PopCap Games’ Bejeweled Twist debuts on BigPond

One of the world’s most popular casual games is now available to Australians exclusively on BigPond.

Bejeweled Twist is the latest release in the Bejeweled franchise. The first two games - Bejeweled and Bejeweled 2 - have been downloaded more than 350 million times and played for more than six billion hours since PopCap pioneered the first game eight years ago.

Telstra Media Group Managing Director Justin Milne said BigPond has exclusive distribution rights until May 2009, cementing BigPond’s position as a leader in digital entertainment.

“The popularity of casual gaming is exploding, so we are thrilled to have exclusive distribution rights for this hugely popular new game,” Mr Milne said.

“BigPond is dedicated to giving Australians the very latest and best games, as part of Telstra’s media-comms strategy to be the leader in online entertainment,” he said.

Casual gaming is hugely popular, with Bejeweled’s creator, PopCap boasting 1 billion-plus downloads of all PopCap titles.

“We’re thrilled to partner exclusively with BigPond to bring Bejeweled Twist to Australian casual game fans,” James Gwertzman, PopCap’s Vice President for Asia/Pacific, said.

“With 25 million units sold to date, the Bejeweled franchise is one of the most popular game franchises ever. Australia is one of our biggest markets, and we can’t wait to release this, the best Bejeweled game yet,” Mr Gwertzman said.

Offering a fresh spin on the classic gem-swapping puzzle series, Bejeweled Twist lets players test their mettle with four game modes - Classic, Zen, Challenge and Blitz - the original Gem Rotator, eye popping graphics and special effects.

The premise of Bejeweled Twist follows its predecessors Bejeweled and Bejeweled 2, where players swap one gem with the adjacent gem to form horizontal or vertical chains of three or more gems. But in the latest edition, players rotate jewels freely to set up exciting combinations, outwit obstacles like Locks and Bombs, and create high voltage Flame and Lightning gems.

Bejeweled Twist can be purchased for $26.99 from BigPond Games (www.bigpondgames.com). BigPond is the exclusive Australian online retailer of Bejeweled Twist.

About the Bejeweled franchise (Bejeweled and Bejeweled 2):

* Bejeweled is the most popular casual video game franchise of the 21st century[1]
* In August 2008, PopCap confirmed it had sold 25 million units of its flagship franchise, Bejeweled, since they found the company in 2000. This figure represents one unit sold every ten seconds or more than 6 billion hours of ’gameplay’.
* More than 350 million copies of Bejeweled and Bejeweled 2 have been downloaded from the web, accounting for nearly a third of the 1 billion-plus downloads of all PopCap titles.
* The Bejeweled franchise is one of the most ubiquitous and accessible in the history of video games. Versions of the game are available for Web, PCs and Macs, mobile phones, Xbox and PlayStation consoles, personal digital assistants (PDAs) and Blackberrys, iPods and iPhone, in-flight on leading airlines, on-demand TV systems in hotels and even scratch-off lottery tickets.
* Bejeweled and Bejeweled 2 have collectively been enjoyed for an estimated 6 billion hours or 684,000 years, which is the equivalent of 60 people playing the game 24 hours a day since the last Ice Age 11,400 years ago.
* The Bejeweled series is created by PopCap Games, the leading multi-platform provider of casual games’.

About PopCap

PopCap Games (www.popcap.com) is the leading multi-platform provider of “casual games” - fun, easy-to-learn, captivating computer games that appeal to everyone from age 6 to 106. Based in Seattle, Washington, PopCap was founded in 2000 and has a worldwide staff of over 200 people in Seattle, San Francisco, Chicago, Vancouver, B.C., Dublin, Ireland and Shanghai. Its games have been downloaded more than 1 billion times by consumers worldwide, and its flagship title, Bejeweled®, as sold more than 25 million units across all platforms. Constantly acclaimed by consumers and critics, PopCap’s games are played on the Web, desktop computers, myriad mobile devices (cell phones, smartphones, PDAs, Pocket PCs, iPod and more), popular game consoles (such as Xbox), and in-flight entertainment systems. PopCap is the only casual games developer with leading market share across all major sales channels, including Web portals, retail stores, mobile phones and MP3 players, and game device manufacturers.

[1] Source: PopCap Games (PopCap’s Bejeweled Franchise Hit 25 Million Units Sold Mark, 19 August 2008, Dublin, Ireland)