Phew--EA had us worried for a second. (But keep on your toes.) After announcing that it bought casual and social games icon PopCap for a cool $650 million and some change, gamers and the press alike worried how this would affect the Seattle-based independent developer. But according to EA CEO John Riccitiello, there's no need to worry--PopCap will be treated as a "if it's not broke" situation, according to Shacknews.
For anyone who is concerned that EA will suck the creative energy out of PopCap like one of its plant-eating zombies, don't worry, but some changes will be made. "Some of their most important designers and creators and producers are stuck to perpetually working on language localization, individual handset adaptations, individual carrier adaptations," Riccitiello said during an investors call. "It's a lot of work... It's very unproductive work for great designers." This looks to be one of wrongs EA looks to right with the acquisition.
Regardless of whether you believe Riccitiello, one thing is for sure: EA means serious business when it comes to mobile and social gaming. However, whether PopCap will be enough for the company to compete with the likes of Zynga is, of course, up in the air. And considering the companies' collective players on Facebook combined just surpasses a single Zynga game, Empires & Allies, the duo certainly has lots of work to do.
Showing posts with label popcap+ea. Show all posts
Showing posts with label popcap+ea. Show all posts
Friday, December 23, 2011
Thursday, December 15, 2011
Bejeweled is new and improved on iOS, while Blitz goes solo for free
Your second life of destroying shiny gems to techno music is about to enter its next chapter. Social and casual game maker PopCap announced that it has re-released Bejeweled to the App Store for iPhone and iPod Touch in a brand new, much-improved app. This new hotness is said to sport Retina Display graphics, new game modes including Zen Mode from Bejeweled 3 and more.
More like a Diamond Mine mode pulled right from Bejeweled 3 as well, personal leaderboards and support for multiple player profiles and several achievement badges with four levels each (bronze, silver, gold and platinum). However, there is one catch: You're going to have to download the game again for $.99, as this game is officially replacing Bejeweled 2 + Blitz on the App Store. We know, we were shocked too, but who are you kidding? You and I both know you're already in the App Store.
Besides, it's not as if PopCap didn't include two new play modes and high-resolution graphics or anything. As for the Facebook-connected Bejeweled Blitz? It's now a stand-alone freemium game on the App Store, meaning you can play the game for absolutely free, but you have the option to purchase additional power-ups to boost your ranking among friends. (However, we're guessing that this change will introduce the Hearts system to this version of the game, which is a bummer.) In short, it's just like the Facebook game, but in your phone. The future is awesome, we know. Both games are slowly rolling out today.
Are you down with buying another version of Bejeweled for your iOS device, given the new features introduced? Where do you play Bejeweled Blitz more: on your phone or on Facebook?
More like a Diamond Mine mode pulled right from Bejeweled 3 as well, personal leaderboards and support for multiple player profiles and several achievement badges with four levels each (bronze, silver, gold and platinum). However, there is one catch: You're going to have to download the game again for $.99, as this game is officially replacing Bejeweled 2 + Blitz on the App Store. We know, we were shocked too, but who are you kidding? You and I both know you're already in the App Store.
Besides, it's not as if PopCap didn't include two new play modes and high-resolution graphics or anything. As for the Facebook-connected Bejeweled Blitz? It's now a stand-alone freemium game on the App Store, meaning you can play the game for absolutely free, but you have the option to purchase additional power-ups to boost your ranking among friends. (However, we're guessing that this change will introduce the Hearts system to this version of the game, which is a bummer.) In short, it's just like the Facebook game, but in your phone. The future is awesome, we know. Both games are slowly rolling out today.
Are you down with buying another version of Bejeweled for your iOS device, given the new features introduced? Where do you play Bejeweled Blitz more: on your phone or on Facebook?
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