PopCap and EA announce upcoming DSi and DS titles
Looks like EA and Popcap are planning to release downloadable games on DSi.
Popcap's Bookworm will land this month, and Bejeweled Twist in mid-October while Bookworm for DS will launch December 1 and Bejeweled Twist during Q1 of 2010.
EA's Scrabble and Littlest Pet Shop are coming this fall, while MySims and Sudoku were released yesterday. Downtown Texas Hold'em and unannounced original titles will be available later this fall.
Both press releases are posted below the break in a nice, lovely wall of text.
PopCap Games today announced the upcoming launch of two major adaptations of Bookworm, and two first-ever videogame platform adaptations of Bejeweled Twist. These new iterations of two of PopCap’s most successful franchises, mark PopCap’s entry into the DSiWare market, and its continued support of Nintendo DS with all-new, feature-rich versions, fully optimized for the Nintendo systems.
Bookworm will be available for the DSiWare service later this month, followed by Bejeweled Twist for DSiWare in mid-October. Bookworm for Nintendo DS will launch at retail on December 1st, 2009 and Bejeweled Twist for Nintendo DS will be released at retail in Q1 of 2010.
“We’re bringing serious innovation to Bookworm and Bejeweled Twist - two of our most important game franchises – to deliver unique features and cool new multi-player capabilities that have been specifically designed for the NintendoElectronic Theatre Image systems,” said Ed Allard, vice president of strategic development at PopCap. “This Fall, Nintendo DSi Shop will give consumers an immediate jolt of high quality fun and value with titles that feature more great gameplay content than any other downloadable titles available on this platform. We’re following them up with enhanced and expanded, must-have retail versions for the DS that are the most full-featured instalments of Bookworm and Bejeweled Twist we’ve ever created.”
Bookworm was originally released by PopCap in January of 2005 and has been ported and re-optimized for ten different platforms, boasting over 100 million downloads, and making it the world’s most popular digital word game. Now, for the first time, Bookworm has been adapted for Nintendo DSiWare and Nintendo DS with an array of new features and modes that are exclusively available on DS. The DSiWare version of Bookworm includes the complete Classic Mode and has been specifically tuned for dual-screen, vertical use. The Nintendo DS version offers all of the content that has made Bookworm so popular as well as entirely new gameplay not available anywhere else, including the multi-player Bookworm Battle Mode, twenty all-new Collectible Books, the ability to construct a library based on your game progress, and the all-new “Lex-Ray” – a fun new way for the game’s hero, “Lex,” to measure and track your growing spelling and vocabulary prowess.
With both new versions of Bookworm, players whet their appetite for spelling fun in PopCap’s hit word-puzzle game, an immersive title for word game aficionados of all ages and levels. Players link adjoining letter tiles to build words, complete each level and feed “Lex.” They’ll use Reward Tiles and spell Bonus Words to boost their score.
Bejeweled Twist was originally released to critical acclaim in October 2008 and these two new versions of Bejeweled Twist are the very first videogame platform adaptations ofElectronic Theatre Image this important franchise. Bejeweled Twist now features the ability to challenge and play other gamers over an ad-hoc wireless connection. Playing on either the Nintendo DS, or on the Nintendo DSi system, this is the first game to allow for interoperable multi-player gaming between these two platforms.
In Bejeweled Twist, players rotate 2x2 blocks of gems in an effort to create a line of three or more gems of the same type. They don’t have to match every move – instead they can freely rotate gems anywhere on the board, allowing increased strategic freedom to plan combinations, cascades and chains of various matches. With its phenomenal production values, Bejeweled Twist bedazzles players with a wealth of new power-ups and obstacles. New gem types include Flame, Lightning and Fruit gems that produce fiery explosions and other powerful effects; and new obstacles such as Bomb and Locked gems as well as Coal will challenge players as never before. Additionally, a host of new game modes offer vastly different ways to experience Bejeweled Twist.
Bejeweled Twist for DSiWare features the addicting gameplay of Classic and Multi-player modes, offering infinite replayability. Bejeweled Twist for Nintendo DS is a full-featured version containing even more gameplay action, including three additional game modes: Zen (for a quick stress-busting experience), Blitz (for past-paced action to challenge even the most hardcore players) and Challenge (featuring infinite action and multiple levels of difficulty). This is the first time that Bejeweled Twist has been ported to any videogame console, and Electronic Theatre will keep you updated with future releases form PopCap Games.
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Words, Pictures, Pets And More! - EA Announces Diverse Lineup Of DSiWare Titles
Sep 21, 2009
SCRABBLE, MySims Camera and LITTLEST PET SHOP Amongst EA Titles Coming This Fall
Redwood City, Calif., - September 21, 2009 - DSi owners get ready to download. EA today announced MySims Camera and SUDOKU are available for download from the Nintendo DSi Shop. LITTLEST PET SHOP and SCRABBLE (in the U.S. and Canada) licensed by Hasbro, along with original EA titles are also in development and will release later this fall.
"EA has fully embraced the Wii and the Nintendo DS, bringing custom-built DSiWare games to the Nintendo consumer is an exciting opportunity for us to reach DSi owners with easy to play games that they can download and play whenever they want," said Rod Humble, Head of the EA Play Label. "The lineup of games we have in development will appeal across the diverse DSi consumer base so whether players want to showcase their creativity and humor using MySims Camera or sharpen their math and word skills with SUDOKU or SCRABBLE - our first games in the DSi Shop will deliver a quick and fun experience."
MySims Camera is a camera application that utilizes popular MySims characters. You can take photos and overlay 3D MySims characters to bring them into the real world. The 3D characters can be animated, moved, scaled, rotated and cropped. You can also draw on the photos with the stylus pen or use the stamp tool to add more art and style. Create a unique frame and save the photos to the DSi photo album to share with friends. With MySims Camera, you make picture taking with MySims a fun creative experience for the entire family.
SUDOKU offers hundreds of number-crunching puzzles that will stretch your brain to the limit! Play the exclusive Newspaper Mode, adding puzzles from your favorite black & white and starting your own collection! SUDOKU features a host of grid designs, stat tracking and an in-game timer to test your reaction time. Play on 5 different levels from Easy to Insane. This engaging game has been polished to perfection and renders a sleek design that's easy on the eyes.
LITTLEST PET SHOP allows you to experience your favorite LITTLEST PET SHOP pets in a whole new way! Collect lots of pets, each with unique personalities and new, super cute animations. Interact with your pets and watch their adorable reactions to their favorite toys and activities and dress them up in fun accessories. You can also throw a dance party for your pets and watch them groove to a cool song.
SCRABBLE comes to DSi with several unique gameplay experiences such as SCRABBLE Classic, which is the original crossword game that fans know and love as well as SCRABBLE Tools, which helps players hone their skills by strengthening their vocabulary, pattern recognition, and score strategies through fun and interactive training exercises. Each version will be sold separately.
Additional EA titles in development including: Downtown Texas Hold'em and unannounced original titles will be available later this fall. Pricing has not yet been announced.