics instead of blue ones. Perhaps we've been playing too much Myth: The Fallen Lords.)