Apple has announced the beginning of registration for WWDC, where developers from around the world explore first-hand the next generation of technology innovations from Apple. The Worldwide Developers Conference 2003 will be held from May 19-23 in San Jose, California.

Attendees will be able to find out what direction Apple plans to take Mac OS X in the coming months and what new technology innovations the company has developed. WWDC is a unique opportunity to meet fellow developers and benefit from the rapidly-growing Mac OS X community, to network and learn the things you can only learn talking face-to-face with your peers and Apple?s technical architects and engineers.

For information on WWDC and how to save $300 on registration, head over to the Apple WWDC web site by following the link below.

WWDC

Inside Mac Games has posted a review of Aspyr's Nascar Racing 2002. If there is one sport which exemplifies American racing, it's NASCAR. Aspyr's NASCAR Racing 2002 Season features realistic models of every powerful car, as well as all 23 tracks in the circuit. Fans are sure to flock to the game, but will it draw those new to the racing scene?

Here's a clip from the review:

NASCAR Racing 2002 Season tries to make it easy for those brand-new to the sport to get a handle how things work. Included in the game are a number of tutorials which cover all of the basics concerning rules, pitting, drafting, and even terminology. While these are unfortunately non-interactive videos, they do give you a good basis from which to start. Also included are overview videos of each of the 23 tracks used by NASCAR, running down the history of the track along with the best strategy for winning. These are narrated by NASCAR legend Darrell Waltrip, who does a nice job with the voice-overs.

IMG Review: NASCAR Racing 2002

Aspyr Media

Westlake Interactive

Nascar Racing 2002

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Infogrames' Nate Birkholz recently posted in MacGamer's forum with some interesting tidbits regarding the upcoming version of Master of Orion III. In his post, Birkholz confirms that the Mac version of Master of Orion III will use GameSpy as its in-game multiplayer browser, allowing Mac gamers to play cross-platform Internet games with PC users. In addition, Brikholz also said that there are currently no plans for a demo of Master of Orion III. He did, however, offer up the latest system requirements for the game:

350MHz or faster G3/G4 Processor

128MB RAM (256MB recommended)

OS 9.1 or OSX v10.1.5 or higher

Monitor with support for 800 X 600 at Thousands of Colors

400 MB Hard Drive space

MacSoft

Quicksilver Software

Master of Orion III

MacGamer Forum Thread

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USB Overdrive X, an all-purpose tweaking tool for USB control devices, has recently been updated to version 10.2.1. The update brings with it the much-desired gamepad support that has been a sticking point with OS X ever since its introduction.

This version supports multiple USB devices simultaneously, and allows users to tweak commands, sensitivity, and speeds at their discretion. It also allows for either global or application-specific settings, which should be particularly useful to gamers that tailor-tweak their mice or joysticks for specific games.

This particular update requires OS 10.2 or higher to run. Those interested in downloading it can find it at the official USB Overdrive site. Updated versions for both OS 9 and OS 10.1 will be available soon.

As to why this particular update was so long in coming, one need only go to Alessandro Levi Montalcini's USB Overdrive page and see the pictures of his newborn baby (and brand-new OS X user) to know the reason.

USB Overdrive

Contraband Entertainment, porter of such titles as Sin, F.A.K.K. 2 and Icewind Dale, in an attempt to show the gaming public more of what goes into making a computer game, has released a few pre-production art sketches from its crew.

While a quick update, the sketches feature a variety of creatures straight from the artists at Contraband, presumably from future projects like the upcoming scare/action title Abducted. Grab the link below, and click the concept art news item on their home page.

Contraband Concept Art

Contraband Entertainment

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British gaming web site boomtown.net recently posted an in-depth preview Wolfpack Studio's long-awaited Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game, Shadowbane.

The preview details in great length the gameplay experience and sheds some light on the changes the game has gone through over its four year development cycle:

It started about four years ago, when a group of young hopeful Americans decided that they wanted to make an online game. This lead to the founding of the company called Wolfpack. Quite possibly none of them realised just what they were getting themselves into. Making a MMORPG is no small feat; a fact which Wolfpack has been faced with several times, with multiple delays on the beta, and release time.

Originally the game was called Carnage... The name change from Carnage to Shadowbane is very symbolic for the big changes that the game has undergone through the years it has been under development: Shadowbane has gone from being a small graphical MUD, to being a huge and complex MMORPG. The main focus of this game is Guild vs. Guild conflict. This includes everything from politics to downright physical fighting in game.

Boomtown.net: Shadowbane Preview

Ubisoft

Wolfpack Studios

Shadowbane

Delta Tao has released another update to their popular space-strategy game, Spaceward Ho! The turn-based strategy game of galactic exploration, resource management, and conquest was one of the first networkable Mac games, making its debut in 1990. Over the years, the game's unique sense of humor and its balance of exploration and low-maintenance resource management has earned Spaceward Ho! a much-loved place in the hearts of Mac gamers.

The new update includes a number of bug fixes and updates:

Fix crash clicking on close box in lobby window.

Sort gravity in explored stars by relative value to player (not ascending).

Address some issues with client/server sync issues (which *may* have lead to crashes).

By default, sort games by newest to oldest in games browser.

Start network games giving players bonus time.

Fix startup window and new local game coming up at the same time bug.

Supernovas take about twice as long to blow now and may not.

Fix bug where computers sometimes thought certain planets were "safe."

Slight modfication in the battle abilities of decoy ships.

Delta Tao

Click to enlarge

The Sims, the best-selling game of all-time turns three this month. When it was released, The Sims quickly skyrocketed to the top of the charts when it shipped to stores in February of 2000. Since then it has remained a top seller in every major market worldwide.

EA President and COO John Riccitiello had this to say about The Sims' phenomenal success:

Three years ago, no one believed that a videogame about people and social interaction, without shooting, driving or what passes for action, could be published successfully. Today this game, The Sims, has evolved to become the world's most successful PC game and a global multi-platform success. The Sims' incredible appeal among teens and young adults, and especially among female players, has broken all the old established rules about videogames.

The Sims franchise has shipped over 24 million units, including more than eight million units of the core product, The Sims.

Since the launch in 2000, The Sims franchise has spawned five expansion packs and a deluxe, console, and online version. The Sims has been translated into more than 17 languages and is sold worldwide.

An estimated 60 percent of The Sims players are female, most of them young teens.

According to The NPD Group, The Sims base product was the number one selling PC game in 2000, 2001, and 2002.

The Sims franchise games held five of the top ten spots on the 2002 best-selling PC games in North America chart, released by The NPD Group.

The Sims and all of its expansion packs have been ported to the Mac by Westlake Interactive and published on the Mac by Aspyr Media.

Aspyr Media

Maxis

Westlake Interactive

The Sims

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