Four New Electronic Arts iPod Games Coming, Ms. Pac-Man Demo

[MacRumors]

http://www.macrumors.com/images/macrumorsthreadlogo.gif (http://www.macrumors.com)

Electronic Arts (http://www.ea.com/) publicly revealed today that they would be publishing 4 new games for the iPod this year. An exact list of games was not provided, but Sims Bowling was listed as one of the upcoming titles for the iPod.

EA currently publishes 5 games (Mini Golf, Mahjong, Royal Solitaire, Tetris, and Sodoku) for the iPod and are presently sold through Apple's iTunes store. EA has also been said to be in discussion (http://www.macrumors.com/2007/02/09/iphone-games-in-the-works-from-3rd-party-developers/) for upcoming iPhone games as well.

Meanwhile, Apple is now offering a free demo version of Ms. Pac-Mac (iTunes) (http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewGame?id=252895764&s=143441). Apple previously offered (http://www.macrumors.com/2007/02/01/free-vortex-ipod-game-demo/) a free demo of Vortex for a limited time.

[mackensteff]

Cool!

[miketcool]

With a $169 PSP, keep those games a rolling.

[Curtis72]

With a $169 PSP, keep those games a rolling.

PSP...What? :rolleyes:

I just don't get it... why mentioned the "Sony" product in a post about future iPod games?

What is the freaking point?

Here is the problem... the iPod isn't a gaming device. It is multimedia player with gaming functionality as "bonus, nice to have" feature. The PSP is a multimedia gaming device.

And from the look at the screenshoot of Sims Bowling, that game was specficially designed for the iPod's scroll wheel. It looks great.

But I only have a iPod Nano and 3rd generation iPod, so I haven't or will buy any iPod games.

[dartzorichalcos]

With a $169 PSP, keep those games a rolling.

Perhaps the 6G iPod would be like a PSP. It would be nice if Apple turned the iPod into a portable gaming machine.

[Nermal]

When trying to follow the Pacman demo link, I get "We could not complete your iTunes Store request. An unknown error occurred (5002). There was an error in the iTunes Store. Please try again later." Is anyone else getting this?

[kwood]

When trying to follow the Pacman demo link, I get "We could not complete your iTunes Store request. An unknown error occurred (5002). There was an error in the iTunes Store. Please try again later." Is anyone else getting this?

I had the exact same problem...but didn't take the time to troubleshoot it.:p

[Darkroom]

i wish we could download these and play them as widgits optionally...

[StrictlyCircus]

I know this is MacRumors and all, but are we getting a bit obsessed when we slip on Ms. Pac-Man, calling it instead Ms. Pac-Mac? (see title of post)

[redAPPLE]

I know this is MacRumors and all, but are we getting a bit obsessed when we slip on Ms. Pac-Man, calling it instead Ms. Pac-Mac? (see title of post)

good eyes ;)

[Cindynjgirl79]

so i tried the Ms.Pac-Man demo. i judt don't like the feel of the click wheel with the game.

[Megabyte]

you are still locked out of iPod games.

Why can't they have an alternative distribution channel for the rest of us :mad: whom :apple: deem should not have access to a music store in our country yet sell iPods here by the million?

[eluyten]

When trying to follow the Pacman demo link, I get "We could not complete your iTunes Store request. An unknown error occurred (5002). There was an error in the iTunes Store. Please try again later." Is anyone else getting this?

I have the same problem. This seems to be related with account you are using.
My account is only valid in Belgium. If I logout and use the link I works but I'm not allowed to download the free demo unless I have a valid account for the US iTunes store.
When I use my Belgian account I get the error message. If I check the iPod games directly there is no free demo offer for the Pac-Man game.
No free offers for us in Europe :(

[yagran]

woo what a great bit of news this was...PAGE 2 surely :(

i guess this gets posted to page 1 just to fill in this low news year...

[japanime]

I know this is MacRumors and all, but are we getting a bit obsessed when we slip on Ms. Pac-Man, calling it instead Ms. Pac-Mac? (see title of post)

The OP also called it "Sodoku" rather than "Sudoku."

Somebody needs a proofreader...

[jerrybrace]

Looking forward to the new games. I've put off getting a 5th gen iPod far too long and got one last week. The games are better than I thought - Mini Golf is probably the favorite right now.

[kwood]

I know this is MacRumors and all, but are we getting a bit obsessed when we slip on Ms. Pac-Man, calling it instead Ms. Pac-Mac? (see title of post)

Oh...I thought they were serious about Ms. Pac-Mac. As in Ms. Pac-Mac goes around eating apples, then eating Apple ]['s so she could eat the little Microsoft Ghosts.

I can dream can't I?

[johnmcboston]

The games are better than I thought - Mini Golf is probably the favorite right now.

Do they really work that well? I've contemplated Mahjong but worried that the click wheel is so sensitive I would keep missing tiles - and that's if my eyes didn't sear holes in my head trying to identify the tiles on the tiny screen. :-)

[yzp]

indeed that is coool...

however, i dont get the point of having games on your iPod??

iPods are amazing jukebox, get a NDS or a PSP if ud like to play?


things that make everything, make nothing good........

[frenchy]

Oh...I thought they were serious about Ms. Pac-Mac. As in Ms. Pac-Mac goes around eating apples, then eating Apple ]['s so she could eat the little Microsoft Ghosts.

I can dream can't I?

Reminds me of that old IBM Bash game I had on my Mac Plus where you had to destroy IBM icons with an :apple:-shaped mouse. That was fun considering the games that were available on Mac at that time.

[yzp]

But I only have a 3rd generation iPod, so I haven't or will buy any iPod games.


my point, its cool but wont make you buy!

My 3rd gen still works perfect...... I changed the battery once, and I'll change it until it will have no more space-disk......

[aLoC]

It is *so* cool that Apple are spending their time writing "Ms. Pac Man" while all the Macs are out of date and OS X is running late.

[mcallmeback]

http://www.nemogenia.com/2007/02/mac-apple-support-cannot-help.html

[andresprado]

Does anybody knows if EA will make someday FIFA for mac?

[SiliconAddict]

Again don't care. The iPod's wheel really is sub optimal for playing games. It like gaming on a phone. You can do it but gah... Last time I tried it I got hand cramps. What I would like to see is a wide screen iPod that flip on it long end and there is an add-on sleeve. Yes that defeats the ability of having a spir of the moment gaming session which is what having games on small devices is all about but it saves people's hands.

[SiliconAddict]

It is *so* cool that Apple are spending their time writing "Ms. Pac Man" while all the Macs are out of date and OS X is running late.

:rolleyes: Out of date depends on your point of view. The pro line is up to date. The iMac is still pretty dang spiffy. The laptop line is getting long in the tooth however its still pretty up to date with the C2D's. My guess is they are trying to get the LED displays to ship with the SR based Macbook Pros.
Leopard. Don't give a crap since it will be done when its done, and I'm in no hurry to upgrade to an OS that has had this many issues. Finally since this is an EA game how do you know its Apple who is writing it?

[spinko]

wake me when there is some real news.

[kwood]

wake me when there is some real news.

Hilton is going to Jail. Is that news enough?

http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=302124 :confused: :confused:

[Maccus Aurelius]

Again don't care. The iPod's wheel really is sub optimal for playing games. It like gaming on a phone. You can do it but gah... Last time I tried it I got hand cramps. What I would like to see is a wide screen iPod that flip on it long end and there is an add-on sleeve. Yes that defeats the ability of having a spir of the moment gaming session which is what having games on small devices is all about but it saves people's hands.

This is particularly true of Pac-Man, but I was surprised how well the clickwheel fared with Tetris. I actually like the feel of the clickwheel for Tetris more than the original gameboy I first got addicted to it on.

[Zzzoom]

Am I the only one who hates the addition of the { digg } button to the articles? :mad:

[Switched2aMac]

Do they really work that well? I've contemplated Mahjong but worried that the click wheel is so sensitive I would keep missing tiles - and that's if my eyes didn't sear holes in my head trying to identify the tiles on the tiny screen. :-)

I bought Mahjong when it first came out and I too had the same thought but it works pretty well IMHO. It does take a little while to get used to though.

[MvdM]

What about an interface for playing these games with your steering wheel :eek: ?

[Buschmaster]

Am I the only one who hates the addition of the { digg } button to the articles? :mad:
Probably the only one, at least to make a deal about it.


I think EA is making the games so nobody should probably fuss over Pac-Man being the result of OS X being late.

Also, even if it were a result... More people have iPods than have Macs, correct? So wouldn't they be better off trying to pump up funds from that market if they could?

But I don't even think this is the case, so nobody should lose sleep over it.

[Eric5h5]

i wish we could download these and play them as widgits optionally...

That would require Apple to develop an iPod emulator for OS X and Windows. Which isn't going to happen.

It is *so* cool that Apple are spending their time writing "Ms. Pac Man" while all the Macs are out of date and OS X is running late.

You realize that the existance or lack thereof of Ms. Pac Man (or any other games) for the iPod has no bearing whatsoever on Macs or OS X, and doesn't affect the timeframe for a new hardware refresh or OS release by so much as a single second, yes? I demand a refund for the 10,582 brain cells you just killed by making me read that comment.

--Eric

[Object-X]

And how about iPhone games? Even the iPod is rumored to be getting a touch screen. What sort of game would work well with a multi-touch interface? Certainly not PacMan.

Me wonders if some clever people will figure out how to use the touch screen for an entertaining game. I don't think anyone really thinks of the iPod/iPhone as a gaming platform, but if they can come up with some good games that use it's specialized input they might be on to something.

[kuebby]

Does anyone actually play iPod games? Every one I've tried the scroll wheel is to sensitive. Even with included games like brick I always miss the ball when I scroll too far left or right.

They should put out more thinking games like Sodoku. The iPod would be great for crossword puzzle game or something like that.

[Maccus Aurelius]

I only play tetris. I find pacman to be a waste since the controls are mind-numblingly frustrating.

[LimeiBook86]

The demo is pretty fun, it's free so I can't complain. There is a little tutorial on how to use the click-wheel to play before you play the game which I thought was a nice touch. You are allowed to play the first level of the game and you can choose your difficulty, after which it will bring you back to the menu screen after telling you to visit the iTunes store for the new version.

I bought the original Pac-Man game on iTunes, this one is fun but, I don't think I'll be buying this anytime soon unless I get a gift card or something. ;) :D

[djbrickhouse]

Perhaps the 6G iPod would be like a PSP. It would be nice if Apple turned the iPod into a portable gaming machine.

I compeletely disagree.

If you look through the "Inside Apple Industrial Design" article /thread, you will see that Apple's success has come from keeping things simple and keeping features out.

[twoodcc]

sounds good to me. keep the games coming :)

[pnyc]

Not bad, but these are nothing great.