PopCap, SOE Partner For Five PSN Titles

Casual games developer and publisher PopCap Games announced an exclusive publishing agreement with Sony Online Entertainment to bring five of its titles to the PlayStation Network in North America, with European versions planned to follow at a later date. PlayStation 3 owners can already purchase and download the first title released under the deal, Bejeweled 2, from the system's PlayStation store for $9.99. The release includes support for PSN Trophies, PSP Remote Play, and HD resolution. The match-three puzzle game also includes four modes, new gems, and a hint-on-demand feature. The other four casual titles slated for an eventual PS3 release include Zuma, Heavy Weapon, Peggle, and Feeding Frenzy. Despite the "exclusive" nature of the publishing agreement itself, all of the titles have been previously released on a variety of platforms such as PC, handhelds and mobile, and other home consoles, including Microsoft's Xbox Live Arcade. The announcement comes a day after PopCap revealed that its retail sales for PC titles grew by 85.3 percent in 2008, a remarkable achievement considering the PC game industry suffered more than a 14 percent decline in overall revenues from retail outlets during the same year. "As leaders in their genre, PopCap is to casual games what SOE is to MMOs," says SOE president John Smedley. "Being the second largest publisher on the PlayStation Network, SOE is excited that this partnership will expand the PlayStation Network catalog with awesome casual titles that players of all types can enjoy."