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Apple Offers Huge Prizes For Video Game Ports

Oculus Habent writes "In an attempt to increase Apple's market share in the home sector, Steve Jobs announced today that he would personally fund prizes for ports of popular gaming titles to the Macintosh platform. Citing the common complaint of lack of game availability for Mac OS X, Jobs suggests that work in this area could seriously improve Macintosh acceptance. Said Jobs, "We've got incredible, stylish computers and an insanely great operating system. The Mac mini made has a huge impact, but it is only the tip of the iceberg." Prizes include Steve's yearly salary for the first ten ports, and twice that amount for "hot new titles" with a simultaneous release." Update: 04/02 18:02 GMT by Z : April 1st hoax story.

14 of 81 comments (clear)

  1. Plausible? by numbski · · Score: 3, Funny

    Yes.

    Likely? No.

    I'm sitting on top of a first post opportunity with nothing to say. Wow.

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    Karma: Chameleon (mostly due to the fact that you come and go).

  2. Ahh April 1st! by BlueFashoo · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Are there going to be any real posts today?

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    Nice Marmot
    1. Re:Ahh April 1st! by hunterx11 · · Score: 4, Funny

      Why should today be any different than the rest of the year?

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      English is easier said than done.
  3. prime stake by hunterx11 · · Score: 5, Funny

    This one is almost believable. If they want to make an April Fools joke, they should post a story: "Slashdot Institutes New System to Prevent Dupes."

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    English is easier said than done.
    1. Re:prime stake by FidelCatsro · · Score: 2, Funny

      it would only work if they posted it twice

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      The only things certain in war are Propaganda and Death. You can never be sure which is which though
  4. Stop the insanity by Drunken_Jackass · · Score: 2, Interesting

    $1 to the first editor that stops posting April Fools articles. One i can handle, all of them is rediculous...again.

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    There are 01 types of people in this world. Those that understand binary, and me.
  5. I'm on it. right now.... by AtariAmarok · · Score: 4, Funny
    I've got a screwdriver and am removing the joystick and power adaptor ports from my old Sega Genesis right now. I wonder if old Gameboy link adaptors count as "game ports" for this contest?

    I have no idea what they will do with all these millions of ports everyone will mail them. I suppose we will get some sort of iMac in the future bristling with all kinds of game control ports.

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    Don't blame Durga. I voted for Centauri.
  6. Steve's yearly salary is 1$ by acomj · · Score: 2, Informative

    Really.. The rest is just options...

  7. If by AtariAmarok · · Score: 2, Insightful
    "Steve's yearly salary is 1$"

    Since "$1" is pronounced "one dollar", is "1$" pronounced "dollar one"?

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    Don't blame Durga. I voted for Centauri.
  8. Enemy Territory by Captain+Splendid · · Score: 2, Informative
    In happier (and non-fooling) news, Enemy Territory, my favorite free online game, just released a Mac version, which you can find here.

    Anybody wishing help playing the game or finding decent servers to play on are more than welcome to contact me. My friends and I love this game and are always willing to help new blood.

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    Linux, you magnificent bastard, I read the fucking manual!
  9. Come on people by Ghetto_D · · Score: 5, Informative
    I'm willing to offer Jobs' salary to anyone that posts an actually funny April Fools joke.

    links to examples:
    http://www.google.com/googlegulp/
    http://homestarrunner.com/
    http://www.thinkgeek.com/stuff/41/icopulate.shtml

  10. Cryin' Shame by kniLnamiJ-neB · · Score: 2, Insightful

    You know, Apple really OUGHT to do this. I was a Mac fanboy for a long time, until all my friends started playing Windows games that weren't released on the Mac or were released 8 months later, when nobody I knew played them any more. Sure it's a stupid April Fools' joke, but if they actually DID this it might be the smartest thing they've done since ITunes.

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    Windows isn't the answer... it's the question. NO is the answer!
  11. this seems like an appropriate time to observe... by liveevil · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Even though it may mean a huge increase in market share, I don't think Apple will ever want their computers to be known as "good gaming platforms".

    Mac = time spent "productivly"

    Windows = playing video games, downloading pr0n

    Of course the two are not completely mutually exclusive, you can be productive on Windows and waste time on a Mac, but this is the general path of their evolution.

    Windows evolution = appeal to the masses, give them what they want, get huge market share

    Apple evolution = damn the popularity race and bottom line and stick to a specific vision, a vision of what computers can and should be in our lives

    Of course I know you can get A LOT of good work done in Windows. It's just that, by windows trying to be a "jack of all trades" and Apple being more focused in one direction, I see Macs being used more and more for the things their focused on, and Windows being used more and more for the other things, the non-productive but fun things we all generally waste too much time on but couldn't live without.

    I think Steve Jobs is great for letting his vision be his guide, but yet we're seeing Apple also be a bit more practical lately, by introducing low price-point macs (MacMini) and other marketing tactics (marketing/price/cost manipulation with the ipods) in order to increase the market share and bottom line. This is also a good thing, to find a balance between ideology and practical concerns, but in the end to keep the balance from tipping too far one way, I think they'll maintain the Mac image as a sophisticated computer for those who, at least sometimes, are serious about getting some actual work done, and they will continue to shy away from trying to be a big gaming platform.

    So those of you thinking "man if I could just play all my cool l33t new games on Mac it would be perfect, I could totally switch!"... I think you should forget it. If you want gaming keep a pc or a console to go along with your Mac because that's not what a Mac is or will ever be about.

    As a disclaimer, I'm a total Quake 3 Arena junkie and I'm not putting down gamers at all with this. ;-D

  12. Photoshop by IntergalacticWalrus · · Score: 2, Funny

    We at Adobe are waiting for our check.