Apologies if this has already been posted - bargain for Mac owners

http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/neverwinter-nights-2/id465155410?mt=12&ign-mpt=uo%3D4&affId=1018132

edit: I meant NWN but can't edit the title.

Almost thought it was an error when I saw it on gamersgate. Doubt they would do the same mistake on two different sites.

pretty cool, reminds me of when AOE3 was on the GFWL marketplace 95% off

Anyone knows for how long this will last?

Doesn't this have horrible DRM?

The MAS (Mac App Store) doesn't have any worse DRM than Steam; it's actually marginally more permissive, as you can copy at-will apps purchased by simple drag-and-drop between Macs that you authorize (you don't necessarily have to go through the MAS client to reinstall apps). The only thing is that you can only run it on a Mac that's been authorized through the MAS client.

The big problem though is the lack of demos on the MAS, and the lack of any upgrade path for people who have non-MAS versions of apps or games.

Anyway - I'd love to jump on this deal for NWN2; the problem of course is that I don't have a Mac with nearly enough oomph to run this. Blech.

I didn't say the Mac App store had it. The game, I remember seeing someone mention this on the Gaming Deals thread a few days back.

http://www.gog.com/en/forum/general/gaming_deals_thread/post24087

It's the Mac App Store version - so it should be iTunes DRM as rampancy described and I'm pretty sure Apple doesn't let 3rd party DRM on MAS - that is 95% off ... :)

However, I had no idea that GameAgent DRM was that bad ... good info to have! Thankfully the only game I have using that DRM is a freebie!

Aspyr's GameAgent is God awful - not only do they have limit activations, but they also have limited download allotments for your apps!

I think what really got me was a story way back when someone tried to buy COD4 from GameAgent. His activation got borked, and as a result he was locked out of his game. He tried to go to Aspyr support, who then foisted him on to DigitalRiver's support...who then foisted him on Aspyr.

Long, long ago, Aspyr was one of the best companies for Mac games. Now, I wouldn't touch their releases with a 10 ft. pole, because I don't like buying games off of the MAS, and I utterly detest GameAgent. No lie, all of the games I buy are from indies and GOG...

I clicked on the link thinking they somehow sold NWN2 on iOS. I leave disappointed.

Well there go my excuses. I guess it's time to try out that NWN2 Zork mod I've had my eye on.

That's pretty much true for me as too (HiB and GOG are the majority of my bought games now too) :) - though I do have a few games from the MAS, two of them Aspyr ports. Thankfully they should be MAS DRM rather than GameAgent.

The only GameAgent DRM games I have are Monkey Island ... and actually NWN2 I've realized, but both of those were freebies from the MacUpdate Bundle and there they gave me the full disk image for each - so I should be safe on the download front, but I imagine they still have the activation limit on the CD-key ... as I said ... thankfully freebies!

That's sad to hear about how Aspyr has changed - they've done some classic and great ports - but it's a good thing there are now other big players (though still not as big as Aspyr) in the port game, VP and Feral. I've had good experience with both of them - though VP games oddly sometimes still come with bad DRM (though they did ameliorate the DRM in the case I had as well as completely revamp the port and their support was good about letting me migrate). Feral has good support and seems to be very active with communicating with users about support issues and mods, etc ... The two games I have from them - both just require a CD check.

Honestly though DRM on Mac games seems like such a waste of time ... if people are going to pirate, they're going to pirate the PC version which much of the time still comes out sooner (often much sooner) and has more games from which to pirate. I can't imagine piracy rates on the Mac are that bad, but I guess I don't have any numbers to support that assertion.

Of the big-name publishers/porting houses for AAA Mac games (does anyone remember MacPlay circa-2001, who used Mumbo Jumbo and NeXT old-timers The Omni Group for porting? They brought AvP, Sacrifice, Giants: Citizen Kabuto, and NOLF/NOLF2 to the Mac...ah the memories) - Feral's the only company left who really cares when it comes to Mac gaming. They actually try to create native ports, without insane DRM like Aspyr.

If you really need proof about just how much they care, one of their higher-ups has been working on, and just released, a public beta for an Intel version of Oni that's fully compatible with the 2010 Anniversary Edition mods.

Yeah MacPlay in the early 90s was crappy, bad ports, but when it was revitalized in the late 90s & early 00s, they did some really good work. I've only got a couple of games to VP and only one of those came with insanely bad DRM (didn't know it at the time), but in fairness they then did a true native port of the game and put less insanely bad DRM (though still not great IMO) and let me migrate over to the new port and DRM system for free with just a CD-key check. Support was helpful and fast. The other game I have from them seems like it's just got a CD-check, I don't know why the discrepancy.

But yes, Feral is definitely the better of the two. I've been impressed with their support and lack of DRM, native porting, and just in general their people going above and beyond - e.g. an employee helped migrate a mod for Rome: Total War to the Mac. I still have yet to try Europa Barbarorum, but it's awesome that I have the option!

Any difference between buying this through GamersGate and the Mac App Store?

I guess I'll ask if NWN 2 is worth picking up anyway. Yeah, it's only 99¢ now, but still.

So the MAS's DRM is not as odorous as the Aspyr default DRM which is probably what you would get on GamersGate.

As for the quality of the game, I couldn't say as I haven't played it myself. My understanding is that the single campaign is at best okay, but it is a great modding platform. But that's what I've heard from other sources and not my own experience.