PopCap

EA 'retires' SimCity Social, Sims Social, and more from Facebook

The Sims Social was once heralded as Electronic Arts' "most successful Facebook game," but now it's being laid to rest along with SimCity Social and Pet Society. These three social games will be extinct from Facebook as of June 14.

The game maker made the announcement today, saying that it was a hard decision but had to be done in order to "reallocate servers and resources to more popular titles," according to the FAQ section of its Web site.

"Today we are informing players of the difficult decision to retire some of our Facebook games: The Sims Social, SimCity Social, and Pet Society," EA wrote in a blog post today. "After millions of people initially logged in to play these games, the number of players and amount of activity has fallen off."… Read more

Get PopCap's Peggle (PC/Mac) for free!

How much do you value your productivity? If you're smack in the middle of an important work or school project, or you've got important life events to deal with -- eating, drinking, and so on -- you might want to steer clear of this deal.

Because I warn you: once you start playing Peggle, you won't want to stop.

Don't believe me? Peggle comes from PopCap Games, makers of such addictive pastimes as Bejeweled, Bookworm, and Plants vs. Zombies. And I'd say it ranks just as high as those classics on the time-suck scale.

It'… Read more

Most addictive plant-eats-zombie game on the market

Plants vs Zombies is one of the most popular games on the Windows, iPhone, and iPad platforms, and now it's on the Mac. The goal of Plants vs Zombies is to stop zombies from marching across your lawn or roof and eating you. To defend yourself you have to put various plants in their way, each plant having special skills. Plants vs Zombies installs easily.

The plants in Plants vs Zombies get laid out on a grid. Some plants shoot peas, which injure zombies, some plants eat zombies, and so on. There's about a dozen different plants that … Read more

Buzz Out Loud 1509: Hey, Windows Phone 7, how much does a polar bear weigh? (Podcast)

Today on the show, we discover that Windows Phone 7 does have a life in the wild -- at least one phone does, anyway. Also, Plants vs. Zombies are taking over the world and BT, Steve, and I are headed for a Tetris showdown. RIM continues to try to defend its co-CEO setup (why!?) and fans rage, rage, against the dying of the cheap Netflix plans. We direct them elsewhere: toward the studios who want so much for streaming content in the first place.

EA acquires PopCap Games for digital push

Electronic Arts has acquired PopCap Games.

EA, which announced the acquisition after the market closed today, said that the two parties agreed to a price of $650 million in cash and $100 million in stock. In addition, PopCap is eligible to receive up to $550 million in earnouts over the next couple years if the company can hit certain revenue milestones.

PopCap shareholders will receive nothing in earnouts if the company generates $91 million or less in earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) through December 2013. The company's shareholders can stand to make $550 million in earnouts if PopCap'… Read more

Buzz Out Loud 1496: Goodbye to the Winklevii (Podcast)

On today's show, why horny Amish guys shouldn't sext while driving their horse and buggies and why somewhere in the world, Martin Short is currently clenching his butt cheeks. Yep, it's a Donald Bell show. Also, ISPs are adopting graduated responses to piracy and Apple gets a patent that may or may not be broad depending on how you define "N."

PopCap Games snares a mystery buyer?

PopCap Games, the company behind the hit titles Bejeweled and Plants vs. Zombies, is reportedly in the process of being acquired for more than $1 billion.

Multiple sources tell TechCrunch that the company is definitely in play. Just one problem--the sources don't know who the buyer is.

The blog reported that game giant Zynga took a look at PopCap, but suggested that with an estimated annual revenue range of $100 million to $150 million and a price of more than $1 billion, the premium might have been too high.

EA's name has also come up, though for a … Read more

Free Amazon app of the day, June 21

You bought it from the games marketplace on the Xbox 360. You've played the demos and flash versions of it on the PC. Now, you can it get for free on your Android smartphone or tablet. The last of three PopCap exclusives to be released in Amazon's Appstore for Android is none other than Peggle, and it's the free app of the day.

A couple of things before downloading: As with all three PopCap exclusives, Peggle is a Wi-Fi-only download and the file size is approximately 75MB. Once installed, just move it over to your phone's SD card, and the internal file size gets considerably smaller (just mere kilobytes).

Some of what you can look forward to are: 55 standard levels and 75 grand master challenges; Adventure, Quick Play, Challenge, and Duel modes; the ability to replay your memorable moments; and new tricks, like Off the Wall, Double Long Shot, and Extreme Slides, earn you more bonus points.

Suffice it to say that it will work on the majority of Android phones to date. The app is supposedly not optimized for tablets--pixelation may occur--but if you have one, try anyway. It's free!

If you find yourself having a problem with downloading the game directly through your smartphone or tablet, here is a workaround:

Go to Amazon's site and log in to your account. Hover to Amazon for Android tab on the sidebar to the left. Click Apps. Click on the image of the app of the day (which takes you to the page) and on the right side you'll see a Get now with one-click button. It may warn that you're buying an app that may be incompatible with your device. Just click OK (and buy). It'll start to download in your account on the PC. Once it's done downloading, you can then install through the Amazon Appstore on your phone.… Read more

Free Amazon App of the Day--5/31/11

You've been waiting for it for a long time. We told you it was coming. It's been available on the iPhone forever. Well, it's finally here. The second of three PopCap exclusives to be released on Amazon's Appstore for Android is none other than Plants vs. Zombies, and it's the free app of the day.

Frankly, there's really no need to tell you how the game works (I think we've all played it at least once), but I will tell you a few things before downloading. First, as with all three PopCap exclusives, Plants vs. Zombies is a Wi-Fi-only download. Second, the file size is approximately 75MB.

Lastly, despite the small number of Android phones in the compatibility list on Amazon's site, we can verify that it also works on the HTC Thunderbolt, HTC Droid Incredible, and the HTC EVO (which are not listed).

Suffice it to say that it will work on the majority of Android phones to date. The app is supposedly not optimized for tablets--pixelation may occur--but if you have one, screw it; try anyway. … Read more

PopCap Games and Amazon get exclusive

Amazon knows what mobile gamers want--popular titles and freebies. By inking high-profile studios to exclusive launches, the company has generated plenty of positive buzz around its Appstore and continues to build momentum, especially with its free App of the Day offers. The first being the hugely popular exclusive free download of Rovio's Angry Birds Rio.

So to follow up Amazon's success with its deal with Rovio, the company recently signed an exclusive agreement with casual gaming company PopCap. Chuzzle is the first game to roll out from PopCap and is also the free download of the day. Other … Read more