Adobe Shockwave Player: Browser plug-in for multimedia content
If you want to play online games in your browser, there's a good chance you'll need Adobe Shockwave Player, which is an essential gaming plug-in. This player allows you to view both Shockwave and Flash content over the Web, so it's also a good solution if you've been having problems with your Flash plugin. Adobe Shockwave Player is compatible with all major web browsers including Firefox, Chrome, and Internet Explorer.
Installation is very quick, and you should be seeing content within a few seconds of restarting your browser. Compared to Flash, however, Shockwave is quite resource heavy. In addition, for some reason, Adobe has still not created a 64-bit version, which will no doubt anger users of Snow Leopard. Those using Safari in Snow Leopard have no choice but to run in 32-bit, which is unacceptable from a company like Adobe.
Like it or loathe it though, Adobe Shockwave Player is still an essential download for those who love online gaming.