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…

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…

Report: PopCap turned down $1B buyout offer from Zynga

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PopCap Games must be pretty confident in its ability to post strong financial results over the next couple years. Either that or the company likes Electronic Arts for more than just its money. A new report by Forbes, citing anonymous sources, says PopCap turned down a $1 billion cash acquisition bid from social gaming darling… Read More…

Q&A: PopCap co-founder on the EA deal, and the future

PopCap's John Vechey (Photo by Jon Jordin via Flickr)

John Vechey was one of three guys who started PopCap Games eleven years ago, defying the dot-com bust to create one of the most successful companies in casual games, with hit franchises including Bejeweled, Plants vs. Zombies and Zuma. Today, the company announced a deal to be sold to gaming giant Electronic Arts for $750… Read More…

EA buying PopCap Games for up to $1.3 billion (Updated)

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[Updated at 3 p.m.] The rumors were true: Seattle-based PopCap Games, maker of games such as Bejeweled, Plants vs. Zombies and Peggle, has reached a deal to be acquired by Electronic Arts for between $750 million $1.3 billion, with the price depending on how well the PopCap business performs financially over the next two years…. Read More…