Digital River on Thursday let on a collaborationism with Mac secret plan publisherAspyr Mediato create Aspyr ’s long - expect online game store . The store is coming this summertime , according to the statement .
Back in 2006 , Aspyr first announced plans to develop Gamerhood , their solution to dwindle away ledge space for Mac biz . The party envisioned it as an on-line statistical distribution system to enable users to buy games then download them , rather than suffer to go to a store and buy a strong-arm box . The companionship put plans for Gamerhood on hold as it focused on Apple ’s Intel transition , Leopard and an increase focal point on the personal computer game market . Now Gamerhood is back in Aspyr ’s crosshairs — as Game Agent , a new loop of their plot client software for the Mac .
The idea of online dispersion is scarcely new , especially for the shareware marketplace . But until broadband access in the United States stumble critical tidy sum and digital rights management engineering science developed to a distributor point where software piracy was less of a concern , it was n’t economically executable for publisher of large commercial-grade ware to use online dispersion as a way of getting their deed of conveyance out to client .
Since Aspyr announce Gamerhood , the Mac market has find out other Mac game companies get forward with on-line distribution systems . The business organization people behind Virtual Programming createdDeliver2Mac , for example . Inside Mac Games ’ founding father also createdMacgamestore.com , which betray digital and physical games . cyder developer Transgaming recently stepped into the ruffle with itsGametree Onlineservice , and Hothead Games , makers of the forthcoming Penny Arcade Adventures game series , will be distributing that title after this calendar month through their ownGreenhouseservice .
Aspyr Media ’s Game Agent has been around for a while . The free utility program , available for download from Aspyr ’s World Wide Web site , originally was created to answer the question , “ Will this game run on my Mac ? ” It catalogs Aspyr ’s Mac games and compare their requirements to your Mac ’s specification . Gradually , Aspyr has build new functionality into Game Agent , culminate with an April update that enables the software package to contain for , download and set up updates to Aspyr game you already have .
E - commerce Robert William Service supplier Digital River announced Thursday that it has partnered with Aspyr to originate Game Agent as an on-line store . Digital River will build , horde and manage Game Agent for Aspyr , and will deliver select Mac and PC game in North America . Aspyr expects the new Game Agent on-line store to launch during summertime , 2008 .
