Apple Demonstrates The GeForce3, Mac OS X Optimized Quake III At E3 (With Pics)

Although the shipping delay of the Mac GeForce3 is getting embarrassingly long, it seems Apple could find enough of the cards to run Quake III: Arena on more than a dozen PowerMac G4s.

The new build of Quake III, not yet released, has been optimized for nVIDIAis new card, and is also fully carbonized. The game was running beautifully. With all options except for some wall details turned on, running at maximum resolution, the game had sustained play of over 60 frames per second. We played (and lost badly) in a short intranet tournament against some other convention-goers, and can report that weive never seen the game look better.

Apple didnit send any of their public relations people out to this conference, only members of their developer relations staff. As a result, we were unable to get any comment (even the official "no comment") on when the GeForce3 will become available.

Apple is also showing off pre-release builds (some carbonized, some not) of Tony Hawkis Pro Skater, Alice, and Balduris Gate.

Owners of Quake III: Arena can expect to see this new, GeForce3-optimized build of the game soon, but it looks like theyill still have to wait to get the card. Stay tuned for more news from the show floor.