Installing games

[rlchiman]

have older games would like to install on my Mac book but when I try I keep getting a upgrade note, is there a way to install

 

[Slydude]

We need to know a bit more information before we can accurately answer that question:

What games are you trying to install? Include the version number if you know them.
What Mac are you using?
What version of macOS is installed?

If you aren't sure what Mac you have and what version of macOS is installed, go to the Apple menu in the upper left corner of the screen and choose "About This Mac." The next screen will show your macOS version and Mac model.

Newer versions of macOS do not support older 32-bit apps, which may be part of the issue.

 

[rlchiman]

We need to know a bit more information before we can accurately answer that question:

What games are you trying to install? Include the version number if you know them.
What Mac are you using?
What version of macOS is installed?

If you aren't sure what Mac you have and what version of macOS is installed, go to the Apple menu in the upper left corner of the screen and choose "About This Mac." The next screen will show your macOS version and Mac model.

Newer versions of macOS do not support older 32-bit apps, which may be part of the issue.

they are older games but there must be a way using different versions of OS or another way,

 

[rlchiman]

then there must be a way to install and play older games

 

[Raz0rEdge]

How about answering the questions asked of you in Post #2 above first?

 

[Slydude]

then there must be a way to install and play older games

There may be ways to install the games but we won't be able to tell you what might work without knowing the answer to the questions I asked.

 

[rlchiman]

ok I am trying to install pirates original version , and first version of settlers 7 both for Mac , on a Mac book air with Catalina installed

 

[Rod]

Both of the games you mentioned are 32bit games and Catalina will not run 32bit games.
The last operating system capable of running 32bit applications was Mojave, the operating system before Catalina.
In Catalina Apple moved to 64bit applications only.
Sid Meier's Pirates (original version) was designed for macOS 10.4 while Catalina is macOS 10.15 so you might say you have missed the boat on that one.
As for Settlers 7 it was originally released for macOS 10.6 so sadly the same applies.
Believe me I'm sympathetic but there is no way to play these older games on the current Mac Operating Systems without drastic and complicated procedures.
You would be far better to pick up an older second hand device that you could use as a dedicated gaming machine.

 

[Slydude]

Which model year MacBook Air do you have? Once we know that, we can determine the oldest version of macOS that is compatible with that Mac. The answer to that question will determine whether you could install an older version of macOS on an external hard drive and run the games from there.

 

[Rod]

As I said, "drastic and complicated procedures" I really looked at every alternative from virtual machines to Parallels to dual booting. I was not willing to devote $200-$300 for an external SSD fast enough to run an earlier operating system plus the demanding graphics required for 3D FPS like Deus Ex and Bioshock Infinite which is 42GB in size.
The "simplest" method would have been to downgrade my macOS to Mojave but I was not willing to do that. Instead I repaired a 2011 MBP of my daughter's, installed macOS High Sierra logged into the App Store and there were all the 32bit games I had bought in my Purchase History. I downloaded the ones I wanted and they play perfectly.

 

[Slydude]

I've done something similar with my 2008 MacBook Pro. I put an SSD in it some time ago because the drive in It had started to fail. It no longer runs on battery but runs the handful of 32-bit software I'd like to run from time to time.

 

[pigoo3]

they are older games but there must be a way using different versions of OS or another way,

Please answer the questions Slydude asked...the answers to those questions are very important in determining what solutions you may have.

At this point we don't even know if these are games written for the macOS or Windows (you haven't told us...and we shouldn't assume anything at this point)? If these games are super old...and your Apple computer is super new running a recent macOS version...they may not be installable/runable.

But please answer Sydude's questions first...and we can go from there.

- Nick

 

[chscag]

I believe Rod may have answered his questions. But it would be good if @richiman would verify if what Rod mentioned is what he was asking about.