Can I use a software program for a more up-to-date version of OS X than mine, without upgrading my entire computer?

May 7, 2009 3:42 PM

Can I use a software program for a more up-to-date version of OS X than mine, without upgrading my entire computer?

Basically I bought a computer game that they made available only for the newest version of OS X. Is there some way I can get it to play without upgrading anything? Maybe some kind of "emulator"? I wouldn't know where to begin looking, so maybe you guys can help.

posted by world b free to technology (9 comments total)

Nope. There are semi-crazy ways to do this like, yes, emulating an entire system, but that would have horrible performance in any recent game and it'd be a huge headache besides. Also, you'd have to buy a copy of 10.5 to install on it anyway, which I assume is your barrier - if your machine isn't powerful enough to let you install 10.5, you're definitely not going to be able to play a game that requires it.
posted by Tomorrowful at 3:47 PM on May 7

In general, no. If an application requires some specific version of OS X, it's usually because it makes use of some feature (a 'framework', or an 'API') that is only available in that specific version of OS X.
posted by cobra libre at 3:51 PM on May 7

From a purely non-tech standpoint, there's no reason a company would limit possible sales of their game by classifying it as for X only if it ran on Y also. So I'm going to say that I think it's unlikely that you could get it to work.
posted by djgh at 3:57 PM on May 7

No. You could ask the responsible game company if they really need 10.5 and if they don't, they should be building against the 10.4 SDK. But that's probably not gonna happen unless they feel they are losing sales.
posted by chairface at 4:11 PM on May 7

There is a slight possibility that they claim compatibility with a specific version of OSX because that's the only version they tested against. Testing costs a fair amount and adding platforms adds costs. If you can't return it, it would be worth trying anyway.
posted by doctor_negative at 4:47 PM on May 7

What game?
posted by zerokey at 6:10 PM on May 7

It's called The Path--short horror game, got it cheap.

I don't think it'd be worth it to do a whole upgrade on a laptop I don't really use for gaming, just so I can play a ten dollar game.

Thanks for the help, guys!
posted by world b free at 6:31 PM on May 7

the path runs with windows "pretendulation" software from a company called transgaming, I'd avoid it like the plague, personally. But most likely it really requires the newest version of the OS.
posted by TimeDoctor at 12:32 AM on May 8

It won't work, because they are probably using low-level functionality not available in the older operating system. (APIs only available in Leopard, not in Tiger, for example.)
posted by chunking express at 8:04 AM on May 8