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Tag: popcap games

  • ‘Peggle 2’ Coming to Xbox 360 in May

    After a bombastic announcement at last year’s EA press conference at E3, Peggle 2 was quietly released as an Xbox One exclusive in December. It is now only a matter of time before the popular Peggle sequel makes its way to every other platform.

    EA and PopCap Games this week announced that the rollout of Peggle 2 will continue first with more Microsoft console exclusivity. The game will be coming to Xbox 360 consoles on May 7.

    Peggle 2 is largely more of the same pinball/pachinko action introduced in the original Peggle. For the sequel PopCap has included several new “Peggle Masters” that come with new game-altering powers for players to exploit.

    In addition to all of the content in the Xbox One version of the game, the Xbox 360 version of Peggle 2 will come with a multiplayer mode called “Duel Mode.” The new mode allows two players to compete on the same stage, online or locally. Duel Mode has also rolled out to Xbox One versions of Peggle 2 this week through a free DLC download.

    “With all the excitement from our fans in December at launch we knew we wanted to continue growing the Peggle universe starting with more content and then expand onto the Xbox 360,” said John Vechey, general manager at PopCap. “By offering the addition of Duel Mode, our fans will be able to challenge their friends continuously to find out who is ultimate ‘Peggle Master’.”

  • ‘Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare’ Gameplay Previewed

    Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare was one of the most surprising games that EA has announced in the past half-decade. The Popcap-developed console shooter takes the whimsy from the Plants vs. Zombies mobile games and shoves it into what appears to be the best shooter EA has published in years.

    When the game’e release date was announced (February 18, a timed exclusive for Xbox consoles) Popcap released a long look at the title’s gameplay. That video showed off several classes of both plants and zombies battling it out in a silly-looking, but solid deathmatch arena.

    Today Popcap has provided another long gameplay preview of Garden Warfare. This video previews the “Gardens and Graveyards” mode seen in the game.

    As Popcap producer Brian Lindley states as the video’s narrator, Garden’s and Graveyards plays like a mix of Battlefield‘s Rush and Conquest modes. Zombies must tray and capture plant gardens by raising tombstones while the plants try and fend them off.

    If nothing else, the new video shows that Garden Warfare will bring some color and silliness to the increasingly drab and serious world of console shooters:

  • ‘Peggle 2’ Previewed, Trailer Released at Gamescom

    It’s safe to say that Peggle has become one of the most popular casual games of all time. The game has been released on nearly every gaming platform available, bringing Beethoven’s 9th Symphony to the masses. Publisher EA announced a sequel to Peggle at its E3 conference this year, but details have been sparse until today.

    At its big Gamescom conference, EA revealed the first gameplay trailer for Peggle 2. As the trailer shows, the game will play very similarly to the first Peggle, being a mixture of pinball and pachinko. The new game will have new levels, new power-ups, new multiplayer modes, and new “Peggle Master” animals (it appears that Bjorn the unicorn is back, though).

    Keeping with a major theme at this year’s Gamescom, EA also announced a deal with Microsoft to make Peggle 2 a timed exclusive for the Xbox One. The Xbox One version of Peggle 2 will also have Kinect control functionality.

    “With Peggle 2, we’re taking everything that our fans love about Peggle and bringing it to another level,” said Jared Neuss, Peggle 2 lead producer at PopCap. “The new Peggle Masters have tons of personality, their powers are all completely over the top and there is a massive amount of content for players to explore. We’re also focused on taking full advantage of all that the Xbox One has to offer by giving our fans new ways to control the game, share their favorite moments and compete with their friends.“

  • ‘Plants Vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare’ Detailed, Trailers Revealed

    EA had some of the biggest announcements today at Gamescom. The publisher is heavily supporting the Xbox One with exclusive FIFA 14 content and a pack-in deal. It announced Battlefield 4 Premium, previewed more gameplay from its much-hyped Titanfall, and showed off new features from the upcoming The Sims 4.

    The big titles weren’t all EA focused on, though – it also found time to mention on its smaller IPs. In particular, more details about Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare were revealed.

    The game is a third-person shooter set in the Plants vs. Zombies mobile game universe. It will feature four-player co-op for horde mode and 24-player competitive multiplayer gameplay. Gamers will be able to play as either plants or zombies, both of which are customizable with a variety of items.

    EA also announced that it and Microsoft have come to an arrangement to make Garden Warfare a timed exclusive for the Xbox One. The length of the exclusivity window was not announced, but will begin at the game’s spring 2014 launch.

    Along with the exclusivity, the Xbox One will be getting exclusive features on Microsoft’s new console. Two-player split screen gameplay is one of those features. Another is Kinect and SmartGlass “Boss Mode” gameplay as either “Crazy Dave’s RV” or “Dr. Zomboss’ Blimp.” A preview of the Boss Mode can be seen in the first video below. The second video shows EA and PopCap’s silly new trailer for Garden Warfare.

  • Plants Vs. Zombies 2 Hits iOS In July

    PopCap, developers behind Bejeweled and other casual games, had never really created a game that could appeal to casual players as well as hardcore gamers. That all changed in 2009 with a simple tower defense title that pitted plants against invading hordes of zombies.

    Now four years later, PopCap is back to capitalize on the success of Plants vs. Zombies with the title’s first proper sequel – Plants Vs. Zombies 2: It’s About Time. The title could be referring to the fact that it’s been four years since the first game came out, but it’s probably alluding more to how time travel plays a large role in the game’s presentation.

    Plants Vs. Zombies 2 will launch exclusively on iOS devices as a freemium title in July. As you can imagine, the news did not go over super well with the desktop players who made the original game such a big hit in the first place. Most of the comments on YouTube are players deriding EA and PopCap for their decision.

  • One More Day to Get Plants vs. Zombies For Free

    Last month, PopCap Games, the makers of Plants vs. Zombies, teamed up with the American Dental Association to “stop zombie mouth.” The campaign distributed over 1 million Plants vs. Zombies trading cards and educated kids on the importance of dental hygiene. Along with the trading cards, PopCap was giving away copies of Plants vs. Zombies for free with a redeemable coupon code.

    Evidently, giving away one of the most popular tower defense games of the past few years proved a success. Over 250,000 copies of the game were distributed, and PopCap has announced it is extending the deadline to redeem the coupon codes to November 13.

    “The Stop Zombie campaign was a tremendous success using a unique platform to improve the oral health literacy of entire families,” said Dr. Jonathan Shenkin, ADA spokesperson on pediatric dentistry. “The American Dental Association looks forward to future innovative collaborations that enable us to realize the goal of reducing oral health disparities.”

    The goal of the campaign was for adults to print out the coupons and give them out instead of candy on Halloween. As bad as that decision sounds, a PopCap survey shows that 93% of kids would take a free video game over candy on Halloween night. Of course, survey also shows that 89% of kids would still like Halloween if it were less about candy and more about “other types of fun.” Someone should explain to kids that other types of Halloween fun are for grownups, and that they should gorge on free candy play Plants vs. Zombies and brush their teeth while they can.

  • PopCap Gives Away Plants vs. Zombies For Oral Health

    PopCap games and the American Dental Association (ADA) this weekend announced that dentists across the U.S. will be handing out packs of Plants vs. Zombies trading cards featuring characters from the game. Each card pack also includes a coupon redeemable for a free copy of the PC/Mac edition of Plants vs. Zombies.

    The giveaway is part of the “Stop Zombie Mouth” campaign that PopCap and the ADA announced last month. The redeemable coupons found in the card packs are also freely available at the campaign’s website. The purpose of the campaign, which lasts through Halloween, is to spread awareness of oral health at a time of year when candy is sold in bulk. The website states that PopCap and the ADA are “redefining what a Halloween ‘treat’ can be…by giving FUN instead of candy.”

    “Changing eating habits among children is one of the most important yet difficult challenges that parents face today,” said Margo Wootan, director of nutrition policy at the Center for Science in the Public Interest and a supporter of the campaign. “The ADA and PopCap Games have come up with a fun, clever, and compelling approach that should appeal to young trick-or-treaters this Halloween. This campaign will help children recognize the relationship between healthy eating and healthy teeth, and provide one of the coolest alternatives to sugary snacks yet.”

    The limited edition trading card packs to be handed out by dentists will have 5 cards each. The cards will feature 45 different zombie types, including 5 new characters that represent mouth germs. A campaign music video, seen below, was also released featuring the lyrical stylings of those mouth germs. The video is about two minutes long, and can be used as a timer when brushing teeth, according to PopCap and the ADA.

  • PopCap Shuts Down Its Dublin Studio

    PopCap Shuts Down Its Dublin Studio

    One month ago, it was announced that PopCap games would be reorganizing its studios and laying off employees. At the time, it was stated that around 50 employees, mostly from PopCap headquarters in Seattle, would see layoffs. PopCap co-founder John Vechey posted a well-worded blog entry about how much losing your job and firing people sucks. The statement was heartfelt and just about the most kind way (if there is one) to announce layoffs.

    Today, though, word has come down through Twitter that PopCap’s studio in Dublin, Ireland has been closed. Word first came through (now former) Associate Producer at PopCap Mobile JP Vaughan, who posted the word to his twitter account.

    He followed this up with the news that the people at the studio have had 30 days to prepare for the shutdown. Meanwhile, Stu Taylor, dirctor of international public relations at PopCap, tweeted a more lighthearted version of the announcement:

    Joystiq is quoting an unnamed source with saying the closure took place this morning after an 11 am meeting and that 96 people lost their jobs over the past month.

    (via All Games Beta)

  • PopCap Games Announces Reorganization and Layoffs

    PopCap today announced that it has begun a reorganization of its studios that includes a “reduction in force” in North America. More specifically, around 50 employees, most from the PopCap headquarters in Seattle, will be losing their jobs.

    John Vechey, Popcap co-founder and vice president of corporate strategy and development, made the announcement with a post on the PopCap blog. Vechey also stated that PopCap is talking with its Dublin branch to work out whether sales in Europe can be increased enough to keep the branch open. From the blog post:

    Today’s news is something you expect periodically from a company in a fast-changing industry, but it sucks if you’re one of the people losing his or her job. These people are our friends and we don’t like doing this…

    A little context on why we’re making cuts in some areas while we’re investing and expanding in others: In the past year, we’ve seen a dramatic change in the way people play and pay for games. Free-to-play, social and mobile games have exploded in popularity. That happened fast. Surprisingly so. The change in consumer tastes requires us to reorganize our business and invest in new types of games on new platforms. It’s a completely different world from when we started.

    Just over one year ago PopCap was acquired by Electronic Arts (EA) for $605 million. This latest news from PopCap may signal that social and mobile gaming may have reached its saturation point. Zynga, once considered a major PopCap competitor, has faced disaster this year after its stock crashed at the end of July. Zynga COO John Schappert has been ousted from his position and the company is now begging employees to stay on.

    Popcap just yesterday announced that a Plants vs. Zombies sequel will be released sometime in the first half of 2013. Vechey reiterated that that game is still on track for a spring 2013 release.

  • Mobile Games Survey: Nearly Half of Adults are Mobile Gamers

    PopCap Games, the makers of casual mobile games such as Bejeweled, Peggle, and Plants vs. Zombies, today released the results of its poll on mobile gaming. Unsurprisingly, the market for mobile gaming is growing at breakneck speed. The poll also found that the audience for mobile gaming is broadening.

    The survey was conducted by Information Solutions Group, and polled adults in the U.S. and U.K. It found that 125 million adults in those countries play games on mobile devices. 44% of those surveyed said they had played a mobile game within the past month – only 15% said the same thing last year. Clearly, the expanding number and adoption of gaming-capable mobile devices capable is bringing millions of new players.

    “Mobile games continue to vie with social games as the hottest sector of the video game industry and that trend shows no sign of waning,” stated Dennis Ryan, vice president of worldwide publishing at PopCap. “Smartphone adoption continues apace and tablet adoption has added considerable fuel to the fire. Even more important, consumers are embracing the shift toward freemium games and other add-on game content purchases, driving the dramatic and rapid shift in the forms of monetization being used by developers and publishers.”

    While Ryan may be correct that mobile gaming shows no signs of slowing, recent evidence suggests the popularity of social gaming on sites such as Facebook might have already peaked.

    The factors Ryan mentions for the rapid growth in mobile gaming, tablets and fremium pricing models, are clearly part of the reason for the industry’s growth spurt. According to the survey, 36% of mobile gamers own a tablet, and 74% of those gamers did not previously play mobile games. The ease of mobile gaming on tablets, combined with the low prices of the games themselves, are what is bringing in new gamers. 70% of survey respondents cited the availability of more free games as a reason for their increased mobile gaming. Of course, game companies are not simply giving the games away: 51% of these same gamers admitted to making mobile game-related purchases within the past year.

    For the first time in the survey’s three-year history, an equal number of males and females are mobile gamers. Previously, males were more likely to be mobile gamers. Also, the average age of a mobile gamer is now 39.5 years old. This broadening audience means mobile gaming still has plenty of room for growth in the coming years.

    The results of the survey can be seen in a PDF at the Information Solutions Group website.

  • Plants vs. Zombies HD For iPad Releases Major Update

    PopCap Games has just released a massive update to Plants vs. Zombies HD for iPad. Headlining the update is Zen Garden. In the zen garden you water and fertilize and spray your plants for bugs and as they grow, you get rewarded with tons of coins!

    You’ll also discover two new nine-level game modes: Vasebreaker Endless and I, Zombie Endless. Try to survive all nine levels as you battle zombies hiding in vases, or change sides for a while and help zombies get past the plants. Four new mini-game challenges round out the gameplay updates with Slot Machine, Zombiquarium, Portal Combat, and Beghouled Twist.

    In addition, 28 new achievements offer even more ways to prove your zombie-zapping prowess. Five unique Game Center leaderboards let you see where you rank. And new Coin Packs let you buy coins quickly and easily to get great new artillery and more. And finally, the zombies are multi-lingual. PopCap has added language support for French, Italian, German, and Spanish — now more players can enjoy all the action in their native language! Brains!