Mac owners, get ready to game like it's 2001, as the Grand Theft Auto III trilogy has finally come to Apple computers. Better late than never, right?

Thanks to Rockstar Games and TransGaming's Cider engine, those of us who prefer Mac OS X to Windows can play Grand Theft Auto III, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, and Grand Theft Auto: Vice City on their home computers, running down pedestrians on Macbooks and committing heinous acts of creative violence on iMacs.

The three open-world crime sprees are now available via GameTreeMac right now—each title is priced at $14.99 USD—and at retailers across Europe. The Grand Theft Auto trilogy will be available at retail in North America starting November 22.

TransGaming's Cider Portability Engine is the tech that powers Windows to Mac conversions like Dragon Age, Prince of Persia, The Sims 3 and more. We're sure the Mac versions of Grand Theft Auto IV, Manhunt, Bully and Red Dead Redemption are just around the corner. No? Maybe State of Emergency?

Answering reader mail, Rockstar Games today said it will be bringing Grand Theft Auto III, Vice City and San Andreas to Mac gamers "later this year."

"Look for the long-awaited release of the classic Grand Theft Auto Trilogy (Grand Theft Auto III, Grand Theft Auto: Vice City and Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas) for Mac - most likely later this year," the studio said in its "Asked and Answered" feature. "We'll have much more info and a proper announcement soon."

Wonder if it's at all related to the curious re-rating - at least in Australia - for a "modified" and "multiplatform" version of Vice City.

Technically, any Mac gamer with a copy of Windows installed has been able to play these games on his machine for some time. A native version is nicer to have. And its nice to see Rockstar climbing aboard in its support of the platform.

No pricing or other details.

Asked & Answered: Red Dead Downloadable Content, Soundtrack, Classic GTAs on Mac, The Banhammer, and Much More [Rockstar Games on Facebook]

Curiously, a new rating turned up yesterday on Australia's Classification Board website for a game that was first released nearly eight years ago. Wonder why that would be?

As you can see below, the rating is fresh as of yesterday, for what's tagged as a "modified" version of the classic Grand Theft Auto title Vice City. There's little else of use to be gained from the rating (the "Multi Platform" bit is often inaccurate on Aussie ratings).

Vice City was never banned in Australia, and has already been released in both standard and budget editions on the PC, Xbox and PS2. For a new rating to turn up, this is probably a version of the classic - which I think is the best Grand Theft Auto ever made - for a new platform.

It would be very interesting if this was a PlayStation Network re-release, as downloadable PS2 games have been something gamers have been crying out for ever since Sony gutted backwards compatibility from newer models of the PlayStation 3.

And if it's available on the PSN, could it also be available on Xbox Live Arcade? It's not like the 360 is without precedent for such a thing...

UPDATE - While the game is set for a re-release in the near future, it's not as exciting as I got to speculating before. Rockstar's re-rating is down to "back catalogue PC business", re-submitted to the Classification Board "as part of ongoing work with history products".

It's strange to be doing this - I have an Australian budget copy on the shelf in front of me, and it's already been rated - but hey, Rockstar work in mysterious ways.

[thanks Simon!]