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Bejeweled, Bookworm coming to DSiWare

by Justin McElroy { Sep 21st 2009 at 10:13AM }

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 following Peggle: Dual Shot with DS Bookworm, Bejeweled Twist

by JC Fletcher { Feb 26th 2009 at 9:45AM }

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

by Xav de Matos { Jan 28th 2009 at 10:00PM }

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

by Andrew Yoon { Jan 28th 2009 at 3:40PM }

	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: Bejeweled 2 (PSN)

Continued →

Gaming to Go: The Quest Trio

by Matthew Madeiro { Jan 5th 2009 at 3:00PM }

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.

NEXT >>

Gallery: The Quest Trio

Bejeweled 2 rated by ESRB

by Majed Athab { Dec 20th 2008 at 6:00PM }

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.

EA releases Tetris for Android, Bejeweled and Monopoly to follow

by Randy Nelson { Oct 29th 2008 at 4:15PM }

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.

Popcap spinning out Bejeweled Twist in October

by Ross Miller { Sep 29th 2008 at 8:30PM }

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!

Bejeweled add-on coming to World of Warcraft

by Griffin McElroy { Sep 20th 2008 at 8:30PM }

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.

Homebrew proposal culminates in 'Bejeweled' wedding

by Kyle Orland { Sep 1st 2008 at 5:00PM }

You've probably all but forgotten about a story we ran way back in March in which one Bernie Peng used a homebrew version of Bejeweled to propose to his girlfriend of three years. Well, Bejeweled publisher PopCap didn't forget about the proposal, helping to make the couple's wedding this Saturday an unforgettable affair.

According to the New Jersey Star-Ledger, PopCap chipped in $1,000 for decorations ($500 of which went to a Nintendo DS-shaped cake) and $5,000 for free copies of Bejeweled that were given to all 250 guests. "There are good ways and bad ways to hack software and to us, this is a good way," said PopCap spokesman Garth Chouteau. After a honeymoon in Bali, the happy, nerdy couple will also get a guided tour of Popcap's Seattle headquarters.

Bejeweled franchise downloaded 350 million times, sells 25 million units

by Alexander Sliwinski { Aug 19th 2008 at 1:30PM }

The crack refinement corporation disguising itself as a game company -- also known as PopCap Games -- has announced that the Bejeweled franchise has sold over 25 million units across all platforms. The definition of "all platforms" would consist of online, mobile, retail, "in-flight" and other channels.

PopCap also noted that the Bejeweled series has been downloaded 350 million times from the interwebs and makes up one third of the company's billion-plus downloads. The game has earned over $300 million in revenue through sales and "tens of millions" in online advertising. Jason Kapalka, co-founder of PopCap, says online distributors wanted no part of the game when it released eight years ago -- he vividly remembers buyers telling him, "It's not even a game."

Romantic gamer proposes with homebrewed Bejeweled

by Scott Jon Siegel { Mar 6th 2008 at 10:00PM }

Proposing in MMOs like World of Warcraft and Second Life is played out, so what's a gamer to do when he wants to drop to one knee and still retain his nerd credibility? Well, how about homebrewing your honey's favorite game to pop the question?

Xanga user Bernie did just that to propose to his girlfriend Tammy. Knowing that Bejeweled was her favorite game, Bernie spent a few weeks putting together a Nintendo DS version (completely from scratch, no less). Once the game hits a certain score, the screen clears and a ring made of the game's jewel sprites lowers on the screen.

When his girlfriend played the game and arrived at the special screen, Bernie was ready with real ring in hand. Proposal by casual game is certainly a first, so congrats to Bernie and Tammy both for getting engaged, and for setting a new precedent in nerd love.

Man proposes using homebrew Bejeweled

by Chris Greenhough { Mar 6th 2008 at 7:00PM }

Hey, casual games don't have to be cynical exercises in making loadsamoney. In fact, our inner romantic dork almost swooned after recently reading the tale of Bernie and Tammy, who tied the knot thanks to the mother of all casual titles: Bejeweled.

Okay, so strictly speaking, it wasn't the Bejeweled, but a DS homebrew version of Popcap's wildly popular creation, as developed from scratch by Bernie. The game is a favorite of his partner Tammy, so the young Casanova wrote her a special version, and gave it her to play.

The reason why Bernie's Bejeweled was special? Well, when Tammy reached a certain score, the screen cleared and a ring scrolled down in its place. Apparently, it was at this point that Bernie got down on one knee and popped the question. A no doubt thrilled Tammy said "yes." Awwww.

Congrats, you two! We're off to buy new hats!

[Via Game|Life]

Balloon Pop bursts into view

by Alisha Karabinus { Jan 21st 2008 at 10:31PM }

One would think that Balloon Pop is about popping balloons, and that would, in fact, be correct. But it's not just a matter of running around with a pin all willy-nilly in this puzzle title; no, there is a method to the popping madness. Of course, said method may strike as a little similar to Bejeweled, or one of the many other takes on the gem-matching subgenre of puzzle games. This time, as you might have guessed, it's balloons, but not just any balloons. A scurvy thief has stolen the seasons, and you're tasked with releasing them in order to save the planet.

Isn't it great when even the simplest games feature epic quests? We can't help but love it, especially when they're accompanied by a budget price.

Wii Warm Up: The questing continues some more

by Eric Caoili { Nov 30th 2007 at 9:00AM }

As if responding to the concerns we raised yesterday, D3Publisher announced what changes and additions gamers can expect with the Wii port of Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords. Shouldn't we have heard about these details at an earlier date, preferably before the game was shipped out?

Anyway, this new Wii version of the puzzle/RPG hybrid has rebalanced elements, a replay option for capturing monsters, and a two-player multiplayer mode. As we predicted, there are no online features, unlike the Xbox Live Arcade and PC releases. Developer Vicious Cycle Software did, however, make sure to integrate "waggle control options with the Wii Remote."

Were any of you actually hoping for motion-based controls? Or were you wishing, like we were, that the developer would focus its efforts on implementing the primary feature fans of the handheld versions were asking for? We'll probably pick up Puzzle Quest anyway; we just wish we could play against some of you online.