The newest version of Mac OS X, Mountain Lion, has just gone live on the Mac AppStore. This new update, priced at just £13.99 in the UK, brings several little changes but the most pertinent to our interests is the addition of Game Center. For the first time, the gamer’s social hub makes the leap from iOS devices to larger systems but, by all accounts, it’s quite a basic implementation.
Users of iOS will be used to the fairly simplified approach Apple took to their gaming friends and leaderboards system. Mac Users will now also be able to make use of Game Center’s friend system, leader boards and game matching. It’s all presented like a casino table, as Apple’s attachment to skeuomorphism continues.
Unfortunately, the current systems in Game Center are still very basic. You won’t be able to see what friends are currently playing, for example. As far as we know, it doesn’t sync to iOS versions of the system, either. That seems odd, given the prevalence of iCloud in all of Apple’s current strategy.
Hopefully this is just an early attempt at Game Center and we can hope to see wider systems implemented for those Mac AppStore games you’ve all been buying. In the meantime, don’t forget that there’s plenty on Steam that’s now Mac compatible!
Mike
Downloading it now :)
Bodachi
Or you could just play games on the PC.
Peter Chapman
haha, not if you don’t have a PC!
It’ll be interesting to see how embedded the Live stuff is in Windows 8 when it launches too though.
MrTwP
Downloading now! :)
TSBonyman
Skeumorphism – a new word for an old way of looking at things.. :/
ron_mcphatty
Wow, I didn’t realise how reasonably priced the Mac OS updates were, I always thought they were like Windows prices. How often do they come out? I guess they are a bit more lovingly prepared and caringly presented than Windows Updates?
‘A new update is available, Security Update 4,563,971,326,58, fixes foreign crims taking all of your moneys and other minor security issues.’
Mike
Apple seem to be moving to an annual update cycle with a very tempting price tag. Lion was £20.99 with Mountain Lion costing £13.99 this year. I’m using it now and it seems to be very smooth and aesthetically pleasing.
ron_mcphatty
Thats very decent then! I was so tempted last month to flog my old Windows laptop and try to get a Mac, but then I tried using one… It was an eye opening 6 hours, I’m definitely too old for change now.
Mike
Whenever I tried a Mac in the Apple Store I really didn’t like it but decided to make the jump eventually.
I agree it’s definitely a steep learning curve but once you have set up all of your settings just the way you like it, OS X is a pleasure to use.
iAvernus
Game’s Center… suuuure. The few games Mac have…I wish devs would make more games for Mac, or just port it over. Airline Tycoon 2 for example >.>
MrTwP
Theirs loads of mac games, the only real ones that are missing are fallout and oblivion.
colmshan1990
If I were to get a Macbook Pro (bit expensive right now, but I’d love one down the line), I’d dualboot it with whatever the latest Windows is at the time.
Get the best of both worlds. I’d need a big hard drive to take full advantage of both though.
KillaScorp
If you wanted to do that, get Parrells Desktop. Great Software that lets you flick between Mac and Windows without rebooting. If for example you are in Mac and get an email that will only open in windows, it will automatically switch to it to open, plus you can remote desktop it on your iphone.
KillaScorp
oops, that should have been Parallels Desktop. Its early!