PopCap Games Enters the Console Market

Casual game behemoth PopCap Games will be testing the console waters with the release of two “greatest hits” packages for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 2.

PopCap Arcade Volume 1, for the Xbox 360, will feature Bejeweled 2, AstroPop, Feeding Frenzy and Zuma, and will list for $29.95, while PopCap Hits Volume 1 will offer Bejeweled 2 and AstroPop for the PlayStation 2 at $19.95. While the Xbox titles have previously been available via Xbox Live Arcade, this marks the first retail release of Xbox games from PopCap, and the first PopCap games ever for the PlayStation 2 system.

Glenn Drover, PopCap director of retail sales, said, “We’re very excited to be bringing some of our top million-selling casual games to consoles via retail shelves, and eager to see how consumers respond. We’ve had tremendous success at retail with the PC versions of many of our games, and these new collections for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 2 are priced even more aggressively, so they should be a hit with holiday shoppers.”

Founded in 2000, PopCap has quickly grown to become the world’s dominant casual game developer and publisher, and in July, announced the acquisition of casual game companies SpinTop and Retro64. Its best-known hit remains Bejeweled, which was released in 2001; since then, Bejeweled and Bejeweled 2 have sold more than 10 million units across multiple platforms and have been downloaded over 300 million times.