Slashdot Mirror
Domain: popcap.com
Stories and comments across the archive that link to popcap.com.
Stories · 10
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Casual Games Now Have Serious Budgets
eldavojohn writes "CNN is running a story on the increasingly-lucrative market for casual gaming. The article mentions that the latest PopCap game 'Bookworm Adventures' cost $700,000 to create. At $30 a pop for the title, PopCap is almost certain to make a profit." From the article: "Casual gamers play to relax -- the same reason people play solitaire, dominoes or mahjong. The games can be played for 5 minutes -- while the baby is sleeping or between office meetings -- or for hours at a stretch in a Zen-like trance. Big Fish Games Inc. released its most expensive title -- 'Travelogue 360: Paris' -- earlier this month. The Seattle-based company spent $300,000, hired seasoned illustrators and photographers, and bought the rights to images of historic landmarks like the Eiffel Tower. Players scour Paris for souvenirs as they are interviewed for an article in a travel magazine." -
Millions of Games
duncangough writes "With the recent rise in popularity of casual games and the seemingly established presence of community bookmarking sites such as del.icio.us, Millionsofgames.com is one of the first websites to provide an amalgamation of these two themes. MOG is a social bookmarking service for flash, shockwave and java games although any type of game can be added, such a MMORPGs or downloadable games like Zuma and Bejewelled." -
Millions of Games
duncangough writes "With the recent rise in popularity of casual games and the seemingly established presence of community bookmarking sites such as del.icio.us, Millionsofgames.com is one of the first websites to provide an amalgamation of these two themes. MOG is a social bookmarking service for flash, shockwave and java games although any type of game can be added, such a MMORPGs or downloadable games like Zuma and Bejewelled." -
PopCap Games Releases Open Source Framework
2d is the new 3d writes "PopCap Games has Open Sourced the framework used to make their hit downloadable web games. From the press release: 'The PopCap Games Framework provides developers a quick and easy way to get their projects off the ground, allowing more time to be spent on game design instead of compatibility bugs and multimedia programming issues. For the first time, casual game developers will have access to a refined, reliable framework that has been tested in dozens of games played by millions of customers. ...The PopCap Games Framework is available now at developer.popcap.com. It currently supports Windows 98, ME, 2000, and XP operating systems." -
Bejeweled 2 Released
swaptastic writes "In what seems like the year of fantastic sequels, Popcap Games has released the follow up to their flagship game Bejeweled. I am amazed that they continue to create such fun games, without relying on spyware to make money. In conjunction with the launch of Bejeweled 2, Popcap has decided to donate 1 dollar for every game they sell until x-mas to the Child's Play Charity." -
Scott McCloud On Micropayments And Gaming
Thanks to Game Girl Advance for its discussion of a lecture by comic creator Scott McCloud at EA's Redwood Shores campus, during which he floated "the idea of using micro-payments for online gaming, which he analogizes to feeding quarters into the arcade machines of yore." The article's author muses: "Would you pay 25 cents for 100 credits of Bejeweled? What about a dollar for six hours on EverQuest? How about a virtual penny arcade that let you play multiplayer Joust or Gauntlet II online with people from around the world? No monthly subscriptions, just pure pay-to-play." We've previously covered McCloud's hands-on interest in micropayments on Slashdot. -
Cable Boxes Get Gauntlet With Set-Top Games Deal
Thanks to Yahoo for reprinting a press release revealing a U.S. company called TvHead is attempting to make inroads into the games-via-cable-TV market, and has "secured agreements with... Midway Games [and] PopCap Games" to publish games such as Bookworm, Gauntlet, and Smash TV for availability as part of a cable TV service. The company's founder claims that: "Gaming revenues via interactive television have been projected to be as high as $2.7 billion by 2006", and players are meant to "...access the TvHead Games Channel with their remote control just as they would any other channel." The company's official site links to a recent CED magazine article that discusses advances in this area, including ICTV "showing off a version of Quake playing on DCT-1000s and DCT-2000s [cable boxes]." -
Cable Boxes Get Gauntlet With Set-Top Games Deal
Thanks to Yahoo for reprinting a press release revealing a U.S. company called TvHead is attempting to make inroads into the games-via-cable-TV market, and has "secured agreements with... Midway Games [and] PopCap Games" to publish games such as Bookworm, Gauntlet, and Smash TV for availability as part of a cable TV service. The company's founder claims that: "Gaming revenues via interactive television have been projected to be as high as $2.7 billion by 2006", and players are meant to "...access the TvHead Games Channel with their remote control just as they would any other channel." The company's official site links to a recent CED magazine article that discusses advances in this area, including ICTV "showing off a version of Quake playing on DCT-1000s and DCT-2000s [cable boxes]." -
Indie Developers Show They've Got Game
Thanks to Wired News for their article discussing the continuing rise to prominence of high-quality independent games. The successes are pinpointed: "Determined independents are making it in the game business. Where they're making their mark - and profits - is on the PC, through creative Net-based distribution, and in genres and with audiences that the mainstream game industry typically ignores or has left behind", and the article explains how companies like PopCap Games are actually making money nowadays, with "'deluxe' downloadable versions of their games that... offer additional features, such as additional game modes, better graphics and music, as well as the ability to play offline." -
The Return Of Shareware Games
An anonymous reader writes "CNN has a new column up looking at the re-emerging trend of shareware as a means to distribute games. With development prices soaring and space on retail shelves getting scarce, smaller companies like PopCap Games and GarageGames are returning to gaming's roots - and making money in the process."