Angry bakers have fingers burned as Baking Life Facebook game gets the chop
PopCap Games has angered virtual bakers on Facebook by deciding to shut the doors to its Baking Life app on Jan 31. Despite many users having spent real money buying virtual ‘Zip Cash’ to use in the game, PopCap says any remaining currency is non-transferable and non-refundable.
Baking Life currently attracts 730,000 monthly average users, and PopCap, which is owned by Electronic Arts, says that just isn’t enough. “The Baking Life player numbers have dropped … Continue Reading
DeanBeat: Game companies went on a $2.8B buying spree in 2011
The social and mobile games gold rush inspired lots of investments in 2011, as venture capitalists tried to find the next Zynga. But the year was also a big one for acquisitions, particularly as big companies such as Electronic Arts tried to outmaneuver the social game giant via acquisitions.
In 2011, 77 game companies were acquired for at least $2.827 billion, according to research by VentureBeat and other sources. We didn’t count the numbers for … Continue Reading
People who cheat at social games are three times more likely to cheat in real life
People who cheat at social games are cheaters in real life too. So says a survey by casual game maker PopCap Games.
The survey looked at the habits of more than 1,200 adult consumers. Of those who admit cheating, the stats are telling. About 48 percent of them admit to cheating in real life as well. Of those who say they don’t cheat in social games, only 14 percent said they cheated in real life … Continue Reading
PopCap joins the league of Chrome app developers with Bejeweled
PopCap Games, the company responsible for casual gaming phenomena such as Bejeweled, Peggle, and Plants vs. Zombies, has announced its support for the Google Chrome Web browser. The company’s first Chrome offering, simply titled “Bejeweled” — a watered-down version of the Bejeweled 3 retail experience — is now available on the Chrome web store.
The special Chrome edition uses HTML5, the new lingua franca for web apps. The game can be downloaded for free and … Continue Reading
The 10 Best Gaming Videos of 2011
This year has been a great one for gaming. To celebrate, here are 10 of the finest gaming related videos to have hit the scene in 2011. Some are fan made, some are by big game studios, but all are worth watching. Some are for mature audiences.
Dead Island: trailer of the year?
Few game trailers have elicited as emotional a response as this one, for Dead Island. Moody, subtle and emotionally rich, it … Continue Reading
EA shows mobile and social games for winter fun, from Battlefield 3 Aftershock to a new Tetris
Electronics Arts showed off its new mobile and social games for the holiday season and beyond today at an event in San Francisco. Among the big titles were Battlefield 3 Aftershock for Apple devices, a free version of The Sims for Apple, and a refresh of the classic Tetris game for both Apple and Android.
Battlefield 3 Aftershock (pictured above) is an iPhone and iPad game that was still in an early alpha state. The … Continue Reading
Zynga spurned by both Rovio and PopCap Games in huge takeover offers?
Zynga was reportedly spurned by two companies it was trying to acquire in what would have been gigantic deals in the game industry, according to a story in the New York Times.
Zynga reportedly offered $950 million in cash to purchase PopCap Games this summer, the Times reported, citing two unnamed sources. Interestingly, that would have been ALL of Zynga’s cash, unless it was able, as it did later, to secure a big line of … Continue Reading
Gaming stamina and player growth is on the rise, PopCap survey says
The percentage of the internet users in the U.S and the U.K. who play social games for periods greater than 15 minutes a week have nearly a doubled, according to a study by PopCap Games.
About 41 percent of players now play for more than 15 minutes, compared 24 percent last year. PopCap Games, a division of Electronic Arts, is one of the most well-recognized names in the field of casual video games. Founded in … Continue Reading
EA acquires mobile game developer Bight Games
Electronic Arts attempted to bolster its mobile and casual game business today by acquiring Bight Games, a maker of indie mobile games.
Bight has a solid track record in “freemium” games (where the app is free and users pay real money for virtual goods) on Apple’s iOS platform (iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch games). In a blog post, EA Interactive chief Barry Cottle says, “The freemium game model in mobile is here to stay and … Continue Reading
Reflections on GamesBeat 2011 and the road ahead in mobile games
Our well-attended GamesBeat 2011 conference took place this week, and here’s what you missed.
As I noted in a preview story on mobile games, the conference was all about the wide-open battle for control of the emerging mobile gaming market. The highlights below follow the chronological appearance of the speakers. It’s a long story, but it will tell you what the conference was like in case you missed it.
Fireside chat with Brian Farrell
Brian … Continue Reading
Electronic Arts borrows $550M in convertible loans to finance PopCap deal
Electronic Arts said today it has priced $550 million in convertible debt in a private placement. That means it is borrowing money in order to finance part of its purchase of PopCap games, which will cost $750 million at a minimum and as much of $1.3 billion over time.
EA has the cash for this deal, but it isn’t using it. That could mean EA’s buying spree isn’t over, since the debt will give EA … Continue Reading
17 reasons to attend GamesBeat 2011
We’ve been writing a lot of posts about our speakers at GamesBeat 2011. But here’s a summary of why we think this will be the must-attend game conference for you.
We’re gathering the industry’s top CEOs, entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, investors, journalists, marketers, developers and other key executives for a two-day gathering at the elegant Palace Hotel in San Francisco, from July 12 to July 13. The event is co-located with our MobileBeat conference this year … Continue Reading
And we’re signing up even more great GamesBeat speakers
Today we’re revealing the eleventh group of speakers for our third annual GamesBeat 2011 conference. Our newest batch of speakers illustrates the wide variety of speakers and topics we’re getting for our event on July 12-13 at the Palace Hotel in San Francisco. We’ve got 66 speakers signed up and more are coming soon (see agenda).
Our new speakers include Brian Selzer, president of Ogmento; Suli Ali, CEO of mobile game maker TinyCo; … Continue Reading
