dave-roberts
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Report: PopCap CEO stepping down, co-founder Vechey to take over
PopCap Games CEO David Roberts is stepping down after almost nine years with the company and will be replaced by co-founder John Vechey. The shift in management will take effect on January 8, Venturebeat reports. "PopCap's mission right now is to create the greatest mobile game studio in the world, and we're going to do that by only making games that are beloved by players," Vechey told Venturebeat. "We're focusing on our foundation in 2014 – talent, process, and most importantly, great products, around that mission." Presumably Roberts will retire from the gaming industry, though he has yet to announce any plans for beyond January 8. Vechey's current role is VP of development and strategy, where he has worked internally on "spearheading/helping new initiatives" for years now. He also moonlights as Chief Hype Man, starring in the best Pokemon/Peggle 2 mash-up gif of 2013. Popcap Games was founded in 2000 by John Vechey, Brian Fiete and Jason Kapalka. On January 8, Kapalka will transition into a consultant's role, leaving Vechey as the only remaining Popcap co-founder at the Seattle studio. EA acquired Popcap in 2011 for a hefty $750 million. [Image credit]
PopCap CEO talks free-to-play model for Plants vs. Zombies 2
PopCap CEO Dave Roberts discussed Plants vs. Zombies 2's free-to-play business model with GeekWire last week, mentioning both the game's swift adoption rate and the ire it has inspired from some fans. "I don't think anyone at EA has seen anything go up that fast to the top downloads," Roberts said. "My guess, by lunch [on launch day], we will have hit the same number of downloads that it took us five months to hit in the first version. It probably took us close to a year to hit that number on the PC." While noting that many view free-to-play as "evil," Robers pointed out that the majority of the top-grossing games in the App Store are free-to-play. "People have decided that free-to-play is a better way for them to monetize. And, some of the purists would argue that the industry has made them do that." Roberts suggested there are "ways to abuse any business model, and people sometimes say: 'Yeah, you can do horrible things with that.' Yeah, of course you can ... With PvZ we have a pretty important brand here and we are trying to protect it." PvZ2 is currently available for iOS devices and will cross-pollinate to other platforms "later this year and beyond."
PopCap making 25% of business in mobile space, sees future in social gaming
PopCap's Dave Roberts spoke with TechFlash recently, and revealed that about 25% of the company's profits are coming from the mobile division. You'd think that the iPhone would be a huge part of that (and it is), but it turns out the iPhone isn't alone -- Java/BREW versions of the games are also very popular for older wireless phones. In that sense, PopCap is a different iPhone game company -- rather than depending on Apple and the App Store for profits, it's a true cross-platform developer. Roberts says the company is aiming for social gaming next -- Zuma Blitz is going to be the next big push, and PopCap is very tuned in to the relationship between the iPhone and Facebook. "Our customers love it," Roberts says about combining iPhone games with Facebook stats. "It is really sticky. It gets people excited about playing." It'll be interesting to see what PopCap does with Apple's Game Center -- presumably, they'll include the functionality in their games sooner rather than later. Finally, Roberts says that a lot of casual game companies have come and gone in mobile gaming, but PopCap has endured, mostly because they simply work hard on making great games, and selling those in as many places as possible. "We've made more money on mobile gaming than probably any other company except for EA, just by doing our thing," he says. And as anyone who's enjoyed a Plants vs. Zombies marathon will tell you, we're glad they did.
