If you’re anxious to get your hands on what’s sure to be one of the biggest Mac game hits of the year, then check out Sony Online Entertainment’s Web site. Sony is now accepting applications for Mac users interested in trying out its forthcoming Mac conversion of EverQuest, the massively multiplayer online role-playing game.
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Currently in development for the Macintosh by Westlake Interactive, EverQuest is the enormously popular 3D role playing game in which players experience the game in a shared online environment where they can interact with each other as they go on quests and participate in battles. More than 2,000 players can interact with each other on each server, creating characters from 14 different races and 15 different classes.
Sony announced plans to bring EverQuest to the Macintosh last summer, after the company began supporting “casual” Mac gamers through its the free games available on Sony’s own home-grown online gaming service, Station.com. EverQuest is a subscription-based game that costs a monthly fee in order to play; gamers also have to buy the actual game software itself from retail stores.
Sony pleased many Mac gamers with the news that it would support EverQuest on the Mac, especially since the same core technology that powers EverQuest is used for other premium games hosted on Sony’s Station.com Web site. It’s been hoped that if EverQuest for the Mac does well, it may serve as a springboard for Sony to support other premium online games on the Mac platform in the future.
Some controversy arose after it was determined that the Mac version of EverQuest would be segregated on different servers from its PC counterpart, however, and that existing PC EverQuest characters would not be able to migrate to the new Mac servers once they went into operation. The move was made in order to give Mac gamers an environment more well-stocked with unique treasure and items and less populated with high-level characters that posed risks to neophyte Mac gamers.
System requirements for the EverQuest beta test call for a G3/600MHz or faster, 128MB RAM, Mac OS X 10.2.2 or higher, a 32MB graphics system that supports hardware transform and lighting capabilities, and 2GB of free hard disk space.
Gamers who apply for the beta test will need to fill out a questionnaire. You must also be at least 18 years old and be willing to accept Sony Online Entertainment’s Terms of Service in order to apply. Please visit the Web site for more details. General information about Station.com is also available online.