It has been reported today that Dave Roberts will be stepping down as CEO from PopCap Games effective next week, as the studio responsible for Plants vs. Zombies and Peggle plans to get back to their development roots for 2014. In addition, chief game designer Jason Kapalka will also been leaving the PvZ studio shortly. Taking over Roberts' position will be the last remaining co-founder of PopCap, John Vechey. Will this usher in a new era for the popular developer of casual games?If anything, it seems that PopCap's plans for the future are a little bit mixed right now. On the one hand, Vechey has been quoted in an exclusive interview with GamesBeat as saying "PopCap's mission right now is to create the greatest mobile game studio in the world, and we're going to do that by only making games that are beloved by players." Yet in the same interview, it is also stated that PopCap plans to expand beyond the realm of mobile going forward, in attempt to "get back to the place where we used to be.""For a while, it was looking like PopCap's efforts might be shifting to exclusively focus on free-to-play mobile games, but now that's looking less likely thanks to these recent comments. PopCap certainly had an interesting 2013 as far as game releases were concerned. They first caused controversy by releasing the long-awaited Plants vs. Zombies 2: It's About Time exclusively on iOS platforms, with an Android release coming a few months after, and PC gamers still anxiously waiting for their turn at the game. And then in an even more surprising move, the highly-anticipated Peggle 2 was released exclusively for Microsoft's next-gen home gaming console, the Xbox One.But regardless of what systems they ultimately appear on, more original IPs and sequels from PopCap in 2014 could never be a bad thing: at least if you're planning on getting any work done this year (I've lost days of my life just to Peggle alone!).
With a new year freshly underway, new beginnings are in order - and for IGN, that means starting a brand new website in China. And that's not the only news that broke this week. While the west is still sleeping off a New Year's hangover, business has been in full swing in China. Lawsuits, marketing, and more made the list of this week's happenings.Thanks, as always, to our friends at Beijing-based Laohu.com for providing us with the following insights into the Chinese games market. If you're looking for daily info, be sure to bookmark Laohu.com to stay on top of everything that's happening in the most populous country in the world.
Looking over how well I did with my 2013 game predictions (>50% accuracy, thank you very much), the pressure is on for this year. Do I play it safe (e.g., say Zynga will shed another 25% of its staff in layoffs) or throw caution in the wind?You know the answer. Let's go game prediction crazy!"
In our nice little corner of the gaming world, King's match-3 puzzle hybrid Candy Crush Saga has become the Grand Theft Auto V, the Beyoncé, and The New York Yankees all rolled up into one. Simply put, the game is huge. And when a new game manages to take the entire industry by storm like Candy Crush did, well you know what that means: tons of clones from other developers begin popping up to try and recapture the magic of the original.You've probably already played a game or two that was somewhat "like" Candy Crush Saga before, and so we thought it'd only be fitting to gather a list of some of the best like-minded experiences we've seen in one convenient place for you right here. And if you're ever planning on making your own match-3 game that plays like Candy Crush Saga, you'll want to include candy, jewels, or fruit, and throw in the word "mania" at the end of your title!
At the beginning of December, we first told you that King's charmingly addictive Facebook game Farm Heroes Saga would be moseying on over to the mobile camp in the near future. But at the time of that writing, only those lucky gamers in Canada, Romania, Sweden, and Spain were able to partake in all of the farm-matching mayhem on the go. Well now the wait is finally over, as King has officially unleashed the mobile version of Farm Heroes Saga for iOS and Android devices worldwide today!In case you've never had the chance to play it before, Farm Heroes Saga takes the pitch-perfect match-3 and puzzle-infused gameplay of Candy Crush Saga and redresses it in a bubblier (and albeit healthier) environment full of tasty farm crops. But despite the change in the items you'll be matching, that addictive gameplay is still ever intact. And now that we can play it on our smartphones wherever we go? Well now that's just downright dangerous. But who really wants to make eye contact with other people these days anyways?"Farm Heroes Saga can be downloaded for free right now on the iOS App Store and Google Play Marketplace.
Making predictions can always be a dangerous thing, because when you're actually right about something, there's no quicker way to making you feel like the next Nostradamus. Well right now, I think there's only one gaming prediction that can be made with 100% certainty of it actually happening: 2014 is going to bring some wonderful new gaming experiences! But you didn't need me to tell you that, now did you? Let's try and make some more specific predictions about the future of video games, shall we?Yesterday we got to see some 2014 predictions from Gamezebo's Editor-in-Chief Jim Squires, but today it's my turn. And I've decided to delve into everything from book publishers creating more video games, to Nintendo's reluctant future in the mobile games space. Think I'm right? Think I couldn't be more wrong? Weigh in with your thoughts on my predictions down in the replies, and let us know what YOU think the gaming world will have in store for 2014!"
Well it looks like we made it fellow gamers: 2014 has arrived! And while most of us are either still recovering from a night spent out in the freezing cold at Times Squares to watch the ball drop, or battling a stomachache from eating one too many pigs in a blanket, there's nothing that cures those New Year's Day blues than a fresh batch of brand new mobile games. And luckily for you, in a few short hours you'll be getting just that!And since we're on the topic of ringing in the New Year, one of my immediate New Year's resolutions is to play every single new iOS game that will be hitting the App Store later on tonight: from a very transformative SEGA-themed racer, to a long-awaited sequel that has you pulling off some more exhilarating vehicle stunts. Of course, sitting in front of my iPad all night sure won't be helping my other "get more exercise" resolution, but I guess we all need to make sacrifices every now and again."
I'm entering into this year's predictions far more humble than I did 2013's. Why? Because I got everything wrong last year. But that's ok - life is a learning experience, and I've learned to keep my predictions a tad more realistic. So with that in mind, I'M GONNA PREDICT SO HARD YOUR FACE IS GOING TO MELT.Can I break the bad predictions curse? We'll find out in twelve months. See you in 2015, doubters!!(Geez, I really hope I got it right this time).