PopCap games, the studio behind such cult favorites as Plants VS Zombies, Bejeweled and Chuzzle announced today that they’re kicking off an auction to benefit children’s charities in the United States and the United Kingdom.

Up for grabs are original artwork, personalized sketches and one of a kind items, and all of the proceeds go to the Starlight Children’s Foundation in the United States and SpecialEffect in the United Kingdom.

“This auction is our way of letting consumers peek behind the creativity curtain at PopCap, but more than that, it’s a wonderful opportunity for us and fans of our games to support children in need,” said Ben Rotholtz, Vice President of Marketing for PopCap Games. “Every piece in the auction is unique and each reflects a facet of PopCap’s history in a whimsical way.”

PopCap is no stranger to the giving; since the company’s founding, the company has donated money and games totaling hundreds of thousands of dollars to support children’s charities including Make-a-Wish Foundation, Child’s Play, Children in Need, Childhaven, Drawing Dreams Foundation, and Art with Heart, among others.  Popcap also included the below video to promote the auction.

“PopCap’s games are well known to provide therapeutic effects to adults and children alike, but now consumers have the opportunity to take home a tangible piece of PopCap happiness,” said Elaine Siver of Starlight Children’s Foundation. “Thanks to PopCap’s support, we will raise a lot of awareness and thousands of children will continue to be helped given our mission at Starlight Foundation.”

The auction can be found here and Blast encourages its readers to bid and donate generously.

Today, it’s good to be an Android user.

Plants VS Zombies, the critically acclaimed and ultra addicting strategy game from PopCap games is finally available for download on Android devices — oh, and it’s free for today only.

Just download the free Amazon Android App Store, and click on the Plants VS Zombies icon to get your free download. Free!

PopCap Games released Zuma’s Revenge, a single mode version of the recently launched sequel. It is available for a suggested retail price of $9.95. It is available for PC via Web download from MSN Games, Yahoo Games, RealArcade, GameHouse, iWin.com, STEAM, AOL, and pogo.com. The game focuses on a ball shooting who explores ancient ruins and temples. The sequel enhances the resolution and adds a slew of bonus features which are sure to entertain new and returning fans. Among the added bonuses are:

‚· More than 60 all-new levels

‚· Six mini-game Boss Battles that introduce explosive new attacks and wily defenses

‚· Three all-new power-up effects: Lightning, Laser, and Tri-Shot (plus all the power-ups from the original Zuma)

‚· New methods of movement like lily-pad hopping, slide-aiming, and more

‚· Amazing high definition (1920 x 1200) graphics and dazzling effects that bring Zuma into the modern world of gaming

So if this sounds interesting, be sure to check it out. Comment below with your thoughts and feelings.

Legendary puzzle-game makers PopCap and famed RPG studio Square Enix teamed up today and announced “Gyromancer,” an RPG Puzzle game that’ll likely steal hours and hours away from our busy lives.

Thrusting together PopCap’s Bejeweled Twist and Square Enix’s mastery of the RPG genre comes the new project due out on XBLA and Steam sometime in the unnamed future.

“We’ve always enjoyed a strong partnership with PopCap Games and Gyromancer represents our goal of developing unique gaming experiences, ” said John Yamamoto, president and chief executive officer of Square Enix, Inc. “We believe that Gyromancer will appeal not only to core gamers, but will further introduce the RPG genre to casual gamers as well.”

Want more? Here’s the official announcement trailer shown at the Tokyo Game Show today.

Zuma’s Revenge has been released online and in major retail stores for both PC and Mac. PopCap has taken the ball blasting fun of the original Zuma and updated it with high res graphics, new mechanics and numerous modes with boss battles and other cool features. The premise for the game itself is simple. Players take control a fearless ball-shooting frog, exploring ancient temples and ruins. You must blast your way through a series of arcade challenges. Instead of simply remaking Zuma, PopCap has changed the setting of the game to the Polynesian paradise ruled be Zhaka Mu and allows for new techniques for enhanced game play. The game boasts 60 all new levels in the Adventure more, 6 mini game Bosses to defeat, new power ups, 70 challenges and an epic sounding Heroic Frog mode. The game sounds like a very ambitious upgrade to me, so I’m curious to say the least. Zuma’s Revenge retails for $19.95 and is on sale at major retailers and online. ‚  Let us know how you feel by leaving us a comment below!

Blast readers — in addition to our free PC gaming headsets that we’re just tossing at readers like t-shirts at a basketball game — we have two PopCap games prize packs for you!

You get copy of Peggle, one of the most addictive games ever, a set of PopCap games trading cards, a PopCap games sports cap, a handful of Bookworm bookmarks, and a bunch of PopCap pens!

If you’re a games junkie or collect video game merch, this is for you!

What do you have to do to get some of these freebies? Write a review! Review a new movie, music album, video game, software, hardware, gadget, laptop, camera, pretty much whatever you want. Write up a review that’s at least 400 words, and if we use it, you’ll get a freebie!

Email all reviews to newsroom@blastmagazine.com, and include your name, address, website address if you have one, the review, any photos you have of the product and don’t forget the 1-5 star rating!

Casual game developer PopCap Games announced on Tuesday that they have released a follow-up to Peggle, one of the highest rated games of 2007 and the most popular casual video game of hte year.

“Peggle Nights sports 60 all-new Adventure Mode levels and 60 new Challenge Mode hurdles, along with a new ‘Peggle Master’ power-up, new kinds of style shots, achievements, and other special bonuses,” PopCap said in a statement. “In addition, Peggle Nights takes players into the ‘dream worlds’ of each of the eleven Peggle Masters, providing five beautifully rendered and themed levels for each character’s secret dreams and aspirations.”

Peggle Nights costs 19.95 with ‚ a free trial of the deluxe version is available for download at www.popcap.com.‚ 

“We at PopCap love the Peggle “Ëœmaster’ characters as much as anyone, so we decided to delve into their personalities a bit further and take a peek inside each one’s dream states,” said Sukhbir Sidhu, studio director in charge of Peggle and Peggle Nights at PopCap. “We also took the opportunity to incorporate user feedback from the original game by adding more challenges and style shots and ultimately making the game even more achievement- and skill-oriented.”
‚ 
Game features:

• New Peggle Master/power-up: “Marina,” the electric squid, brings the number of Peggle Masters / power-ups to 11; her “Shockwave” effect arcs between the first peg hit and the bucket at the bottom, clearing all intervening pegs with a jolt of electricity
• New Trophy/Achievement: In addition to the original game’s “all clear” achievement, Peggle Nights sets an “ace” score for each level; “acing” each level earns a special trophy
• More Trophies: The new game offers four different trophies for the various achievements: completing Adventure Mode, completing Challenge Mode, clearing all levels of all pegs, and “acing” all levels. Oh, and a new trophy room to keep ‘em in!
• 60 Newly Designed Levels: Each Peggle Master has five themed “dream state” levels in the game’s main Adventure mode, plus a final five Master levels in which the player chooses the Master/power-up
• 60 New Challenges: Five dozen new Challenge Mode levels, with many fiendishly tricky objectives for players to reach; new types of challenges include “low ball” challenges in which the player tries to get the lowest possible score, Style Shot based challenges and challenges involving specific or combined power-ups
• New Style Shots: More ways to score bonus points based on the player’s aim and timing acumen: “Off the Wall,” “Double Long Shot” and more
• All-New Soundtrack: Maintaining the cultured sensibilities of the original Peggle, the new game offers a mix of original tunes and well-known classical music – including a fully-orchestrated introduction by the Slovak National Symphony Orchestra
• Admire Your Skillz: You can now drag and drop replays of your top shots into the open game window to view them
• Power-Up Improvements: Existing power-ups including Tula’s “flower power,” Kat Tut’s “pyramid” and Lord Cinderbottom’s “fireball” have been tweaked to optimize their effectiveness
• Level Packs (Coming Soon): Peggle Nights is designed to accept additional levels and PopCap plans to begin issuing custom-made, in some cases themed, Level Packs

Later this month, you’ll be able to Peggle to your little heart’s content — if you can turn away from Spore for 10 seconds.

Peggle Mobile, lanching soon for cell phones in North America and parts of Europe, promises the same gaming experience on a smaller screen, PopCap Games said in‚ a statement Friday.

Peggle has been a hugely popular casual title. Since its first introduction in March 2007, Peggle has been downloaded more than 20 million times.

“Peggle combines elements of pinball, pool and pachinko to create a completely different kind of game experience. The game challenges players to use skill, strategy and luck to clear progressively more difficult levels of orange pegs by firing a small silver ball from the top of the screen,” PopCap says of its title. “Stationary and moving obstacles along with numerous power-ups and special effects combine with dynamically-assigned peg colors to make each level unique every time it’s played.”

Years ago, PopCap Games tried to sell the rights to their fledgling little title, Bejeweled, for $60,000.

They got no takers.

Today, they announed that more than 25 million copies of Bejeweled has been sold worldwide.

“Considering we tried to sell Bejeweled outright to more than one industry giant back in the early days of our company, and got no takers … this little game has done all right for itself,” said Jason Kapalka, chief creative officer and co-founder of PopCap, and the original designer of Bejeweled and its sequel. “I vividly recall prospective buyers telling us ‘It’s not even a game,’ while showing us the door.”

Thus, the casual gaming revolution began.

And that 25 million is just paid purchases. PopCap says that 350 million copies of Bejeweled/Bejeweled 2 have been downloaded off their website and downloaded to mobile phones. They’ve earned $300 million on the title plus millions more off online advertising around the game.

The Bejeweled franchise has been available for Web, PCs and Macs, mobile phones, Xbox and PlayStation consoles, PDAs and Blackberrys, iPods and iPhone, in-flight airline systems, on-demand TV systems in hotels and scratch-off lottery tickets in many states.

“All told, Bejeweled and Bejeweled 2 have collectively been enjoyed for an estimated 6 billion hours — the equivalent of 60 people playing the game 24 hours a day since the last Ice Age 11,400 years ago,” PopCap said Tuesday.

Not bad for something that’s “not even a game.”

PopCap Games announced that a new new PopCap Hits compilation for PlayStation 2 will be launched soon.

PopCap Hits Vol. 2 features Heavy Weapon and Zuma, and will sell for $19.95 in June. It’s the first time the two games have been available for PlayStation consoles.

“We’re pleased to be bringing our second PlayStation 2 ‘greatest hits’ compilation to stores so quickly after the first volume, and expect the upcoming product to be even more popular with consumers,” said Greg Canessa, VP of Video Game Platforms at PopCap. “Heavy Weapon and Zuma are two of our most successful games on the Xbox LIVE Arcade Service, and should prove equally well received by the PlayStation 2 audience.”

According to PopCap, Zuma is a fast-paced action puzzler requiring quick reflexes and pattern-solving strategy as players rotate a stone frog at the center of the screen to shoot colored balls into place. Make sets of three or more balls to succeed — and don’t let the chain of balls reach the golden skull!

Zuma is also available for Xbox 360, PC, Mac, online and select mobile devices. Zuma is also the highest-rated game for iPod, based on iTunes’ customer reviews.

Heavy Weapon is a light-hearted side-scrolling action game in which players strive to defeat hordes of enemy armies in the form of tanks, jeeps, fighter jets, helicopters and other land and air vehicles.

Power-ups and secret weapons that provide additional speed, shields, firepower and more help the player overcome increasingly nasty enemy forces and bosses while progressing through levels representing the oppressed (fictitious) countries over which the war is being waged. Multiplayer modes available for the PlayStation 2 version of the game enable players to join a friend for furious shoot-’em-up fighting in multiplayer Arms Race and War Party modes. In addition, PopCap Hits Volume 2 provides exclusive behind-the-scenes access in “The Making of a Classic.” Explore early game concepts, high-res game art, and video clips featuring development history and tips from the games’ creators.

In a move that makes me suspiciously think they are playing coy, PopCap Games released a statement Thursday vehemently denying they are making a Nintendo DS version of the mega-popular puzzler, Peggle.

“There are always rumors flying around regarding casual games and where they’re headed, and in this case the rumor mill seems to have gone into overdrive; this is a perfect example of why our company policy is to not comment on future plans until they’re finalized,” said Greg Canessa, VP of Video Game Platforms at PopCap.

But he went on to say:

“We have ambitious plans for many of our titles including Peggle, and are eager to bring its peg-popping pleasures to as many appropriate platforms and devices as possible. But Nintendo has not approved this product, we have not signed a developer to port Peggle to DS, and we have not green lighted this project.”

I think you’ll eventually (or soon) see some peg-popping pleasures on Nintendo DS. PopCap clearly doesn’t want rumors to perpetuate because (A) it might piss off Nintendo if, in fact, they haven’t signed off yet and because (B) it would dilute the hype if it leaked too early. Stay tuned.

Congratulations to loyal Blast Magazine reader Jeff Hunt for being the most recent winner of a Blast Magazine prize package.

This month’s package included a full-size official poster from the movie “The Diving Bell And The Butterfly” with the film’s official soundtrack courtesy of Miramax. Jeff is also receiving a copy of outlandish new DVD, “Cougar Club” and a copy of The New Rivals CD courtesy of Universal. Jeff also gets an Art of Blast 2008 desk calendar.

How did Jeff get all this? By reading Blast and mentioning us in his blog. We knew he was a fan of “The Diving Bell And The Butterfly” so we’re shipping off a bunch of swag.

We’ve got more for you guys coming in 2008!

Not only do we have a bunch of copies of “Cougar Club” and The New Rivals but how about this? We have over a dozen Plantronics Audio 350 gaming headsets that we’re just throwing at our readers next month. Enjoy the ultimate gaming headset for free!

We also have copies of Roxio Crunch and Popcap’s hits for PS2 and Xbox 360.

And on top of all that, we have a “The Diving Bell And The Butterfly” mini poster and the novelization of the movie FREE.

What do you have to do to get any of these freebies? Write a review! Review a new movie, music album, video game, software, hardware, gadget, laptop, camera, pretty much whatever Santa gave you this year. Write up a review that’s at least 400 words, and if we use it, you’ll get a freebie!

Email all reviews to newsroom@blastmagazine.com, and include your name, address, website address if you have one, the review, any photos you have of the product and don’t forget the “Quick hits” info like you see here.

It’s free! Happy New Year from Blast!!

PopCap Games announced that beginning today that Peggle is available on the iPod.

iPod Peggle will take advantage of the the iPod’s clickwheel and high-resolution display. You can also listen to your own playlists while Peggling.

That’s right, Peggling: Verb, to Peggle. One who is playing Peggle.

The iPod version includes all 55 levels, 10 magical powers and 75 Grand Master challenges, as well as the two-player Duel Mode.

“The clickwheel input of the iPod is a natural fit for controlling Peggle, so we knew this adaptation of the game would be amazing,” said Jason Kapalka, co-founder and Chief Creative Officer of PopCap. “And with the Duel Mode included, two players can pass the iPod back and forth while battling their way to Extreme Fever!”

Peggle is one of the most successful and best pure casual games ever and has been downloaded more than 10 million times since its introduction in March.

From Popcap: In Peggle, players fire a metallic silver ball from the top of the screen, relying on gravity to propel the ball downwards while it ricochets off orange and blue "pegs". The goal is to clear all the orange pegs from the screen before running out of balls. A moving "bucket" at the bottom of the screen offers free balls, while green power-up pegs give the player one of ten different abilities courtesy of the ten "Peggle Masters" who guide players through the game. These power-ups include explosive area-clearing blasts, lobster claws which serve as pinball-type flippers, and "fireballs" that cut through all pegs in their path. "But nobody can really be told what Peggle is like," said Kapalka, "you just have to play it for yourself." Available on retail store shelves, on the Web and now on iPod, Peggle is the must-have game of 2007.

Gamers can download Peggle from iTunes for $4.99, and the game is available in English, French, German, Italian, Japanese and Spanish, Popcap said Tuesday.

Okay listen up. I got five commercial copies of Roxio Crunch video conversion software for Mac/PC ($39.99) and two copies of Popcap Arcade Volume 1 for Xbox 360 (also $39.99).

I have explicit instructions to give them away to my readers, but I’m going to make you work for them.

This will be an easy one. Take any tech item — software, hardware, video card, new laptop, mp3 player, video game, gadget — and review it.

The best review as determined by our editors will get both Crunch and Popcap. Second place gets his or her choice and the next five get what’s left.

Free stuff. Write a review.

Submit entries to freebies@blastmagazine.com