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Bejeweled, Bookworm coming to DSiWare
If you've been trying to convince your casual-minded significant other that you don't just want, but rather need, a DSi in addition to the DS you own, your moment may have just arrived. PopCap has announced that it'll be bringing its stupefyingly popular puzzle titles Bookworm and Bejeweled Twist to DSiWare this month and the next, respectively. Sure, they'll be out later on retail shelves (December 1, 2009 for Bookworm and Q1 2010 for Bejeweled Twist), but if you're going to score yourself a new DSi, your significant other can never know this. They can never, ever know.
Popcap's addons updated
Popcap kindly sent us a note to say that both of their free addons (Bejeweled and Peggle) for World of Warcraft have seen updates lately, so if you're still playing the versions you downloaded when they first came out, better give them a refresh. Bejeweled, the classic gem matching game, is now up to 1.1, and features a completely updated score system (you'll be asked to convert it the first time you load) that tracks all kinds of new features. In addition, the Achievements now have their own screen, so they're all easier to track as well. And a bunch of bug fixes have gone in, to make the game smoother and faster.And Peggle has reached 1.02, with some new code to try and keep users with different versions from having compatibility problems, as well as a few options to keep the chatspam down to a minimum. If your guild is angry that you keep accidentally hitting "Publish" and getting your score in their guild chat, get this new version, as it allows you to control where that goes, as well as change the name from "Publish" to "Brag," to more accurately describe what it is.Both versions can be downloaded right over on Popcap's WoW site, or from the usual suspects at your favorite addon databases. It's great that they're still updating these (still for free!), but, completely selfishly, we still kind of want Zuma next.
Confirmed: Kotaku reporting that Blizzard has hired PopCap VP
Rumours abound from the Australian arm of Kotaku (and our own Joystiq) that PopCap's CEO Greg Canessa is joining Blizzard. Given the success of their WoW addons for Peggle and (my personal favourite) Bejweled, the hiring of the man who helped launch Xbox Live Arcade is quite exciting. Kotaku reports Canessa will be joining the teams responsible for Diablo and World of Warcraft. However they don't actually cite a source and Blizzard apparently didn't respond for a comment 'immediately', which is quite an odd way to phrase it. Update: Blizzard spokesperson Shon Damron got back to us confirming that Greg Canessa has indeed been hired by the company:"Yes, we can confirm that Greg Canessa has taken a position at Blizzard Entertainment as project director for Battle.net. He will report to our vice president of online technologies and work closely with the executive team to help fine-tune the next version of Battle.net, currently in development."
PopCap's addons are obfuscated, Blizzard is OK with that
We've posted about both the Bejeweled and the Peggle addons here lots -- we're big fans of PopCap releasing free versions of their games for us to play in Azeroth. But all might not be well in addon land -- a few authors have come to us to point out that PopCap's addons actually contain obfuscated code in them. Obfuscation is a little hard to define -- it's a coding technique that makes code difficult to be read by other programmers, either for purposes of compression or to deliberately hide the code's function or purpose from anyone reading it. Obfuscation is strictly prohibited by Blizzard's addon policy, and so when addon authors dived into PopCap's code and found it obfuscated, they were concerned that PopCap is dodging Blizzard's rules.We spoke with PopCap about the issue, and they told us that yes, they run a program called luasrcdiet on their code to shrink it down and keep the memory footprint to a minimum. While working on their addons, they were in contact with Blizzard (and showed them the original, non-obfuscated code), and they tell us that Blizzard decided that since the purpose of the obfuscation rule in the policy was to allow the community to police their own addons for bad code (and since Blizzard trusted PopCap, there were no concerns there), then Blizzard was OK with PopCap releasing obfuscated addon code.So. Has PopCap broken the rules? In the strictest sense, yes -- the rules say no obfuscated code, and PopCap's addons do make things hard to read. But Blizzard, who wrote the rules to begin with, has no problem with making an exception for PopCap, and in doing so, their reasoning seems pretty sound. It doesn't seem fair to make an exception in any case, but we admit, if you're going to make an exception for anyone, you can't go wrong with PopCap. What do you think?
Can adults find fun in Free Realms?
For what it's worth I'm well aware that Free Realms isn't exactly the kind of game that appeals to an adult male -- at least not to the average sort. But with its forward thinking design and near instantaneous variety of quests and missions to participate in, SOE's newest MMO should make everyone consider giving it a shot. If you're feeling more than hesitant about that statement, then I'm here just for you.You may have heard there's kart racing in this game. That fact may or may not turn you off to playing, but know this: it's all very optional, just like real life. For instance, you may not want to put a chef's hat on and cook mystery meat surprise -- and you don't have to!You can, also. If, you know, you'd like to do that.
PopCap following Peggle: Dual Shot with DS Bookworm, Bejeweled Twist
Until now, perhaps the only people to be safe from PopCap Games have been DS owners: we have plenty of excellent, short-session, portable puzzle games that seem to preclude the need to seek out stuff like Peggle. But now Peggle: Dual Shot has found us, and PopCap isn't stopping there. The company told Forbes that it is planning DS versions of Bejeweled Twist, the latest iteration of its hit block puzzle game, and Bookworm, a block/word puzzle game about creating words from fallen tiles, for release this holiday season. No specifics were given, but these two small, casual puzzle games would certainly be killer apps for DSiWare. [Via Shacknews]
PopCap sales up 85%, drug cartel revenues down
If you're looking for proof that PopCap's stash is still the most potent you can find, look no further. While PC sales took a 14% hit in 2008, PopCap Games has announced its year-over-year revenue has jumped 85%. Citing data from NPD Group, which does not take online sales into account, PopCap stated the biggest needle in the vein came in the form of Bejeweled Twist -- a franchise that has already hit the $300 million mark. According to our dealer PopCap, this boost in sales puts the developer within the top 20 video game retail publishers by dollar value, a first in the company's history. We'd continue writing this post, but we need to sell our computers to get more-of-that Pop.
Trophies: Bejeweled 2
0 Platinum 1 Gold 4 Silver 7 Bronze Difficulty: Moderate Online Trophies? No Time to Completion: 10 hours DLC Trophies? No View Trophy List Read More About the Game %Gallery-43427%
Gaming to Go: The Quest Trio
You've played this game before. Probably. See, here's the thing -- The Quest Trio isn't a singular title so much as it is a collection of games, as an in-depth analysis of the title would probably suggest. For your money you'll get a variant of Bejeweled, an interesting version of Solitaire, and a pretty decent take on Mahjong, three classic games that should be fairly familiar to just about every person ever. The Quest Trio gets interesting, however, when you consider that two of the titles in the package have been previously sold as standalone products -- and for everyone's favorite handheld, no less!It might sting a wee bit to discover you already own one member of the trio. It might hurt a hell of a lot to discover you already own two of them, in which case I'd advise you sit this one out and find a warm corner to cry in. For everyone else who loves the sound of three great games bundled together for your gaming pleasure, click that big button down there and see if this week's edition of Gaming to Go covers just the sort of puzzle compilation you've been questing for. #ninbutton { border-style: solid; border-color: #000; border-width: 2px; background-color: #BBB; color: #000; text-decoration: none; width: 100px; text-align: center; padding: 2px 2px 2px 2px; margin: 2px 2px 2px 2px; } .buttontext { color: #000; text-decoration: none; font: bold 14pt Helvetica; } #ninbutton:hover { text-decoration: none; color: #BBB; background-color: #000; } NEXT >> %Gallery-40555%
Bejeweled 2 rated by ESRB
Bejeweled 2 might not be a hardcore gamer's kind of game, but it's coming our way nonetheless. The ESRB has rated the PS3 title "E" for everyone recently giving notice that a game was in the works for the system. Digging further, IGN has spoken with devs PopCap Games to which a rep had confirmed the game's existence. For those of you who don't know about the title, it's a quick puzzler where players need to align three like-colored jewels to chain up a high score. For those of you who do know the game, thankfully you won't have to play it on your cell phone or Yahoo! ever again -- it'll be right here on your PS3. Prices and dates are as yet to be revealed, though reader DeforMAKulizer has notified us that PSN ads for Bejeweled 2 have been making the rounds. This suggests that the game might not be too far off.
GotGame releases their ingame browser separately
Behold the power of WoW Insider -- GotGame told us about their browser and social networking service a little while ago, and we were so much more fascinated with the browser part of their app that they split it off. And here it is: Rogue is what they're calling their ingame browser application -- you can download it for free from the site, and after a quick install, you can open up a browser in any PC game.As lots of commenters said on our last post, this isn't really an ingame browser, it's more of an overlay that lets you browse while playing the game. And all it really does is save you the couple of minutes it would take to tab out and check your own browser (or just run WoW in a windowed mode, and use both at the same time).But there are a probably a few users out there who would find it really useful. Downtime is the main issue I can think of (though lots of my downtime is filled lately with the Bejeweled addon anyway). But if you've been waiting for a solid, standalone ingame browser to come along (complete with Flash support, which makes it easy to pull up Hulu or Pandora while playing), Rogue is it.
EA reveals Android gaming plans: Tetris, Bejeweled, Monopoly, oh my!
Hot on the heels of Electronic Arts kinda-sorta slamming Nokia for its lackluster N-Gage gaming platform comes word that the video game giant will be dabbling in the world of Android here shortly. Unsurprisingly, we're informed that Tetris will be the first Android title out, while Bejeweled and Monopoly should follow suit in November. According to EA Mobile vice president Adam Sussman, "Android is another exciting new platform to offer customers great games with enhancements like touch and tilt capabilities," and while we weren't given specifics outside of the aforesaid titles, more games are definitely "in development."
EA releases Tetris for Android, Bejeweled and Monopoly to follow
Electronic Arts has answered the call for more games on Google's Android mobile device platform – i.e. the T-Mobile G1 – with a version of Tetris now available for download from the EA Mobile site. The game is selling for $7.99. It will be followed next month by Bejeweled and Monopoly: Here & Now Edition. In an official release, EA Mobile America and Asia publishing veep Adam Sussman calls Android an "exciting new platform" and says that the division has "more games in development" beyond the three revealed today. Looking at its catalog of iPhone / iPod Touch games, it's probably safe to expect some variation of Spore and Scrabble to be in the bunch.
Bejeweled 1.02 is out
The most important addon of all has been updated to version 1.02 for compatibility with patch 3.0.2: PopCap's Bejeweled has a new version ready for download on their site that will work just great with the new patch. And there's a new feature, too: PopCap says so many people asked for a little minimap relief that they've added an option to either turn the minimap icon off completely, or move it around the minimap wherever you like.Unfortunately, the endgame got nerfed so much that odds are you won't die in raids until Wrath, so that part of the addon probably won't get used much. But my flight paths have felt empty without the gems to match since Tuesday -- the new version of Bejeweled is the most welcome addition to my addon folder.
WoW Insider Show Episode 57: The return of the Turp
Our latest podcast is now available for your listening pleasure over on WoW Radio (and in iTunes), and we've got a few familiar faces returning to the fold -- Amanda Dean and Turpster are on this week, and we haven't talked with them in a while. Turpster is back from his trip to the US, and Amanda is back with a whole new character and a new PvE outlook. We hit on: Brewfest, how it's going, and whether it's safe for minors (or miners, as Turpster may have heard) to celebrate a holiday that revolves around drinking and riding rams fast right afterwards. The upcoming Honor reset that we didn't really have a problem with but that didn't happen after all. The Bejeweled addon and some other possibilities for official third-party addons And as usual we answered your emails, including where to get started with WoW Lore and whether Mages or Shamans cry more (I think Shamans probably cry more, but Mages do more unnecessary crying). Plus, we did a giveaway! One lucky listener picked up a code for a Papa Hummel's Old Fashioned Pet Biscuit (boy they're delicious, made from real pets!). And if you didn't win, don't worry -- I hear next week we'll have an even better prize to give away. And yes, speaking of next week, we do this every Saturday at 3:30pm Eastern right there on WoW Radio -- if you've never listened to the show live, it's a hoot. Definitely give the show a listen this week (or subscribe to us in iTunes if you haven't yet), and we'll be back next Saturday as usual with lots more WoW news, views, and fun in tow.Listen here on the page:
Popcap spinning out Bejeweled Twist in October
PopCap games has announced Bejeweled Twist, a "new spin on the match-3 genre" due out next month. The game will be officially unveiled October 27 at an event at Seattle's Experience Music Project Sci-Fi Museum and Hall of Fame. It will launch as a $20 download on PopCap's website. As to what the new "twist" on the genre will be, PopCap isn't saying. The game has reportedly been in development for three years, so we're curious what the team has done with that time aside from swimming in a pool of casual gamer money. Our best guess is that Popcap has taken the Bejeweled board and rotated it 45 degrees. What a twist!
The Digital Continuum: Can a space colonization MMO work? (part two)
Working puzzle games into MMOs isn't a new concept either, but there's still plenty of ground to be covered with the idea. Puzzle Pirates has a few examples of taking things like equipment and introducing them into the puzzle aspects of the game. While having too little is obviously a bad move, I'd rather see an MMO that takes five or six puzzle games and goes deep instead.
The Digital Continuum: Can a space colonization MMO work?
The colonization of space isn't a brand new idea for the realm of MMOs. 2006's Seed was all about the subject, but it unfortunately failed due to a lack of publisher interest. There's no denying that such a game wouldn't be anywhere near a hugely popular title. Still, I'd like to think that with the right design philosophy, platform and business model a game focused on the challenges of discovering another planet and making it a new home would be incredibly worthwhile.
WoW Insider Interview: PopCap's T. Carl Kwoh and Moongaze, maker of the Bejeweled addon
PopCap's Bejeweled addon for World of Warcraft is coming out today (we did an in-depth preview of it earlier this week, in case you missed it), and to celebrate, we sat down with the addon's creators to see how it came about, and why this addon release (officially endorsed by another well-known gaming company) is so important.Michael Fromwiller is a student at San Jose University, but in the WoW community he's better known as Moongaze, creator of the popular Lunarsphere addon. He also created another addon called Besharded a while back, which was an unofficial clone of PopCap's Bejeweled, a game he'd played a lot on his cell phone. PopCap heard about the addon, and when word got around to T. Carl Kwoh, a senior producer at the company, they decided, rather than shutting down the unofficial version, to try and hire Moongaze to make it official.Our interview with both of them, which starts after the break, covers how the game came together, how Moongaze took influences from both PopCap and WoW to fit one game inside another, and why inserting another game into World of Warcraft doesn't exactly mean there are holes in Blizzard's game.
Bejeweled add-on coming to World of Warcraft
There are many ways to deal with the boredom that can sometimes strike during lengthy World of Warcraft sessions -- other than walking away from the computer to partake in a more enjoyable activity (that's just unthinkable). Some people level up new characters. Some people head to the Barrens area to spew their hate-speech towards like-minded scoundrels. However, the virtual denizens of Azeroth will soon be wasting their time using a popular, real-life time wasting engine -- PopCap's uber-successful casual puzzler, Bejeweled. The in-game add-on began as a homebrew Bejeweled clone from Michael Fromwiller, cleverly titled Besharded. Fromwiller developed the add-on as a method of killing time during long raids and farming sessions, but it wasn't too long before PopCap caught wind of the MMO mini-game. Instead of issuing a timely cease and desist, the casual gaming colossus hired Fromwiller to create a more polished version of the application. The add-on will launch this coming Thursday -- it would probably be wise to put in as much quality time with your WoW-playing acquaintances before then, as you won't be seeing them again for quite some time.
