Many different video game developers have made their mark on the community giving hopeful gamers a chance at grabbing the perfect game for them. However, while many games for traditional platforms are priced at $60 there are many games with a much smaller price tag giving gamers a chance at some great gameplay without breaking the ban. One such developer of these games is PopCap who have popular games like Plants vs. Zombies and Peggle.

While PopCap games have grown to be quite popular it seems that the company may be more valuable than we had originally thought. According to recent reports, EA is planning to purchase the indie game developer for a whopping $1 billion. Of course, at this point these reports remain nothing more than rumors so we’ll have to see how this one pans out.

According to SlyVisions, indie casual game developer PopCap, one of our favorites, is considering an IPO, putting the independent developer on the stock market. According to reports, PopCap did an impressive $100 million in revenue last year, a number that is surely to grow this year. PopCap is based in Seattle and currently employs over 400 people.

However, we got a bit bad news as well: according to PopCap president David Roberts, the company isn’t planing on announcing any new IPO this year, which is kind of disappointing, as PopCap is known for new, innovative games. I guess Plants vs Zombies and Bejeweled will have to do fill our needs for now. Oh, and Pizza Frenzy.

PopCap is running a great holiday sale on its PC and Mac games, with all games being 50% off through November 29. In case you’re wondering, it’s 50% off of all games, the entire catalog. Which you can find here. May we suggest Plants vs Zombies?

There have been numerous stories about how much money people have made developing iPhone apps, and here’s another one – Not too long ago we announced that PopCap’s Plants vs. Zombies was available on the App Store. It was a port of a popular PC game of the same name. Well, word has just gotten out that Plants vs. Zombies has netted PopCap an outrageous $1 million worth of revenue.

I’m going to have to learn how to do that.

via iphone

PopCap, one of the most celebrated and successful developers/publishers over the past year, have spoken kindly of Apple’s upcoming iPad tablet. While it won’t happen instantly, PopCap co-founder John Vechey said that it might happen a few years down the line.

“I think it will change gaming. Here’s this new device that gets to more people with a really great e-commerce model attached to it. It’s really easy to buy on the iPhone – that’s part of what makes it successful.”

However, many techies around the world have dismissed the iPad as just a larger iPhone — which is probably the same reason PopCap is embracing it.

The situation in Haiti is a mess, with millions of homes destroyed and over a hundred thousand dead, aid is badly needed. PopCap games has announced that all game sales proceeds today will go towards aid in Haiti, so if you were thinking of buying a PopCap game (we recommend Plants vs Zombies), today is the day to get one. Or you could just donate via RedCross.org.

If you’re a fan of casual PC games you’ve probably heard of Plants vs. Zombies. If you haven’t heard of it, it’s a tower defense type game that pits well, Plants against Zombies.

It was released towards the middle of ’09 but has yet to be ported to a portable platform. Luckily, for fans of the game, PopCap has announced that Plants vs. Zombies will be make a leap to the iPhone in late January.

There’s no word on how much it will cost. However, considering PopCap’s other iPhone games like Chuzzle, Peggle and Bookworm cost $1.99 it’d be safe to assume Plants vs. Zombies will too.

via destructoid

PopCap, developers and publishers of some of the most fun and addictive games today — especially when we’re talking about casual games — have released something that is destined as an instant cult classic. This time, they’ve given a new spin on the “Tower Defense” concept, where Zombies are on their way to invade your home, and all you have is a piece of lawn and some plants to defend your house. And what plants they are!

The gameplay is simple: place different types of plants — each with their strength and weaknesses — on the lawn (and back lawn, mind you) and try to stop the invading zombies. However, there are different zombies as well, for instance, some can pole vault over your defenses, while others can dig underground as well. Some can even raise dead zombies from the ground, so it’s always a challenge, and forces the player to mix it up. At the start of each game, you pick your seeds for the plants you want — but you have to chose wisely, as there are only a limited amount of slots, meaning a limited amount of plants you can use on a given level. As you progress, new plants are made available, each with their own special offensive and defensive capabilities, and there are 48 different plants in all.

Despite it being a cheap casual game, there are 50 levels in the game, and as you complete the levels, you get new features unlocked. As far as the enemies go, there are 26 types of zombies, which will give you plenty of challenge. On top of this, there are different modes as well, all in all, there’s more playing time to be had here than in most AAA titles. Granted, the few first levels in the game, actually, quite a few levels in the beginning are fairly easy, and some players might misunderstand the game as being too casual at this point. But keep playing, the challenging levels lie ahead, and they’re even more fun than the easy ones.

Technically, the game feels and looks like an advanced Flash game, but there’s nothing wrong with that, especially since Plants vs. Zombies is only priced at $10. The visuals are cute and suit the nature of the game, the sound effects are fun and the music is very moody and suitable for the game. However, as cute as the graphics are, they are not advanced by any means. For instance, you cannot get a higher resolution beyond 800×600, which is kind of a shame, really. But other than that, the game is smooth and bug free.

All in all, Plants Vs. Zombies is PopCap at its best. If you thought Peggle was addictive, this is a whole new level, and it’s gonna keep you playing for a long time. Definitely recommended to casual and hardcore gamers (who could probably use a little break from all the serious fragging — I sure could).

The Good:
Great fun
Lots of replay value
Cheap ($10)
Easy to get into

The Bad:
First half isn’t challenging
Only 800×600 resolution

Overall score: 9/10

The game was goofy as hell, PopCap’s take on a tower defense game pitting Plants vs. Zombies. Well, this comes as a surprise but PopCap has announced the game to be their fastest-selling game of all time. Yes, even more than Peggle and Bejeweled.

PopCap attributes Plants vs. Zombies‘ success to the unqiue gameplay and ability to hold its value even after the player has progressed through  the story mode.

Good job PopCap, you’ve succeeded at making another casual game to rival the addictiveness of World of Warcrack Warcraft.

Read (Joystiq)

PopCap’s Peggle has been released on the iPhone and iPod touch for just $4.99. Peggle has been a hit on both the DS, PC and Xbox 360, ever since it was released, back in 2007.

The iPhone and iPod touch version feature a redesigned user interface, touch capabilities (doh!), a zoom function and several new types of style shots. It’s available in the App store now.