18 posts and columns on casual games

Maybe You Should Start Paying Attention to Indie Games Developers

in Commerce on May 17 at 2:47 pm PT

Combine small teams, personal passion and a large accessible market and you have the makings of a creative explosion.
pocket_god_screen

Will There Be More Plush Toys? Rovio’s Former Branding Exec Lands at Big Fish Games.

in Commerce on January 25 at 6:00 am PT

Games maker Big Fish has hired former Rovio executive Wibe Wagemans to head up mobile.
Wibe_2

Zynga’s First Post-IPO Title Is a Copycat of the Most Popular Facebook Game of 2011

in Commerce on January 4 at 9:15 am PT

It was a surprise when the top Facebook game of 2011 wasn’t a title from market-leading Zynga. But this year, the newly public company has plans to change that.
Hidden Chronicles_Poster

Big Fish’s Mystery Case Files Has Been Played by Millions — But It’s Not a Hit

in Commerce on November 10, 2011 at 12:10 pm PT

Big Fish, the developer of casual games for PC and mobile, will launch its eighth episode of the franchise Mystery Case Files around Thanksgiving — but the title isn’t one of the company’s big hits.
bigfish_mystery case files

Casual Game Maker Big Fish Cuts Checks to Shareholders on Way to IPO

in Commerce on October 31, 2011 at 3:00 am PT

Seattle-based Big Fish doles out a hefty dividend to nearly all of its employees, as renewed rumors hint that an IPO could come as soon as next year.
big fish_logo

RealNetwork’s GameHouse Focuses on Facebook Instead of Spinoff

in Commerce on September 22, 2011 at 7:50 am PT

RealNetworks is a cornucopia of businesses, but this story is about GameHouse, the Seattle company’s $100 million casual games business.
gamehouse Bayou Blast screenshot

Videogames Discover Daily Deals as PopCap’s Plants vs. Zombies Sells for Half Off

in Commerce on July 29, 2011 at 12:29 pm PT

PopCap is selling one of its most popular games for half-off today on Tippr, which competes against Groupon and others, creating an industry match-up between daily deals and gaming.
popcap_plantsvszombies

News Byte

PopCap Plans IPO for November as It Emphasizes Mobile and Social Games

in Commerce on May 18, 2011 at 3:24 pm PT

Making good on its announced intentions, Seattle’s PopCap Games, a casual game maker known for titles like Bejeweled, confirmed it is preparing to go public as soon as November, according to a company spokesperson. Popcap has been busy recently beefing up its mobile and social game offerings, today launching the first social version of Plants vs. Zombies on the Chinese social networking site Renren. It also has released its first Android games via an exclusive in the Amazon Appstore.

Casual Game Maker PopCap Buys Social Games Studio ZipZapPlay

in Commerce on April 29, 2011 at 9:27 am PT

Looking to expand beyond casual game titles such as Bejeweled, PopCap Games has acquired ZipZapPlay, a social games company based in San Francisco.

News Byte

Survey Finds Video Game Usage on Phones Tops Consoles, Computers

in Commerce on February 28, 2011 at 8:59 pm PT

Seattle-based PopCap has commissioned a study that doesn’t necessarily support the bulk of its business to date — making games for consoles and computers. The pre-IPO casual-game maker of Bejeweled said the survey, conducted by Information Solutions Group, found that among mobile phone gamers in the U.S. and UK, 44 percent say the phone is the primary gaming device of choice, leapfrogging video game consoles (21 percent) and personal computers (30 percent) since a similar survey was last conducted in 2009.

PopCap Games Ready for IPO in 2011

in Commerce, January 31, 2011 at 7:00 am PT

OMGPOP Wins a $10 Million Round for Social Games From Rho, Softbank

in Media, January 6, 2011 at 11:17 am PT

Why We Can't Stop Playing

in News, November 30, 2010 at 5:00 am PT

Casual Games Start-Up OMGPOP Raising a Serious Funding Round

in Media, November 2, 2010 at 1:55 pm PT

Rob Glaser Eased Out as RealNetworks CEO

in News, January 13, 2010 at 12:50 pm PT

Videogame Sales Off Again Last Month

in News, December 11, 2009 at 1:00 am PT