But wait! Thats not all! Three other titles have been promised but have yet to be announced. Holy smokini jelly beans, batman! Could this be true?
Balduris Gate was only just recently released on the Macintosh and is getting rave reviews by everyone in the Macintosh gaming media, and BG2 on the PC is receiving the same treatment. Balduris Gate 2 is a Role Playing Game (RPG) that puts you in control of a small group of up to 6 characters based on the Advanced Dungeons and Dragonis set of rules. You walk through breathtaking landscapes and battle hideous beasts and mages as you follow multiple quests towards the final completion of the game. Riddled with subquests, and built on an updated version of the engine that powered Balduris Gate, this game is sure to scratch the itch.
Icewind Dale is built on the same engine, but focusi more on pure combat than Balduris Gate or Balduris Gate 2is epic overland quests. Set in the frozen wastes of the Northern Forgotten Realm, your party must journey deep into the Spine of the World Mountains and defeat an ancient evil who threatens to unleash unspeakable horror upon the lands. This announcement is fantastic news for those of us commited to the Macintosh as our gaming platform of choice. Here is the official press release:
Interplay Entertainment Corp. (NASDAQ:IPLY), announced today the exclusive, worldwide licensing of the MacPlay trademark and MacPlay.com domain to United Developers, LLC, of Dallas, Texas. The new MacPlay, a subsidiary of United Developers, also gains rights to publish five of Interplayxs premium titles for the Macintosh platform, including the award winning role-playing games Icewind Dale(tm) and Balduris Gate II: Shadows of Amn(tm), which have cumulatively sold more than a million copies worldwide.Founded in the early nineties as the dedicated Macintosh division of Interplay, the MacPlay label set revolutionary quality standards for Macintosh games. This commitment to excellence quickly propelled the MacPlay brand to the top of the sales charts. The new MacPlay is headed by Ron Dimant, also CEO of Ritual Entertainment, who brings together a team with extensive experience in the development, marketing, sales, and support of Macintosh games. MacPlay provides a turnkey solution for developers and publishers to bring premium content to the Macintosh platform.
MacPlay intends to debut three Macintosh titles this holiday season, and to release Icewind Dale(tm) and Balduris Gate II: Shadows of Amn(tm) early next year. The five Interplay properties and other as yet unannounced third party titles position MacPlay to play a prominent role in the Macintosh gaming community. MacPlay?s progressive strategy will make many popular computer games available to Mac users, and also promote greater collaboration within the Mac development and publishing community. MacPlay also intends to assert its technological leadership by providing full support for forthcoming Apple technologies such as QuickTime(tm) 5, the industry-leading software for creating, streaming and playing high-quality audio and video over the Internet, and Mac OS(tm) X, Appleis next-generation operating system.
?The MacPlay name is legendary in the Macintosh community. No word better defines the concept of Macintosh entertainment than MacPlayx? said Dimant. ?iMac is arguably the most compelling home entertainment appliance in existence. Everything is primed for MacPlay to be the industry leader.?
The MacPlay Web site has not yet been updated with this new information, and in fact, the press releases on the site stop in 1998. Look for an updated site soon.