popcap

To avoid permanently getting rid of plants, zombies, jewels, frogs, or worms, gaming company PopCap announced today that it has to lay off 50 employees at its headquarters.

The social and mobile gaming arm of Electronic Arts that's known for games like Bejeweled and Plants vs. Zombies said it had to reevaluate its costs in order to keep up with the digital gaming world.

"The change in consumer tastes requires us to reorganize our business and invest in new types of games on new platforms," PopCap co-founder John Vechey wrote in a blog post today. "It'… Read more

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

We're no strangers to unusual video game promotional items, but today's unexpected collection of pottery figures inspired by the hit casual game Plants vs. Zombiestakes the cake (at least for this week).

Although there was no explanatory note or press release included in the box (shipped directly from Moose Studios Pottery in Clovis, California), we assume this is to promote the $19.99 Limited Edition "Game of the Year" version of Plants vs. Zombies for PC. This new boxed retail version of the popular PC/iOS game includes a plastic zombie toy and an in-game tool, … Read more

We all know by now that games built on top of social networks' platforms are a big deal, but the results of a study commissioned by games manufacturer PopCap give some idea of just what the numbers are like.

The survey estimates that there are about 100 million people in the U.S. and U.K. who play social games regularly, based on the 24 percent of survey respondents who identified themselves as such. More women than men--55 percent to 45 percent--identify themselves as social gamers, and the average age of a social gamer is 43. That's consistent with … Read more

Casual gaming has taken over the industry, and particularly the App Store, by force. Popcap Games is at the epicenter of it all, with several notable games--Bejeweled 2, Peggle, and now Plants vs. Zombies--being stand-outs on the iPhone. We won't lie: we were eagerly awaiting the release date of this long-promised iPhone and iPod Touch port, having fallen into an addictive trance with the PC version.

For those not familiar, Plants vs. Zombies is a variant on tower defense games, where the player sets up fortresses and weapons to stave off waves of enemy attackers. In the case of … Read more

In many ways, 2009 seems to be the year download-only games hit their stride. Between the iPhone and iPod Touch dominating the portable market with the ever-growing App Store; the release of the completely disc-free PSP Go; and the Nintendo DSi--which also can download games from an online store--portable gaming has started to move beyond the cartridge and disc. Even in home consoles, there's been a continuing focus on lower-cost downloadable games and DLC sold on Sony's PSN, Microsoft's Xbox Live Arcade, and the Nintendo Wii's WiiWare as alternatives to pricier disc-based titles.

While download-only … Read more

Peggle is the iPhone and iPod Touch version of the extremely popular (and addictively fun) arcade game also found on Macs, PCs, the Nintendo DS, Xbox Live, and other platforms. Combining skill and luck, this easy-to-play, Pachinko-style game challenges you to shoot down a set number of orange pegs with a limited number of balls on ever more complex levels. You can rotate a scroll wheel or just tap the screen to aim, ideally threading through ubiquitous blue pegs to hit multiple orange pegs with each shot, using carefully planned ricochets. You can double tap the screen to zoom in … Read more

Have you played Peggle? This iPhone game came out some time ago and was an immediate hit at the app store for its strange and extremely addictive gameplay. The game just went on sale for 99 cents, but it will only last until midnight Sunday, June 14.

The object of Peggle is to shoot balls from the top of the screen and hit all the orange pegs before you run out of balls. You can use the touch screen or the scroll wheel to aim your shot, but make sure that the shot ricochets in a direction that will hit … Read more