We don't have any new details on what the Mac App Store is actually going to be like, but as of this morning, we at least know when it's going to be here. On January 6th the Mac App Store goes live, and we've already heard from a few developers that they're seeing their Mac App Store submissions approved and ready to go in iTunes Connect. We're still not sure how the Mac App Store is going to pan out from a gaming perspective, but we've heard from a number of big-name developers that they plan on investing substantial development resources both in bringing their existing popular iOS titles over, as well as potentially developing new titles.
We plan on doing previews of some great Mac App Store games that we've heard of closer to launch. If you're a Mac user, the 6th is going to be an exciting (and likely, expensive) day.
When Steve Jobs announced last month that the Mac would be getting its own App Store, we saw quite a few current iOS developers confirm that they would be bringing their iPhone and iPad products to the Mac. One of those products will be Majic Jungle Software's Chopper 2 [$4.99], a universal side-scrolling helicopter combat and rescue game that was released back in July and has since been quite successful.
We really enjoyed Chopper 2in our full review, and while the gameplay itself is a lot of fun, we also found the array of options for displaying and playing the game to be rather intriguing. Chopper 2 comes equipped with the ability to remotely control the game running on an iPad, iPhone 4 or 4th generation iPod touch over Bluetooth or WiFi using another iOS device. We demonstrated this feature back in April with a video showing Chopper 2 being played on an iPad using an iPhone as the remote. Additionally, Chopper 2 uses the video out function of newer iOS devices to allow the game to be displayed on a larger screen while being controlled with an iPhone or iPod touch, as we posted about later that month showing the game running on a 42β plasma (or this video of it running on a 50β screen, if you're a "size matters" kind of person).
Now, with the impending Mac App Store release of Chopper 2, these features are once again being utilized. Developer David Frampton of Majic Jungle has shot a brief video in his ultra-high tech secret underground testing facility that shows the Mac version of Chopper 2 being controlled with an iPhone.
Also, while the original Chopper 2 is already quite visually pleasing, the Mac edition will benefit from enhanced graphics over its iOS siblings. These two comparison shots show the differences between the two versions (iPad screen on left, Mac on right. Click to enlarge):
Even though TouchArcade is primarily an iOS gaming site, we are also really excited to see what the new Mac App Store will bring to the table. The innovations included with Chopper 2 really tie together gaming on the Apple family of devices, and it will be really interesting to see what kinds of other things developers will think of in the future. We've created a new Upcoming Mac App Store Games section in our forums where you can get the scoop on what games will be coming to the Mac App Store, which should be launching sometime in the next couple of months.
One of the big announcements last week from Apple was the announcement of a Mac App Store -- coming soon to both Snow Leopard and Mac OS X Lion (due in 2011).
Now we realize that not all of our readers are Mac users, but the announcement definitely makes waves in both the iOS and Mac communities. The App Store model has been a huge success with both developers and users. Users enjoy a centralized repository of apps that provide a seemingly endless stream of cool new toys. Meanwhile, developers are able to leverage the massive App Store audience to sell their goods and (hopefully) make a living.
Applying that model to the Mac seems like a natural extension. We've heard both users and developers reacting favorably and cautiously about the new system. We're not entirely sure the type of apps that will gain the most steam on this newly created ecosystem, but I do think that many iOS apps will find their to the Mac.
Firemint has already announced that Flight Control HD will be Mac-bound soon:
It's hard to say how Flight Control will fare using (we presume to be) mouse controls. But, Apple's invested heavily in laptop and desktop multi-touch pads which open up some really interesting possibilities.
Illusion Labs demoed this Multi-touch MacBook version of Touch Grind months ago, well before the launch of the Mac App Store.
We hope they'll dust off this code and see what they can do for the Mac App Store.
