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PopCap Games Launches New Games Label
DUBLIN, April 5, 2011/PRNewswire/ --
- Casual Games Leader Creates "4th & Battery" Design Center to Develop
Experimental Social and Mobile Games
PopCap Games, the worldwide leader in casual games, today announced the
formation of 4th & Battery(TM) (http://www.4thandbattery.com), a new
experimental label where PopCap's designers and developers have free reign to
create smaller, simpler, and sometimes edgier games without the typical
constraints of an established global games publisher. Named after the
Seattle, Washington intersection where PopCap's Seattle headquarters are
located, 4th & Battery today introduced its first game, Unpleasant Horse(TM).
"4th & Battery is a pressure valve intended to keep our heads from
exploding," explained Ed Allard, Executive Vice President of Studios at
PopCap. "The PopCap brand has become closely associated with ultra-high
quality, polish and attention to detail - which is a great thing. But our
standard game development process is therefore long and involved, and doesn't
really accommodate all of the creativity pumping through our collective
veins. 4th & Battery gives us a way to quickly try really strange or marginal
ideas, and to give our designers a safe area to hone their chops."
4th & Battery is expected to produce several games per year, primarily
small-scale, arcade-style games for platforms ranging from PC to Facebook(R)
and iPhone. Unlike PopCap's traditional franchises, some of the content
emanating from 4th & Battery, including its initial launch title Unpleasant
Horse, will be aimed at mature audiences.
"4th & Battery is a purely experimental, creative label with none of the
typical concerns like schedules, profitability, or even target audience. It's
kind of the video game equivalent of B-sides or short films," explained Jason
Kapalka, co-founder and Chief Creative Officer at PopCap. "Expect weirdness."
The first game from 4th & Battery, Unpleasant Horse, was announced today.
Players take on the role of - wait for it! - a strikingly unpleasant horse
that sports wings and advances through the game by destroying small birds and
landing on more pleasant horses from above. Landing atop other horses enables
the player to force them earthward into a perpetual meat grinder for extra
points and special bonuses. Available later this month for the iPhone and
iPod touch through the Apple App Store, Unpleasant Horse will be available
for free.
About 4th & Battery
4th and Battery is located in a secret druidic chamber below one of
Seattle's largest public parks. Small groups of PopCap(R) game developers
gather there when the stars are right to let their imaginations run wild. The
results can be alarming.
About PopCap
PopCap Games is the leading global developer, publisher and operator of
casual video games: fun, easy-to-learn, captivating games that appeal to all
ages across PC, mobile, social and other platforms. Based in Seattle,
Washington, PopCap was founded in 2000 and has a worldwide staff of more than
400 people in Seattle, San Francisco, Vancouver, B.C., Dublin, Seoul,
Shanghai and Tokyo. PopCap's games have been downloaded over 1.5 billion
times by consumers worldwide, and its flagship franchise, Bejeweled(R), has
sold more than 50 million units.
The PopCap logo and all other trademarks used herein that are listed at
http://www.popcap.com/trademarks are owned by PopCap Games, Inc. or its
licensors and may be registered in some countries. Facebook(R) is a
registered trademark of Facebook Inc. Other company and product names used
herein may be trademarks of their respective owners and are used for the
benefit of those owners.
PR Contacts:
International:
Cathy Orr
corr@popcap.com
+353-1-646 8107
Source: PopCap Games International
PR Contacts: International: Cathy Orr, corr@popcap.com
PopCap Games Launches New Games Label
DUBLIN, April 5, 2011/PRNewswire/ --
- Casual Games Leader Creates "4th & Battery" Design Center to Develop
Experimental Social and Mobile Games
PopCap Games, the worldwide leader in casual games, today announced the
formation of 4th & Battery(TM) (http://www.4thandbattery.com), a new
experimental label where PopCap's designers and developers have free reign to
create smaller, simpler, and sometimes edgier games without the typical
constraints of an established global games publisher. Named after the
Seattle, Washington intersection where PopCap's Seattle headquarters are
located, 4th & Battery today introduced its first game, Unpleasant Horse(TM).
"4th & Battery is a pressure valve intended to keep our heads from
exploding," explained Ed Allard, Executive Vice President of Studios at
PopCap. "The PopCap brand has become closely associated with ultra-high
quality, polish and attention to detail - which is a great thing. But our
standard game development process is therefore long and involved, and doesn't
really accommodate all of the creativity pumping through our collective
veins. 4th & Battery gives us a way to quickly try really strange or marginal
ideas, and to give our designers a safe area to hone their chops."
4th & Battery is expected to produce several games per year, primarily
small-scale, arcade-style games for platforms ranging from PC to Facebook(R)
and iPhone. Unlike PopCap's traditional franchises, some of the content
emanating from 4th & Battery, including its initial launch title Unpleasant
Horse, will be aimed at mature audiences.
"4th & Battery is a purely experimental, creative label with none of the
typical concerns like schedules, profitability, or even target audience. It's
kind of the video game equivalent of B-sides or short films," explained Jason
Kapalka, co-founder and Chief Creative Officer at PopCap. "Expect weirdness."
The first game from 4th & Battery, Unpleasant Horse, was announced today.
Players take on the role of - wait for it! - a strikingly unpleasant horse
that sports wings and advances through the game by destroying small birds and
landing on more pleasant horses from above. Landing atop other horses enables
the player to force them earthward into a perpetual meat grinder for extra
points and special bonuses. Available later this month for the iPhone and
iPod touch through the Apple App Store, Unpleasant Horse will be available
for free.
About 4th & Battery
4th and Battery is located in a secret druidic chamber below one of
Seattle's largest public parks. Small groups of PopCap(R) game developers
gather there when the stars are right to let their imaginations run wild. The
results can be alarming.
About PopCap
PopCap Games is the leading global developer, publisher and operator of
casual video games: fun, easy-to-learn, captivating games that appeal to all
ages across PC, mobile, social and other platforms. Based in Seattle,
Washington, PopCap was founded in 2000 and has a worldwide staff of more than
400 people in Seattle, San Francisco, Vancouver, B.C., Dublin, Seoul,
Shanghai and Tokyo. PopCap's games have been downloaded over 1.5 billion
times by consumers worldwide, and its flagship franchise, Bejeweled(R), has
sold more than 50 million units.
The PopCap logo and all other trademarks used herein that are listed at
http://www.popcap.com/trademarks are owned by PopCap Games, Inc. or its
licensors and may be registered in some countries. Facebook(R) is a
registered trademark of Facebook Inc. Other company and product names used
herein may be trademarks of their respective owners and are used for the
benefit of those owners.
PR Contacts:
International:
Cathy Orr
corr@popcap.com
+353-1-646 8107
Source: PopCap Games International
PR Contacts: International: Cathy Orr, corr@popcap.com