Record-breaking PopCap Games Looks to Singapore

PRLog (Press Release) - Jan 28, 2010 -
PopCap Games® (www.popcap.com), the leading developer and publisher of broadly appealing casual video games, struck gold with four entries in the Guinness World Records 2010 Gamer’s Edition – including Most Popular Puzzle Game Series of the Century for Bejeweled® and Most Downloaded Physics Puzzle Game for Peggle®.  With ten years of game development and more than 1 billion downloads under its belt, PopCap Games is now looking to Singapore as a strategic market.

“We’ve got very ambitious plans for growing PopCap in the APAC region – starting with Singapore. PopCap has a high-quality bar and prioritises doing things right, so we’re taking the time now to look at Singapore and what we can do here to deliver the best possible casual-gaming experience,” says James Gwertzman, VP of Asia Pacific, PopCap Games.  

PopCap’s games are known for their wholesome content, casual style, vibrant colours and entrancing music – capturing players whether young or old, female or male. The Bejeweled franchise, a puzzle game first developed for Web in 2001, is applauded for over 350 million downloads, making it the most popular puzzle game of the century.  Two sequels, Bejeweled 2 (2004) and Bejeweled Twist (2008), have achieved sales of more than 25 million units to date. And Bejeweled Blitz (2009), a one minute version of the game, is blazing a trail on Facebook.

The other two Guinness World Records 2010 Gamer’s Edition winners include: Best of PC award for Plants vs. Zombies®; and the First European Peggle Champion, Cherise Sellers, from the United Kingdom.

In Singapore, four Psychology Major students from the School of Humanities and Social Sciences of Nanyang Technological University (NTU) are conducting a final-year honours project, “The Effect of Bejeweled on our Cognition”.  The objective of the project is to investigate the effects of people’s cognitive abilities when playing video games.  Bejeweled was chosen for the study because of its popularity amongst Singaporeans, regardless of gender.  The students are examining whether those who play Bejeweled on a regular basis have superior cognitive abilities – including selective attention and executive planning – compared to those who do not.

According to Dr Michael Donald Patterson, Assistant Professor from NTU’s Division of Psychology, “Contrary to popular belief, playing some computer games may actually lead to positive benefits.  Since people in Singapore often spend hours every week playing these games, it is important to understand their effects on cognition.  We have chosen Bejeweled because the game makes high demands on visual perception, attention, and planning.  We are now examining whether increased skills acquired through playing Bejeweled will transfer to non-gaming situations; thereby, improving performance in everyday life.”

Other top PopCap titles include:
Plants vs. Zombies, a tower defence game, is one of the newest additions to the PopCap Games family. Noted for its strategic game design and humourous content, gameplay sees the player plant mutant vegetation to prevent packs of zombies from invading the player’s house.

PopCap’s Peggle (2007) and sequel Peggle Nights (2008), inspired by pachinko, pinball and pool, have reached cult-gaming status.  With more than 50 million downloads from hardcore gamers to casual players alike, Peggle is available on PC, mobile, iPhone and XBLA.

PopCap’s Zuma® franchise (including the 2009 release, Zuma’s Revenge!) has sold 17 million copies worldwide. The player takes the role of a fearless ball-shooting frog, exploring ancient temples and ruins. By firing coloured spheres into an advancing chain of balls to make matches of three or more, the frog blasts his way through a series of arcade challenges.

About PopCap Games
PopCap Games (www.popcap.com) is the leading multi-platform provider of fun, easy-to-learn, captivating video games that appeal to everyone from age 6 to 106. Based in Seattle, Washington, PopCap was founded in 2000 and has a worldwide staff of over 240 people in Seattle, San Francisco, Chicago, Vancouver, B.C., Dublin, and Shanghai. Its games have been downloaded more than 1 billion times by consumers worldwide, and its flagship title, Bejeweled®, has sold more than 25 million units across all platforms. Constantly acclaimed by consumers and critics, PopCap’s games are played on social networks, the Web, desktop computers, myriad mobile devices (cell phones, smartphones, PDAs, Pocket PCs, iPod, iPhone and more), popular game consoles (such as Xbox, PlayStation and DS), and in-flight entertainment systems. PopCap is the only “casual games” developer with leading market share across all major sales channels, including Web portals, retail stores, mobile phones, MP3 players, and game devices.

The PopCap logo and all other trademarks used herein that are listed at www.popcap.com/trademarks are owned by PopCap Games, Inc. or its licensors and may be registered in some countries. Other company and product names used herein may be trademarks of their respective owners and are used for the benefit of those owners.

Press contact:
Rodaline Davila
Asia-Pacific Connections
+65 6334 9045
rodaline@apconnections.com