EA cuts staff, shuts down PopCap Vancouver office

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Electronic Arts slashed jobs at its Los Angeles and Montreal offices earlier this year, and next up on the chopping block appears to be Vancouver’s PopCap hub. EA, which owns Seattle-based PopCap, confirmed on Thursday that it was cutting its workforce, with several outlets reporting as much as 10 percent of employees laid off. The company wouldn’t specify which… Read More…

EA pulls plug on some Facebook games, doubles down on PopCap

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Electronic Arts today announced that it is retiring three of its popular Facebook games, including The Sims Social, SimCity Social and Pet Society. The online gaming news site Gamasutra calls the move a surprise, but notes that some developers are making a bigger push into mobile games versus browser-based games. “After millions of people initially logged in to… Read More…

EA CEO John Riccitiello to resign as game maker seeks new leader amid weak results

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Electronic Arts CEO John Riccitiello announced today that he’s stepping down from the game maker effective March 30. The company, which owns Seattle-based PopCap Games, also warned that its revenues and earnings per share for the fourth quarter ”will be at the low end of, or slightly below previously issued guidance.” Riccitiello is the co-founder Elevation Partners, a… Read More…

PopCap debuts first social hidden object game on Facebook with Hidden Agenda

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Seattle-based PopCap Games is back with another game featuring anthropomorphic animals, and this time it’s all about solving mysteries. Hidden Agenda is PopCap’s first ever social hidden object game on Facebook and is currently out for beta. You can test out the game, but the big launch with the full version won’t be out until… Read More…

PopCap pulls plug on Dublin office, cutting 96 jobs

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PopCap Games is cutting back even further, announcing today that it closed its offices in Dublin, Ireland. Ninety-six employees are losing their jobs as a result of the closure, which should not come as a surprise. At the time of last month’s announcement, the maker of Plants vs. Zombies and Bejeweled said it was considering shutting down the Ireland… Read More…

PopCap launches new game, Plants vs. Zombies store amid EA buyout speculation

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Much is happening for PopCap this week, with the launch of new game Vacation Quest and an online Plants v. Zombies store. All in the midst of buyout rumors of its parent company, Electronic Arts, reported by that little scamp of New York journalism, the New York Post. Let’s start with the EA thing: Yesterday,… Read More…

The Sims vs. The Ville, EA files suit against Zynga

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Electronic Arts‘ has apparently had enough of its too-close-for-comfort neighbors The Ville. The gaming giant has filed suit against Zynga, accusing the game maker of essentially ripping off their popular game The Sims Social. The copyright infringement case was filed in a San Francisco federal court today, calling The Ville an “unmistakable copy” of The… Read More…

New study: Half of games played with mobile devices at home, often on couch or bed

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In yet more breaking news about our evolutionary slide into slothdom, PopCap released details of a study showing that half of U.S. and UK gamers use their mobile devices as their primary device at home. The kicker? The most popular places to play are on the couch and in bed. Alone, we presume. The study… Read More…

PopCap doubles down on Facebook games with grand opening of Lucky Gem Casino

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This could get pretty interesting. PopCap Games this week launched a new series of casino-style games on Facebook in which players compete in slot-based games, playing by themselves or with friends using virtual currency. The Lucky Gem Casino games — which utilize characters from PopCap’s line-up of blockbuster hits such as Chuzzle, Bejeweled and Zuma… Read More…

Electronic Arts posts $1 billion in digital revenues in 2011

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Buoyed by the strength of PopCap Games and new titles such as Star Wars: The Old Republic, Electronic Arts today posted the highest operating cash flow in 31 quarters and revenue of $1 billion for the quarter ended December 31. The Redwood City, California gaming giant, which purchased Seattle-based PopCap for as much as $1.3… Read More…