[Macworld]

Post your comments for Macworld?s 2008 Game Hall of Fame here

[Steve_S]

>Why just four? Because that reflects where the Mac gaming market is at right now—
Good move... You're better over just acknowledging this rather than putting up a list of games that clearly don't belong on any "hall of fame". The state of Mac gaming is sad, especially when you consider the increase in Mac market share in recent years.

[Rhywun]

Here's hoping the balance swings back in the desktop's favor in 2009. I own a bunch of games for my Touch but honestly I haven't spent more than a few minutes playing any single game. There's just nothing as compelling as a good DS or desktop title. Instead we're seeing a flood of games cashing in on the novelty of the platform. That can't last forever.

[Peter Cohen]

Rhywun said:

Here's hoping the balance swings back in the desktop's favor in 2009.

I don't think the pendulum is swinging back in the desktop's favor any time soon, but I do think 2009 will be a better year for Mac games than 2008 was. The first half of the year really sucked for Mac game releases, but it picked up after the mid-year mark. And what makes it interesting is that it's a new generation of Mac game publishers -- folks who have certainly been around for a while, but have largely acted in the periphery of the Mac marketplace up to now.

[Peter Cohen]

Steve_S said:

The state of Mac gaming is sad, especially when you consider the increase in Mac market share in recent years.

No argument, at least as far as the first half of 2008 was concerned. 2008 is finishing stronger than that, however, which gives me optimism about next year. No question that it's a very different market now than it was, however.

[Rhywun]

At least the casual market seems to be getting stronger. These guys seem to be using OpenGL to a greater extent than the big guys, who stick with DirectX and therefore shut out the Mac market. Of course the casual market is flooded with just as much junk as the "hard-core" market, but there are a lot of gems in there, and in my 3 years as a Mac user I'd swear I've seen more of them coming to the Mac lately.

[iollmann]

Rhywun said:

Here's hoping the balance swings back in the desktop's favor in 2009. I own a bunch of games for my Touch but honestly I haven't spent more than a few minutes playing any single game. There's just nothing as compelling as a good DS or desktop title. Instead we're seeing a flood of games cashing in on the novelty of the platform. That can't last forever.

Well considering that the developer SDK has only been around for half a year, and AAA games take at least 9 months to develop (often quite a bit longer) what you are seeing is a collection of games that either could be ported over from other platforms or were simple enough to be written in a short period of time. Quality and depth will pick up. Developers just need time.

[El_Mengi]

Flatout 2 ROCKS! Stable, addictive, and hours of fun.

[aboy]

I got World of Goo by 2DBoy as a Christmas gift. Great game! I haven't seen it reviewed here. You're missing out.

[Peter Cohen]

aboy said:

I got World of Goo by 2DBoy as a Christmas gift. Great game! I haven't seen it reviewed here. You're missing out.

Oh, it's reviewed all right -- we checked it out in December. But the Game Hall of Fame eligibility period runs from November to November. So it'll be on our consideration list for the 2009 GHOF instead.