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http://www.macnn.com/articles/01/05/02/first."need/

First "Need for Speed" on Mac postponed

updated 04:10 pm EDT, Wed May 2, 2001

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Aspyr Media has announced that Need for Speed: Porsche Unleashed for the Mac, which was under development at Westlake Interactive, has been postponed indefinitely. The company says that the decision was made due to "insurmountable circumstances."

"Currently, the time and resources needed to release a high quality game,within a timely manner, would place serious constraints on all parties," said the company's statement. "At this time, we have exhausted all options and feel that it is more important to move forward. Thanks for your understanding and continued support."

The company's other upcoming titles, including American McGee's Alice, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2, and Tomb Raider: Chronicles (with level editor), remain on schedule.

by MacNN Staff

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05/02, 04:23pm | report spam | close Reply | delete
Damned

I was really looking forward getting a good racing game for Mac.

0

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05/02, 04:30pm | report spam | close Reply | delete
Aspyr!!!!

You Suck!!!!!!

Try hiring some more programmers or something.

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05/02, 04:33pm | report spam | close Reply | delete
Darn

@!@!@!@@!%$%#

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05/02, 04:41pm | report spam | close Reply | delete
rats

I've played this game, it's really awesome. Meanwhile work continues on mediocre games like Alice and they cancel this one? It doesn't make sense, especially since there are NO good racing games and several good 3d action games for the mac.

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05/02, 04:43pm | report spam | close Reply | delete
Very Disappointing...

I say we show Aspyr how we feel by NOT buying anymore Aspyr games. You are the weakest link, goodbye.

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05/02, 04:45pm | report spam | close Reply | delete
Do not fear...yet

Considering the move to OSX, I am not at all surprised a game maker has stepped back to look. They likely have no doubt that OSX will be a great OSX to program for, but until it's out and it's market is stablized (meaning it has been recieived by the masses, not just early adopters) There is no reason to expend resources to make the game.

If they wuss afterwards, then they just suck.

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05/02, 04:45pm | report spam | close Reply | delete
Big whiners.

You guys are a bunch of big whiners. They hired some of the best Mac game porters to work on the game. If they couldn't port it in a timely manner than the code must have serious issues. EA probably has the code tied so closely to Windows that it made porting a nightmare.

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05/02, 05:04pm | report spam | close Reply | delete
Disappointing

I had been looking forward to one of the Need for Speed games on the Mac for more years than I can remember. I am deeply upset that the challenge has proven too great an obstacle for Apsyr/Westlake to overcome. So much for us getting a great racing/driving game. We'll be stuck with mediocre games like "Driver" for the foreseeable future.

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05/02, 05:05pm | report spam | close Reply | delete
Re: Big whiners.

Well then, Aspyr shouldn't have agreed to publish the game...and Westlake shouldn't agreed to do that port. They *do* get to have a chance before they sign the agreement to check out the code to see it it's feasible...don't they?

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05/02, 05:08pm | report spam | close Reply | delete
NFS: Porsche Unleashed

I hate to say it, but yet another reason I sold my soul to the devil and bought a Dell. Half-Life, Tribes 2, Sport Car GT, Nascar 4, Team Fortress Classic, and on and on and on....

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05/02, 05:29pm | report spam | close Reply | delete
Aspyr

Aspyr is one of the best Macintosh programming companies out there. Do not take your own inadequacies out on them. If you want good games, you need to support the company as it grows. They maybe you will get more and more games to come out. It is sort of a Catch-22 in that way, but companies aren't born and games aren't ported overnight. Be patient, and be generous to those who do good things for you.

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05/02, 05:32pm | report spam | close Reply | delete
Re: Re: Big whiners

They may or may not have have a chance to "check out the code" before they signed on. Looking at code is one thing; rewriting it is something else entirely. They may even have seen a particularly nasty bit of programming and though "well, we can rewrite this in any of 6 different ways", then tried them all only to find that none of them quite worked right.

They also might have lost staff to a competitor, maternity/paternity leave, retirement, death, caffeine overdose, etc.

Hiring more programmers is easily said, not easily done. They may have been planning on adding staff in order to accomplish this task, only to find that there aren't enough skilled game programmers (any ol' programmer won't suffice) interesting in coming to work for them.

If you think that this is some big plot by Aspyr and Westlake, you've been watching too many episodes of The X-Files.

Ryan

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05/02, 05:56pm | report spam | close Reply | delete
Adding Staff

The total number of competent GAME programmers in the US is probably numbered only in the hundreds, for all platforms combined. This makes the pool of available Mac game programmers quite small, so the probability of an acceptable candidate being available, willing to relocate, etc. becomes almost vanishingly small. As far as I have read, the iMac did almost nothing to expand the market for "hard core" games, so there have been few resources to expand the talent pool.

Also, experience in software development has long taught that "Adding programmers to a late project merely makes it later."

Consider these before you flame some of the most dedicated people in the business, who probably could be earning quite a lot more money in almost any other programming field - such as the dot coms that go out of business almost daily. They don't OWE you ANYTHING - they do Mac games because they are Mac Gamers.

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05/02, 06:03pm | report spam | close Reply | delete
"postponed?!!"

Why don't these people come out and just say "cancelled?"
It's clear this will never see the light of day.

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05/02, 06:12pm | report spam | close Reply | delete
Damn..

A lot of you folks need to do a little research before you mouth off.. Aspyr is NOT a programming company at all, they are the publisher.

Another bunch seems to have made the assumption that Westlake was presented some nasty code and finally threw up their hands.. something that I find a tad hard to believe.

I think that there's something else going on here.. what I want to know is the REAL story. Absent the truth, the speculation will go on and on... what we MAC folks need is some real reporting here.. not merely the usual parotting of a press release.

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05/02, 06:18pm | report spam | close Reply | delete
Owing something

You've really got to be kidding about all this great stuff that for-profit game companies are supposed to be doing for me. I'll support them exactly when they create or port a game I actually want to play. Need for Speed Porsche was on the to-buy list; American McGee's (who?) Alice, Tony Hawk (who?) Pro Skater, and Tomb Raider Chronicles just aren't (I did buy and enjoy a couple of their other TR ports - 1 and 4 - but enough is enough).

If they were a little more forthcoming about the actual reasons for abandoning the port I'd be a lot more willing to give them a break, frankly. Straightforward honesty is one thing people *will* support. "Insurmountable circumstances" is some kind of vague marketspeak that earns only contempt and erodes customer loyalty.

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05/02, 06:25pm | report spam | close Reply | delete
whatever

This is a shame, but damn, would we really be "showing them" whose boss by not buying any more of their games. I mean, is it really a good idea to bankrupt the only company that brings games to the mac! Madden 2000, Tomb Raider, none of that would be possible without them.

I just hope they can bring more cool EA titles to the mac, and anything else is better than none.

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05/02, 06:30pm | report spam | close Reply | delete
It's just a a game

It sounds like everyone should just chill. After all, it's just a game.

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05/02, 06:49pm | report spam | close Reply | delete
What if...

Games for Mac wouldn't be a problem if Connectix rigged Virtual PC to use a Mac's 3D card natively. That would be quite a programming feat, but then again, so was VirtualPC in the first place. Since most 3D games rely heavily on the 3D cards to begin with, a lot of the work the actual processor does it not anywhere as complex, and could be emulated without much effort.

Everyone cross your fingers for VPC 5.0 for OS X....

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05/02, 07:00pm | report spam | close Reply | delete
arg

I really wanted Need For Speed. The Mac needs a racing game and Driver doesn't count. As for Alice, I've never heard of the company and probably won't buy the game.

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05/02, 07:02pm | report spam | close Reply | delete
sold your soul 4 too much

me, i got a playstation 2, which kicks unholy gaming a**...

plus, don't start this whole "if you can't finish a game, don't start it" bu||S*** i see whenever this happens. look at the MAJOR games that they have and are still porting to the mac.

keep your mouth shut, or they may feel your not worth any of those goodies. :-P

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05/02, 07:33pm | report spam | close Reply | delete
Gaming on Computers

This guy who posted above me has a point. If I wanna play games I'll play 'em on a Playstation 2 or Dreamcast or whatever other console the major players are throwing at the market at the time. Computers are for work, or something. If you want games, spend a little less on a kickass computer system and put that money toward buying a PS2, Dreamcast, or used Playstation. There are more games available, they're better games, and the graphics are far superior to those available on any reasonably-priced computer platform.

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05/02, 07:39pm | report spam | close Reply | delete
Alice Rules

Don't start trashing American McGee's Alice until you have seen it and read reviews of it. I have never played it but after reading TONS of reviews, it seems like a damn good game. The screenshots are fabulous! Can't wait to get my hands on that one....

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05/02, 07:49pm | report spam | close Reply | delete
Aaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrgh!!!

This really tans my hide.

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05/02, 10:10pm | report spam | close Reply | delete
Alice...

Alice was published by EA. You've never heard of EA? They published the Need for Speed series too.

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05/02, 10:13pm | report spam | close Reply | delete
It's been done

I sent this message to Aspyr last Thursday-
I was looking around the web for some sign of life of this game on the Mac platform, and figured I would email you guys because it is not on your project list at all and Westlake still lists it as in "Early development". That seems rather odd considering all the games that were announced at the same time as it are all shipping. Is this project dead?
-W|ll

The game has been dead for quite some time, so I f igured, It is a shame but hopefully we can look forward to future NFS titles. As for my wheel (looks at force-feedback logitech formula force) well...it's just too bad I can't use it in it's full glory.

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05/02, 10:20pm | report spam | close Reply | delete
Tony Hawk

Okay, who ever the guy was tho said Tony Hawk who... I oughta slap you upside the head and call you Susan!!!

Jesus man!! Tony Hawk is only the GOD of the Skateboarding World. He is the only man to EVER Successfully land a 900 on the Half Pipe, AND he did it in competition!

The Man is the worlds Best Skater, THATS who he is.

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05/03, 01:24am | report spam | close Reply | delete
Skating in the real world

Good for him. What does that have to do with a 3D character in a video game, and whether I should buy or play it?

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05/03, 01:40am | report spam | close Reply | delete
FEK!

This was one of the few games on any platform that really had me excited. I sure won't give in and buy a Windows box to play it, though.

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05/03, 01:42am | report spam | close Reply | delete
DAMN!

The reason I wanted this game was simple: Porsche. I am a Porsche fanatic and would have loved to play this game, because getting my 930S RUF out and driving it around makes folks nervous (mainly the police). The saying is true: Porsche: There Is No Substitute. Damn. Now I have to play it on a friend's PC, which means I can't spend all day driving. Not to mention that it looks awful on said PC.

Come on, Aspyr...get a few more coders in there and get it published for Mac. I guarantee you'll have plenty of Mac owners who are also Porsche owners forking over whatever it takes to play it. I hate having to haul my Porsche to the local track just to drive it legally.

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05/03, 07:55am | report spam | close Reply | delete
Buy a PC

Yeah, you heard me. If you are really so much into gaming just go out and plunk down 4 or 5-hundred (don't waste money buying Windows unless it's bundled, get it from a friend). You'll probably be able to use your existing monitor and at least some other peripherals with it.

The economics of game development is that it takes a very big market indeed to support the development costs on many of the titles. Guess which platform rules that out? Deal with it.

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05/03, 07:57am | report spam | close Reply | delete
Re: Buy a PC

Oh yeah, NFS5 is a GREAT game!

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05/03, 01:31pm | report spam | close Reply | delete
Weenie Developer

They are coverning something up, or they would have come right out and said what the problem is...

Nascar Racing for the Mac (By Papyrus) still works, and it has very good physics and decent AI as well...

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05/03, 01:33pm | report spam | close Reply | delete
EA is the problem...

...not Aspyr or Westlake.

More specifically, EA Canada, which makes the NFS games. They refused to release the code for the engine the game was built with (rEAlib or something ike that).

Instead they had one of their own coders port it to a library. It never got past the point of kinda, sorta, almost working, and then they moved the programmer on to another project, effectively killing NFS:P and any other game made with that engine.

So, the programmers at Westlake were stuck with a library that doesn't actually work, and no way to fix it, and Aspyr is out all of the money they've spent so far on NFS:P (including that lovely Boxter that they gave away for a year's lease at AspyrWorld).

So, if you're looking for someone to rag on...at least aim your anger at the right people (EA).

the Mole

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05/03, 01:42pm | report spam | close Reply | delete
RE: Tony Hawk

"Jesus man!! Tony Hawk is only the GOD of the Skateboarding World. He is the only man to EVER Successfully land a 900 on the Half Pipe, AND he did it in competition!"

Ok, who gives a s*** about skateboarding and Tony Hawk ?

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05/03, 01:47pm | report spam | close Reply | delete
EA is the Weenie

Ok, it looks like EA is the weenie, not the other guys. Frankly, that sounds about like EA anyway...

Remember, this is the company that brought us Nascar Revolution

"...not Aspyr or Westlake.

More specifically, EA Canada, which makes the NFS games. They refused to release the code for the engine the game was built with (rEAlib or something ike that).

Instead they had one of their own coders port it to a library. It never got past the point of kinda, sorta, almost working, and then they moved the programmer on to another project, effectively killing NFS:P and any other game made with that engine.

So, the programmers at Westlake were stuck with a library that doesn't actually work, and no way to fix it, and Aspyr is out all of the money they've spent so far on NFS:P (including that lovely Boxter that they gave away for a year's lease at AspyrWorld).

So, if you're looking for someone to rag on...at least aim your anger at the right people (EA).

the Mole"

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05/03, 02:28pm | report spam | close Reply | delete
ea.com

Anyone tried logging onto EAs main website from a mac lately?

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05/03, 02:48pm | report spam | close Reply | delete
Tony Hawk

Doesn't matter what you think of Tony Hawk or skateboarding, because it was a successful game on a number of platforms. That's why it was ported to mac, not because Hawk is the "God of skateboarding" and landed a 900.

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05/03, 08:55pm | report spam | close Reply | delete
Re: ea.com

And while your Mac can't log onto EA's website, EA's website has no trouble placing a cookie on your Mac.

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05/03, 09:10pm | report spam | close Reply | delete
Dumbasses

Ever stop to think it could have been that it could EA's fault or that Westlake and Aspyr already have resources stretched? If you don't like it, start programming. There aren't many Mac programmers. Then you too can enjoy trying to port a title.

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05/04, 09:42pm | report spam | close Reply | delete
LOL

Still sore? I'm going to play some more games on my Dell. I loved my Imac, but I finally realized there is more to computing than "quirky", "original gui", and "ease of use" that only gets you so far, like internet browsing and using quicken. One word... Boring!!!!

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First "Need for Speed" on Mac postponed

updated 04:10 pm EDT, Wed May 2, 2001

Related Articles

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Damned

Aspyr!!!!

Darn

rats

Very Disappointing...

Do not fear...yet

Big whiners.

Disappointing

Re: Big whiners.

NFS: Porsche Unleashed

Aspyr

Re: Re: Big whiners

Adding Staff

"postponed?!!"

Damn..

Owing something

whatever

It's just a a game

What if...

arg

sold your soul 4 too much

Gaming on Computers

Alice Rules

Aaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrgh!!!

Alice...

It's been done

Tony Hawk

Skating in the real world

FEK!

DAMN!

Buy a PC

Re: Buy a PC

Weenie Developer

EA is the problem...

RE: Tony Hawk

EA is the Weenie

ea.com

Tony Hawk

Re: ea.com

Dumbasses

LOL

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