Rez, Lumines Dev Bringing Peggle To DS

Delivering a keynote at CGA Seattle, PopCap Games CEO David Roberts revealed that the casual games publisher will release a Nintendo DS adaptation of Peggle in Winter 2008. The puzzle game, which was previously released for PC and iPod and has been announced for Xbox Live Arcade, will be developed by Q Entertainment, the studio behind Lumines, Meteos and Rez. Originally released in March 2007 for PC, Peggle was last reported as having been downloaded 10 million times. PopCap co-founder John Vechey previously expressed that the company was interested in porting the title to the Nintendo DS in a February interview with Pocket Gamer, but PopCap later denied that a DS port was in production. The publisher has yet to reveal any details for the forthcoming DS release of Peggle, but the game is expected to include more levels than any existing version of the game and re-mastered controls to accommodate the system's touchscreen. PopCap has also promised DS-exclusive stages and "surprise additions" for both veteran fans and novice players. Said PopCap vice president of video game platforms Greg Canessa: "I have a great deal of respect for Q Entertainment as one of the industry's preeminent game developers, with a proven reputation for creativity and innovation. Q is a great choice to partner with us - they share many of PopCap's design and creative philosophies and are equally big believers in quality and attention to detail. He continued: "These factors, combined with Q's impressive track record of success on DS and PSP, make this a natural fit. I'm confident that Q will create an experience with Peggle for DS that will both satisfy existing fans of the game and attract a new audience of on-the-go gamers who appreciate the DS for its one-of-a-kind display format and other unique capabilities."