iGame Radio

WWDC is THE place for a developer to go to get the information and training she or he needs to make the awesome games we all want to play, right? Well, not if you didn’t get your fingers active enough in the literally THREE MINUTES it took for the show to sell out this year. Have no fear, Appsterdam to the rescue! No, I’ve never heard of them either, but their going to become your next best friend if you don’t have that $1599 ticket to WWDC with the creation of AltWWDC.

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Omaha explains why she isn’t going to Macworld/iWorld this year to cover the Mac/iOS gaming scene…and may not again in the future.

I made a hard decision not to go to Macworld/iWorld this year. Much of it is about working to transition iGame Radio into something better for this year, and I’ve got a lot of work to do this month. Going to Macworld will cut into that.

But unfortunately much of it has to do with my feeling that Macworld really isn’t a place for me to go to cover gaming anymore. In years past, back when Apple still was the centerpiece to the show, there was a giant gaming hub at Macworld. Even despite the fact that Apple really doesn’t support Mac gaming much at all, there were those internal at Apple and many external (developers and publishers) who did.

But over the years, even before Apple left, that hub began to die. After Apple announced it would no longer be showing at Macworld, that pretty much meant the death knell to any kind of gaming hub. For a year or two there was still a central location where many developers and publishers of Mac and iOS games would situate their booths, but even that became less important as many had booths elsewhere in the show or, more likely, didn’t even show up.

Last year I felt, as a journalist, that there was really not much to see. There were a few iOS game developers that had small booths at the Appalooza section, but that was it. No tracks. I tried to get a meetup together and few showed up. This year I counted two game companies in the list (both iOS). I just don’t think that Macworld is a place for covering Mac/iOS gaming anymore.

There are two other important events for me that are happening the same weekend in my area. If I were covering GDC, for example, it would be a no-brainer. But because I feel like I’m not going to be getting much out of Macworld for iGame Radio, if at all, I’d really rather just stay put this year.

Maybe next year…if there isn’t anything else going on. To see my friends.

UPDATE: It looks like the problem is on my end and that perhaps for some technical reason I couldn’t see the information for a while (see comments to the article below). Sad that I would immediately think that Apple would actually remove information from our venue, though.

You won’t know until after you download the game just how much you will probably end up spending.

While in the process of writing an article about microtransactions, I realized that Apple had changed something about iTunes. Specifically, if you look at freemium games (or indeed any apps) on the iTunes Store, you will not find any information at all regarding in-app purchases (IAPs). That info has been removed from each page of each app.

And this wasn’t a change made to iTunes 11, either. I hadn’t yet updated iTunes on my Macbook Pro, and yet that information wasn’t located on iTunes 10.7. And if you do a search through your browser and find the iTunes browser page for the game…nope, not there either. So I can’t tell you exactly when this change occurred.

This really pisses me off. You can see the charge for any paid app. It’s obvious, right there on the page. Of course, you have to pay for the game before you download it. But these IAP lists on the game page have, until now, at least given you an idea of how much you might end up paying should you really get into the game. And a significant number of people pay for those IAPs that they are a real and present cost for them. Heck, IAPs are a major funding source.

By removing this information, these IAPs now become a hidden cost. Why Apple has done this I can’t begin to say. Not only does it make no sense to hide this information from the user, but it’s not hidden in the Mac App Store. So why remove it from the iTunes App Store? Or is this just the first step, and the Mac App Store is next?

This is a real cost that is now hidden from users. By remaining hidden, users can’t really assess how much they might, in the end, pay for that “free” game they are thinking of downloading to their device. And that’s not right.

Hosts Omaha Sternberg and Rob Benson talk about the hardware announced at the October Apple Event and the Steam Black Screen of Doom. Plus, much more!

What’s inside this episode:

• Host Omaha Sternberg and co-host Rob Benson talk about the week’s news in Mac and iOS gaming. First, this week’s Apple Event. Tim Cook waxed on about how great the Apple Retail stores are. No really, he did. Oh, and Phil was allowed to show off new hardware, too. Omaha and Rob talk about whether the new 13 inch Macbook Pro is worth buying to game with, if the 2012 iMac will be this year’s Apple gaming machine, and what impact the new iPad Mini and surprise 4th gen iPad announcement will have on the mobile gaming market. Also, they speculate about the next major iPad announcement…the iPad Pro. Key phrase of the day: “A little bit of Steve Jobs in every one.”
• Valve made every Mac gamer’s life by bringing Steam to the Mac. But what good does it do if you can’t ever see anything? Omaha brings up the Steam Black Screen of Doom. Much talked about on forums, and yet nothing seems to be done about it yet. Valve, you listening?
• GOG.com brought their platform to the Mac this month. Now you too can buy Mac versions of The Witcher 2 and Populus from the same site!
• Plus, much more than you every thought possible!

Music Notes:

• Digital Droo produced our theme music here at iGame Radio.

Hosts Omaha Sternberg and Rob Benson talk about Apple’s new restrictions on 3rd party apps, a publicity stunt gone wrong, and EVE Online’s new expansion, Retribution. Plus, much more!

• Host Omaha Sternberg and co-host Rob Benson talk about the week’s news in Mac and iOS gaming. First, Reverb Publishing really wanted the votes for its Endless Space strategy game to be greenlit onto Steam. But its method for getting those votes backfired. Omaha and Rob talk about what went down, why it didn’t technically violate Steam’s terms of service for Greenlight, and why it was a bad idea anyway.
• Apple updated their ToS at the beginning of October, and included a clause that puts restrictions on 3rd-party apps that promote other apps. Omaha and Rob talk about what the clause will actually mean and further info discovered that may soften the blow. Also, is this just going to come down like all of Apple’s other decisions?
• EVE Online recently announced their 18th free expansion, Retribution. Consistent with the name, Retribution is intended to make sure there are consequences for player decisions…whatever they may be. Omaha and Rob talk about what is in store and the deeper question of the uniqueness of the EVE Online design itself.
• Plus, much more!

Music Notes:

• Digital Droo produced our theme music here at iGame Radio.

If you downloaded a game off the iOS App Store last week between July 3 and July 5, you may have been hit by a nasty bug on Apple’s side that affected over 100 apps. According to this article on Macworld Magazine, the bug ended up corrupting functional, approved app updates, causing apps to immediately crash upon launch. And unfortunately a whole lot of developers received the blame in the form of one-star reviews.
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The WWDC Keynote is over, the black covers have been taken off the banners at the conference, and the Apple Store is back up again. What’s going to be revealed has been, but you forgot to jump onto Twitter and check out the feed, or watch a live blog, right? Never fear, we’ll help you out. With the help of our friends at Macworld Magazine (’cause we didn’t go to the event), here’s your collection of awesome game news from Tim Cook and friends. Summary: you’ll play Diablo 3 in Retina display, a new MacBook Pro that will play anything that any game dev throws at it, Mountain Lion hates desktops.
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Though Microsoft and Sony weren’t showing off any new hardware at E3, and Nintendo’s display was less than satisfactory, Epic Games was eager to give a glimpse of what the newest version of their Unreal Engine series can do. Alan Willard, senior technical artist and designer for Epic, led an impressive demo. Though we weren’t privy to the demo, having not gotten the chance to make it to E3 this year, others who did had a lot to say about it.
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Hosts Omaha Sternberg and Rob Benson talk about everything in the news about Valve, new competition soon to start against Kickstarter, and why game prices still win over tv. Plus, much more!
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Host Omaha Sternberg and co-host Rob Benson talk about the problems with harassment in gaming communities, the Violence in Video Games Labeling Act, and whether the latest iPad really is THAT hot. Plus, much more!
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