by Yves Martin

Remember my neighbor, Jack?
 
Jack still doesn’t have a Macintosh but as he’s my neighbor and a very nice guy, he and I do software shopping on weekends. He’s been very impressed with the recent offerings for the Macintosh, if only some dealers were more willing to carry them.
 
Jack has his favorite place for weekend spending - not really mine given the size of the space they give to Macintosh software. They claim that Mac software isn’t that great of a business.
 
Well, they’ve got to be right, given that their Mac software shelves are tucked at the back-end of the store. They do carry the big names...and an impressive amount of outdated, unsold products that they don’t even bother to send back.
 
They’re also probably saving some extra pennies by not cleaning up the impressive amount of dust on some of these boxes.
 
While Jack was getting all excited in the “other” section, I glanced around the Mac side. I couldn’t find “Rebel Assault II.” Now this was shocking. I had bought the product a week before and this store had most of the other titles from this publisher.
 
I went up to the salesperson and quietly asked:
 
“Do you have Rebel Assault II for the Mac?”
 
The guy looked at me as if I were some kind of eccentric oddity from outer space.
 
“Well, no, I would expect such a thing only in about 6 months, if ever it makes it to the Mac...”
 
I shot back, trying to conceal the anger that was sparking in my throat.
 
“I do believe that I’ve seen it quite recently in other outlets. Could you check on that.”
 
With an increasingly painful look of compassion, he argued:
 
“Look, we don’t sell a lot for the Macintosh - you know - this isn’t really the platform you want for games.”
 
Jack had stopped looking for software. He had found what he wanted and was half-laughing. He had played “Rebel Assault II” on my Macintosh two hours before and knew what I was trying find out.
 
I snapped back:
 
“Look - If I manage to get this software from another store, will you give me the price I paid for it?”
 
Jack jumped in:
 
“Can I throw in my software in that deal? My buddy has sworn to me that it’s out for the Mac, and you don’t seem to have it either.”
 
Jack may not own a Macintosh, but he’s smart. He had picked up “Riddle of Master Lu” for the PC, but I had told him that the product was out for the Mac and looked really good.
 
“Sure. I’ve heard rumors about these products going on the Mac, but I’d be really surprised if we see them before the next MacWorld in August.”
 
As it turns out, there’s a much friendlier (i.e., to Mac owners) software place just a few blocks down the road, and a few minutes later, I was back at the road with both products happily sporting on the boxes delightful words like: “Power Macintosh Native” and “Macintosh CD-ROM.”
 
I’ll spare you the details of what happened next. Needless to say, we aren’t probably welcome in this store anymore. Back in the car, Jack and I were passing by the other shop which incidentally carries both Macintosh and “other” software.
 
“You know, this guy was right - Macintosh business is really bad for him, but it sure is good for those other fellows.”
 
Support the best games platform! Get your local store to stock up software and don’t let them lapse into “Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt” about availability of Games software for the Macintosh!
 
In doing so, you’ll be a big help to publishers and developers alike and will help in bringing even more titles to the Macintosh.

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Yves Martin is the Apple “Home Entertainment Solutions Manager” although he likes to refer to himself as the “Mac Games Crusader.” He welcomes comments, ideas, suggestions at MARTIN.Y@Applelink.Apple.Com