Guide to Buying Games Online by Jeff Wescott So you have a Macintosh. Chances are you didn't buy it just to play games but come on, we all like games. If you have gone down the aisles of the popular consumer electronics stores looking for Mac games, and seen nothing, or at best very little — welcome to the really real world. You are not alone. Accept the fact that you will have do a little digging to find quality Mac games at good prices. Or just read this story. Listed below you will find everything from Mac-only game vendors to businesses that play both sides of the fence. Have questions about availability, what's hot and how long it will take to ship to your location? Read on. A common thread is that the best place to get games these days is on the Internet. Mac-O-Rama With the recent surge of interest in Mac games, the production and purchase thereof, more and more vendors are offering what you — the Mac user — are looking for. Compared to that was available only a short time ago as to what's out there for you now, the change is refreshing, even encouraging. Starting with a pioneer in Mac game providers, Mac-O-Rama observed its first anniversary as a Mac-only game retailer. In the month of August, 1999, the business will celebrate their anniversary by offering random prizes and double and triple "Macbucks." Be sure to also take advantage of the every-day offering of Macbucks, where you get credit towards your next purchase based on how much you spend buying their stuff. Within the next month, an all-new website will be launched with a very user-friendly search engine where you can enter your system specifications and be shown what games your Mac can handle. "Business is very good," said Michelle Lindsay, Mac-O-Rama's sales and marketing manager. "We are very excited and very happy to be here and growing." According to Lindsay, Mac-O-Rama began as an effort to inform Mac users as to where games could be found, but not to actually sell them. When they found themselves overwhelmed with purchase inquiries, Mac-O-Rama merrily marched down the path of the entrepreneur. Lindsay credits the spike in Mac games sales to the onslaught of the iMac, a more price-friendly version of the Mac. "We have noticed more of our customers are iMac owners," Lindsay said. "We are getting more first-timers than hardcore gamers." The hottest titles for Mac-O-Rama at present are Bugdom by Pangea ($35), Id's Quake II ($40) and Brood War, the Starcraft expansion pack from Blizzard Entertainment ($29). Lindsay said highly-anticipated releases include Sim City 3000, Madden 2000 football and Unreal Tournament. Last but not least, Mac-O-Rama places a heavy emphasis on customer service. When you call their toll-free number you will be greeted with a real-life person on the other end. As a Mac-O-Rama customer, you have several shipping options. Standard shipping is U.S. Postal Priority Mail, at a cost of $4.75 per order up to three pounds, the game will arrive at your location within the week. Private carriers (UPS, FedEx) will get it there faster but at a higher cost. For overseas buyers, Mac-O-Rama uses AirMail ($7-$8) and Global Priority ($17). In the near future, Mac-O-Rama will use FedEx as its exclusive carrier. Interactive Mac And in the other corner of the Mac-only ring we have Interactive Mac. This operation began in the spring of 1997 as an Internet-only game vendor. "Like any for-profit business, the reason for starting Interactive Mac was economically-driven," co-founder Sonny Yoon said. "However, it was important to us that we chose a business we could both take an interest in. We had many ideas but sine we are both longtime fans of Apple and the Mac, we decided to pursue the Mac games market." The business used to be named iMac, but that had to change with the release of the iMac computer. Yoon said Interactive Mac serves only Mac users because there was a void there waiting to be filled. "The reason for choosing the Mac market over say, the PC or console market was twofold: it was at the time a market not well-served by retailers (traditional and Internet) and it was a market small enough for us to get noticed and even make an impact without having to raise a tremendous amount of capital," Yoon said. Yoon notes changes in the Mac gaming market are slow now but gaining momentum. "We believe the collective efforts of Apple, game developers/publishers and resellers such as ourselves will bear fruit and impact this market much more dramatically over the coming year," Yoon said. Hot titles Interactive Mac is moving a lot of at present include Brood War, Sid Meier's Civilization II Gold Edition, and Falcon 4.0. Anticipated big-sellers include Star Wars: Pod Racer by Lucas Arts, Madden 2000 Football and Logicware's port, Quake III. If you decide to buy from Interactive Mac, your shipping options are as follows: Priority Mail ($4.50 and up), UPS Ground ($6 flat rate) and Airborne Express Next Day ($7 and up). Note that Interactive Mac often offers free Priority Mail shipping on selected products and discounted UPS Ground and Airborne rates. For international customers, UPS Ground will go to Canada (rates vary) and so will U.S. Mail ($7 and up). If you are buying from overseas, shipping via Airborne and UPS Express (rates emailed to the customer) is available. These days, more and more PC game outlets are offering Mac game titles as well. Those interviewed for this article all agreed that the Mac market is growing enough to be addressed by any serious business. Outpost.com If you have seen the outrageous TV commercials involving gerbil-cannons, then you know of Outpost.com, formerly known as Cyberian Outpost. The site, located at http://www.outpost.com, offers a strong selection of Mac, PC and console software, hardware and accessories. It is also one of the relatively few locations where one can buy a Macintosh computer system. According to OutPost.com's public relations man, Mike Tesaro, the business actually has its early roots with the Mac community. "Our CEO and founder, Darryl Peck, originally owned Inline Software, which sold Mac game and utility software," Tesaro said. Peck, who also served as the president (1989-90) of the New York City Mac Users Group, sold Inline Software and began his present venture. Besides selection, OutPost.com has another offering that sets it apart from the rest. Can you say, free domestic shipping — every day, forever? "We have our True Price Policy," Tesaro said. "What you see is what you get." Not only is the shipping free, but it's also overnight. A customer can order as late as midnight Eastern time and get the product the next day. The shipping is handled by Airborne Express, but hey, if it's free and overnight, who cares who does it? Noah Garden, Outpost's software department head, attributes much of the operation's success to "Our strong relationship with Apple and the Macintosh community. "It's why we did so well so early," Garden said. "We have a strong online presence and a strong Mac presence." Tesaro also raised a very interesting point that should be encouraging to all Mac gamers. Only the best of the best games are released to the Mac platform. "When you think about it, only the best, and best-selling games get ported to the Mac," he said. According to Garden, the hottest titles at present are Sim City 3000, Quake II and Starcraft Brood War. An admitted "hardcore gamer," Garden said titles he can't wait for are Bioware's Baldur's Gate and the hot flight-sim Fly! GameDealer.com Another game provider that caters to all persuasions of gamers is GameDealer.com. Based in New York, the operation has been offering games online since 1997. "When we first launched, we generated a lot of Mac sales," said GameDealer Vice-President Mark Daniels. "At the time, we were one of the few online stores that catered to the Mac." Daniels said that since the release of the iMac, sales are up and more game developers are expressing interest in the Mac platform. The default method of shipping for GameDealer is Priority Mail ($4) which will bring the game to your doorstep in three to five days. There is also FedEx Two-Day ($7) and FedEx Overnight ($14.95). For overseas customers, there is DHL and World Express, both at a cost of $27 and with a five to seven day delivery time. For slightly less, there is DHL WorldMail, which runs $15 and has a delivery time of two to three weeks. Approximately 20 percent of GameDealer's business comes from overseas, Daniels said. "Overseas there is a lack of availability and higher prices," Daniels said. Another interesting point is that in countries like Great Britain, some games face censorship for graphic content (hey, most games have graphic content!). Consequently, many Euro-customers turn to U.S. vendors for the "uncut" games. Daniels said a hot title with British customers right now is the U.S. version of Carmageddon. Beyond.com For yet another place to get the latest and greatest in Mac game titles, surf on over to Beyond.Com. While a standard keyword sweep on your favorite search engine might not immediately turn this site up, you won't be disappointed in its wide selection of Mac titles. Beyond began way back in 1994 (that's 35 years ago in computer years) above a barber shop in Menlo Park, Calif. Since then, the business has gone public (trades under BYND on the NASDAQ exchange) and now offers more than 48,000 software titles with 6,600 available for immediate download. At the risk of spotting a trend, a Beyond public relations spokesperson in a recent interview attributed Beyond's increased offering for the Mac gamers to the popularity of the iMac system. For domestic shipping, Beyond will send UPS Ground ($4.95 flat fee) in 3-5 business days, by FedEx Second Day ($9.95 for first product and $5 each additional) and FedEx Overnight ($16.95 first product and $5 each additional). For international orders they will ship $24.95 for the first product and $5 each additional. If you are a Mac user in Africa, Bangladesh, Central or South America, Eastern Europe, India or Pakistan then it's $34.95 for the first product and $5 each additional. Beyond.com does have a disclaimer on their website stating they will not ship to certain countries, due to political or economic instability. Tariffs or customs may affect shipping prices. InteractCD Another vendor worth checking out is InteractCD, located on the web at http://www.interactcd.com. The operation is a small retail front in Pasadena, Calif., that has a big presence on the web. According to owner Dave Sparks, the business began five years ago with a Mac section proudly displayed right alongside their PC wares. "From the outset we have always had a Mac section," Sparks said. "Primarily, we saw it as an important sector of the market that many other retailers ignored." Sparks noted that many of his competitors at the time of his business' founding were "notoriously non-Mac friendly," which drove InteractCD to pursue the Mac customer even more. InteractCD has a strong appeal for the software bargain-hunters out there. They sell both new and used games. Their site has a comprehensive section with lots of details about products and shipping information. If you are a California customer, they ship UPS Ground for $3 to $4 with a delivery time of one or two days. Next day air is $15. For Alaska and Hawaii, you can get Priority Mail for $3.20 (non-guaranteed) with a delivery time of three to five days; UPS Two-Day for $15 and UPS Next Day Air for $25. For all other U.S. states there is Priority Mail (again, it's not guaranteed so don't ask for a tracking number), Two-Day Guaranteed for $9 and Next Day Guaranteed for $15. U.S. territories have less options, with only U.S. Priority (non-guaranteed) for $3.20. Policies vary according to what continent you are on for overseas shipping, so check out their site. Special promotions do pop up which may offer free shipping in certain cases. MacTreasures Last but not least, let's not forget about the vintage Mac users out there. So what if you don't have the latest G3 or even a PowerMac? Even if you still use your trusty old Quadra or Macintosh LCIII, you can still get some good titles at MacTreasures. This site offers some new titles but specializes in older games for less powerful systems. If you have given up searching for that classic game, then let the folks at MacTreasures do it for you! According to MacTreasures founder Carole Holcomb, her site's special offering addressed the needs of Mac users who are even more hard up than most — those who use older systems. "Through my association with Apple and Macintosh software companies over the years I was very aware that there were thousands of really cool products out there that most consumers had never heard of," Holcomb said. "Many of these are products created by small companies that often do not have the dollars to spend on marketing or to place their products on retail shelves, although there are some pretty large companies that do not 'do' retail. There also has been a misnomer on the part of the customer that there are very few software titles available for the Apple market. This is based on what they see when they go to purchase Macintosh software at a store. And if they have an older computer? They will not find titles for their old computer at a major computer store, ever!" MacTreasures also carries hybrid CDs, so there are some PC clients served. What sets this site apart is its offering a search service, much like some bookstores will hunt down those out-of-print novels. So, all the Mac Plus users out there who don't have a CD-ROM drive but still want to play should look this site up. MacTreasures has a simple shipping policy: $6 for regular shipping and $15 for "expedited." A variety of carriers are used, such as UPS and FedEx. International shipping is done at actual cost, and MacTreasures will work out an individual plan with each overseas customer to find the lowest rates. Let's Shop You will find better prices and a better selection at the online stores. Off-the-shelf retailers and mail-order companies generally have a reduced selection at higher prices. For example, at Best Buy, one of the few storefront operations that has a (very small) Mac software section, games like Age of Empires and Civilization II Gold Edition both were marked at $49 and some change. Compared to prices found on the web, that's a markup of $5 to $10. If you still have doubts as to whether there is an actual Renaissance in the Mac game market, just take a look at all the Mac gaming news sites, the home pages of your favorite developers and even coverage of Apple's new gaming attitude at the last Macworld Expo. One has to look no further than the latest configurations of the G3 towers and iMac, with their high-speed CD-ROM drives and potent graphics accelerators, to know that these machines are built to game (yes, game is a verb!). Prices and offerings vary at each site out there on the web, but the important thing to remember is that it is out there. And if current trends hold true, things will only get better from here.