TransGaming — the company behind Cider, a virtualization product that enables Windows games to run on Intel-based Macs without having Windows installed — announced Thursday an agreement with Macrovision to bring its SafeDisc copy protection technology to Mac OS X.
TransGaming’s Cider engine is based on its work with Cedega, a similar technology aimed at Linux users. TransGaming promises the technology enables Windows-based software to run on the Mac without needing to be recoded or recompiled first. The first major game to be announced that uses Cider is Freeverse Software’s forthcoming release of Heroes of Might & Magic V.
SafeDisc is Macrovision’s copy protection software aimed at publishers. Macrovision claims SafeDisc prevents users from burning copies of software or emulating disc images.
Citing the gaming industry’s figure of $3 billion per year in revenue lost to piracy, TransGaming CEO Vikas Gupta said that SafeDisc’s presence on the Mac should help to provide “a strong incentive and confidence for publishers to target the Mac platform.”