To most people, they are the often played but little known name stashed away in their favorites folder for when the boss isn’t around, but PopCap games doesn’t like to think of themselves that way. With over a billion total downloads of their games — 10-million plus with Bejeweled alone — you could say that they are sort of a big deal.
If you go by this excerpt from an upcoming interview between PopCap founder John Vechey and CVG, they kind of think they are to:
“I think we can destroy the depth of most Xbox and console games. It’s arrogant to say, but I think that most of the games on the Xbox and PC aimed at hardcore gaming add complexity but they don’t actually have depth.”
No, these aren’t some remnants of an old Ken Kutaragi interview, but the words of a man who has built a successful casual gaming empire. However, I can understand the mix-up. Not to downplay PopCap’s games in any way (after all, they are fun), but do we have any reason to believe that they are in the same league as console/PC gaming? When it comes to PopCap, I don’t recall ever seeking out these types of games for their depth; they are more like something to occupy yourself for 15-minute increments, at best.
It will be fascinating to see the rest of that interview, when it’s ready. John has a lot of convincing to do, and his work really seems to be cut out for him. Couldn’t help but notice that he left out any specific mention of Sony. Does he feel that Microsoft is the only competition?
