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City of Heroes Open Beta is Imminent, Says NCsoft

City of Heroes to join WoW and EVE Online as a Mac-compatible MMO

Dec 5, 2008 11:56 GMT  ·  By
City of Heroes artwork
   City of Heroes artwork

A deal struck by NCsoft, renowned MMO publisher, and TransGaming (the folks behind GameTree Online) will have Mac users join a battle of good versus evil in the most popular comic book MMO available on PC and Mac, City of Heroes. NCsoft says that open beta testing for the Mac version of City of Heroes is imminent, according to an update from the publisher.

The fact that City of Heroes will join World of Warcraft and EVE Online as an MMO game playable on Apple computers is also noted by NCsoft (via Eurogamer), offering Mac users and fans of the franchise a page where they can apply for the Mac beta.

Copies of City of Heroes for Mac will be sold as a Special Edition Digital Download only from the PlayNC online store. It is unclear whether TransGaming is bringing its contribution to the distribution of the game. The “Special Edition digital product” copy of City of Heroes will include the complete City of Heroes and City of Villains games, all the free updates, some exclusive items, and a subscription-free month of play, according to the news source.

“Players will soon be able to join the battle of good versus evil in the most popular comic book MMO on both the PC and Mac platforms…and in the same game world,” said Brian Clayton, executive producer of City of Heroes for NCsoft West, in light of signing the deal with TransGaming. “Given the Mac’s fame as a platform for creative people and City of Heroes’ unprecedented character customisation options, I think City of Heroes is a perfect fit for the Mac gaming community.”

NCsoft was able to port City of Heroes to the Mac thanks to TransGaming's Cider Portability Engine, which acted as a “wrapper” around the game software, enabling it to run seamlessly on Intel-based Macs. TransGaming hopes to provide new content to the Mac gaming community, “quickly and efficiently,” using its Cider technology to port games, but also thanks to its GameTree Online portal for digital distribution. Cider has become the industry standard for Mac gaming, while it is planning to release new titles “regularly,” using GameTree Online. TransGaming is also aiming to establish a strong position in the market, as the leader in Mac games digital distribution.

City of Heroes is rated “16+.” For more information about City of Heroes see the game's official website here.