Mac gamers have long been puzzled by the fact that Disney has been less than friendly to the Mac OS in the past; after all, one of their premier content partners is Pixar, a company founded and run by Apple iCEO Steve Jobs. However, as their new lineup just announced at E3 reveals, the tide is indeed turning in our favor. A total of eight Mac-compatible games are on the way, designed to appeal to a broad audience of fans and take advantage of Disney's huge base of content.

The first of the titles to be announced ties into Pixar's next film release, due this fall. There are also tie-in titles for Who Wants To Be a Millionaire and other classic Disney content, as well as edutainment and creativity titles. Here are excerpts from the press release on several of the titles:

"Disney/Pixar's Monsters, Inc." -- Based on the upcoming feature film from Disney and Pixar, the complete line of interactive games includes a variety of titles for the PC, as well as games for PlayStation 2, PlayStation, GameBoy Advance and GameBoy Color systems. For fun and quirky gameplay, "Disney/Pixar's Monsters, Inc. `Wreck' Room Arcade" games (PC CD-ROM) let players join the Monsters, Inc. gang in the "Wreck" room, the place where monsters relax after a long day at the scream factory. Kids ages eight to 13 can hang out with their favorite monsters as they play crazy versions of four classic arcade games, each featuring a different monster. Priced at $9.99 each, when players collect all four, they unlock a fifth game for free! Kids ages four to eight can also join in the fun with "Disney/Pixar's Monsters, Inc. Junior Game" on CD-ROM for PC and Macintosh. All PC and Mac titles launch Oct. 31.

"Who Wants To Be A Millionaire -- Third Edition and Kids Edition" -- Try to win one million "virtual" dollars with the best seller that's back with two new editions: "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire CD ROM - Third Edition" and "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire CD ROM - Kids Edition." Both feature show host and ABC television personality Regis Philbin, those legendary lifelines and scores of new questions. The Third Edition includes bonus question sets that can be downloaded for free from the Internet, while The Kids Edition features hundreds of questions on topics like boy bands, pop divas, cartoons, extreme sports, and movies -- the Millionaire game you gotta be a kid to win! "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire - Third Edition" is available May 22 for PC, Macintosh and PlayStation game console. The Kids Edition launches in September for PC and Macintosh platforms.

"Disney's Magic Artist Deluxe" -- Available for PC and Macintosh, "Disney's Magic Artist Deluxe" brings art to life with the next great leap in Disney's Magic Artist line of interactive creativity products that tap into the artist in everyone. Through a combination of advanced technology, creative design and, of course, Disney magic, "Disney's Magic Artist Deluxe" has a whole new look and feel, which lets users express themselves through amazing art tools, crazy effects, new functionality and updated content. With a broad range of art tools for drawing, painting, sketching, editing and more, kids and families can create drawings, animate them and e-mail them to friends. "Disney's Magic Artist Deluxe" is specially designed to connect with all future Disney's Magic Artist titles, increasing the number of art tools and compatibility with each CD-ROM, as users download new tools and create works of art online using DMA On-line. They can even scan in photos and decorate them. There are limitless opportunities for imaginative fun and creativity. The title is available in September.

Disney Interactive

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