Let’s be honest with ourselves here: PopCap Games peddles a dangerous, highly addictive product. Like marijuana, LSD and other controlled substances, it’s only a matter of time before federal lawmakers come a-knocking to render games like Peggle, Plants Vs. Zombies and Bejeweled illegal to possess. Until that day comes we’ll all keep pouring those hours that should be spent working into PopCap wares. Which is great news for console owners, because Bejeweled 3 will soon be coming to an Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and Nintendo DS near you before the end of this year.
The developer announced the news in a press release, but the details are a little bit baffling. There will apparently be five new versions of the game in all, coming to Xbox 360, PS3, Nintendo DS… along with Xbox Live Arcade and PlayStation Network. Presumably this just means there will be both disc-based and downloadable versions of the game, but “five new versions” is an odd way to phrase it.
“Critics agree that Bejeweled 3 raised the standard for match-3 games to new heights,” stuio head Ed Allard said in a statement. “This holiday, we’re bringing that experience to PlayStation 3, PSN, Xbox 360, Xbox LIVE, and Nintendo DS gamers with adaptations that look great and play even better on each platform.”
PopCap launched the Bejeweled series more than 10 years ago. The release notes that more than half a billion people have played the game worldwide, with 50 million+ copies sold on the 17 platforms the game has been released for. PopCap estimates that 18 million hours have been spent playing Bejeweled and, most remarkably, that one copy of the game is sold every 4.3 seconds.
You reading this, Drug Enforcement Agency?
