Will/do Macs have this problem?

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You know how on later versions of Windows you can't play older games? If I were to install an older pre-Vista game (2000, Me, XP) on a Mac, will I be able to play the game without many if any headaches?

You have 1 of 2 choices, and they will probably give you headaches.

1) You purchase a program called CrossOver, and install the program inside a 'bottle'.

2) You set up a Windows Boot Disk on your Mac with a program called BootCamp. I think it comes as standard on the Mac.

I have Windows and I am having that problem. I'm asking if I had a Mac, if I'd have that problem.

Prefix Alternative's answer with "If you had a MAC, then ..."

First off, you can't run Windows programs on anything except Windows without providing additional support for the operating system you'd like to run them on.
This is either done by using some sort of virtual machine into which you would then install and run "real" Windows, or by using a Windows emulator which is a program that tries to "look like" Windows to Windows-based software. (in other words, it fakes what Windows itself would do without actually being Windows)

Since BootCamp allows you to install Windows on a MAC and run it, you'd be running "real" Windows and would therefore have the same problems: it's still Windows.
I don't know how well CrossOver would do with what you're after - it's a Windows emulator so it may not support games particularly well, but I'd expect difficulties with more recent games so you may be lucky with the older ones.
On the other hand - assuming CrossOver emulates Windows perfectly, warts an' all, then you'd have the same problems as if you were running "real" Windows.
This may provide more information: http://www.codeweavers.com/products/crossover/

[ETA: it may be possible to have CrossOver emulate a specific version of Windows, and that may be enough to achieve what you're after.
Either way, I'm afraid it's not going to be a "waves wand" sort of solution]

so all those game titles out there on the shelf can't be played on a Mac without that program?

If they're Windows-based programs, correct. Actually, also correct for anything not written specifically for the Mac.

Any Windows software will expect and need to find certain services, functions etc. available before it's possible to run it, and those things are provided only by Windows. If you like, it's this aspect which makes them Windows programs - and the same would be true for Mac programs, or Linux programs etc. They all have their own requirements, and the OS they're designed for meets those requirements precisely.

Sooo; if you have a Mac, or Linux, or whatever - there has to be some way of providing those same services so the program "thinks" it's running under Windows.

Last edited by Cornflake on 17 Jul 2011, 11:51 am, edited 1 time in total.

Another option is to use an old WIndows XP CD and a program called a virtual machine such as Virtual Box. Virtual box is a download available without charge. Install Virtual box on the computer and then install Windows inside the Virtual Box. I removed Windows 7 and put Linux on my laptop. I have Virtual Box installed, and I run Windows under Virtual Box. This way, if there is a program that I just have to download and run right away, I can do so until I can figure out how to get it working under Linux. Running Windows under Linux gives me the quick ability to run programs in a Micro$oft oriented world as well as have the security and stability of Linux.

With virtual Box, you can run other operating systems under Windows Linux, etc. You can also run the same or older version of the operating system under a specific operating system. In other words, virtual Box is like having a computer inside of a computer.

Like another poster stated, there is also a program called Wine. Wine runs a lot of Windows programs under MAC and Linux, but it is not always perfect, and not everything runs smoothly. I use Wine as well. I have a chapter dedicated to virtualization and emulation in my book, "Tech Tactics Money Saving Secrets" which can be read online at books.google.com .

Last edited by cyberscan on 17 Jul 2011, 12:03 pm, edited 2 times in total.

This is true - you could just as easily install any version of Windows under Boot Camp, and since Boot Camp provides a virtual machine there should be no need to download anything else.
[ETA - sorry, I was Mac-focused and missed part of what you said. Of course Virtual Box could be installed under Windows itself, and Windows then runs the virtual machine which runs the earlier version of Windows]

CrossOver is a fork of Wine that's been "lovingly hand-tuned" for some very well-known Windows programs. There are likely to be general improvements found with other Windows software as a result of this.

If you go to www.winehq.org, you can take a look at their 'what works and what doesn't' database (AppDB) and get an idea of whether the games you have in mind will work.

You could also use Linux to run wine, if you don't want to use a virtual machine or a mac.