'PopCap World' social game service brings Bejeweled, et al to Korea

popcap world
Casual game maker PopCap and major online game publisher NCSoft today announced a partnership that would bring multiplayer versions of many PopCap games to Korea later this year.

PopCap World, as the service is called, will include free-to-play Korean versions of 13 PopCap titles, including Bejeweled, Plants vs. Zombies, Zuma and an all-new Korean exclusive multiplayer game dubbed Super Zuma. Premium paid elements for these games will be added later.

It's unclear whether these multiplayer versions will be tailored to simultaneous play, as portions of PopCap's recent XBLA release of Plants vs. Zombies, or asynchronous score competitions, as PopCap's Facebook releases like Bejeweled Blitz.

Calling today's announcement "just the beginning," PopCap VP for Asia/Pacific James Gwertzman was expansive in describing the impact of the new service. "When Disneyland first opened, it revolutionized the amusement park industry and ushered in the era of the modern theme park," he said. "In the same way, we believe PopCap World has the potential to redefine casual games in Korea and beyond by offering players the most immersive PopCap experience yet."

This is the first product from Popcap's Shanghai Games Studio, which was opened in 2008 to cater to the "significant differences in the playing habits and expectations of Asian consumers." A company rep says that PopCap World was designed with overseas audiences in mind and will not necessarily be arriving Stateside anytime soon. Then again, if this proves to be a runaway hit overseas, that plan might change.

Rumor: EA to buy PopCap for over $1 billion

Bejeweled
Now, this is a last ditch effort if we've ever seen one. TechCrunch reports that, following up with yesterday's news that PopCap may sell for over $1 billion, EA may very well be the company at the checkout counter. The website cites two anonymous sources that point to the nearly 30-year-old games company as the buyer. And no, the asking price has not changed--it's still insane.

But EA, which has enjoyed a distant second to Zynga in the social space, just might be crazy enough to bid what TechCrunch reports is 13 percent of their $7 billion plus market cap. This could truly be the company's Hail Mary Pass to win the social and mobile race once and for all, especially considering how long it could take EA to make all that money back.

We thought it was crazy when EA bought Playfish in 2009 for a whopping $400 million, but this clearly blows that out of the water. Unfortunately, neither company has enjoyed the runaway success both likely had hoped for. (You don't spend $400 million, much less $1 billion for second place.) So we can only hope that, if this buyout goes down, EA doesn't repeat history with PopCap.

If this purchase happens, the Bejeweled creator will obviously put its imminent IPO (initial public offering) on hold. As of this writing, a source close to the matter tells us there's currently no internal information on the sale.