Layoffs Hit Popcap Games [Up: No Layoffs at Garden Warfare/Peggle 2 studio]

RiccochetJ said:
Why any company would let themselves be scooped up by EA is beyond me. Unless of course you're just looking for a massive payday and and are completely ok with letting everything that the company used to be subsequently dismantled in short order.

EA's track record here is completely abysmal.
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I have a feeling if you look at Ubi, and to some extent taketwo and Activision, the story isn't that different. This concept is a reason I think the indie boom will last a while longer. A lot of talented people getting burned or watching others burn.
 
PopCap have been disappointing for a while, they're like Pixar, they were on this amazing trajectory, then it just fell away to shit.
 
Very sad to hear this, as Popcap are very talented people. I am now also concerned about Garden Warfare sales, and EAs full year results which I believe are announced at the end of the month. Much rests on Titanfall.

I hope all those who lost their jobs land on their feet quickly.
 
Garden Warfare wasn't really even made by a Popcap studio. It was done beside their massive FIFA team in EAC.

Popcap itself hasn't really made any new IPs for many years to be relevant. Kinda sad.
 
iMax said:
Same shit, different day.

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every damn time

outside if multiplat peggle 2 EA doesn't have any interesting titles announced, right? i'll be happy not supporting them this gen
 
Interfectum said:
PvZ2 and Peggle 2 bombed due to bone-headed exec decisions. Bravo guys, job well done.
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You seem to be in posession of information about Peggle 2 units sold, care to share them?

PVZ2 I agree with though, they have been very disappointed with it's reception since release, and always try and avoid talking about it during investor calls.
 
First there was PvZ2 and the IAP bullshit.

Then there was Peggle 2 available only on a single next gen console, ignoring their huge audience on PC.

This is really no surprise.
 
If PopCap's goal, like a tech startup, was to be bought up by a big company, then they succeeded. I wonder if they actually thought they could be a bastion of quality within EA or if it was only business.

It is sad that people lose their jobs in situations like this, but I have a hard time feeling bad for PopCap as a company since they set themselves up for disaster by joining EA.
 
Hey, at least the execs at PopCap got a nice fat check when they allowed the company to be bought out by EA, and that's all that matters, right?
 
Vlade said:
I have a feeling if you look at Ubi, and to some extent taketwo and Activision, the story isn't that different. This concept is a reason I think the indie boom will last a while longer. A lot of talented people getting burned or watching others burn.
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We hear about EA doing this pretty frequent vs the other companies. I can't recall any studios Ubi, and activision have done this too.
 
Nirolak said:
Constantly updated games that (judging by exclusion) don't fit in the mobile category, a la Garden Warfare.

For a more tangible example of this, things like LoL and Dota 2 are live services.



Yes, though it can also apply to games where you pay up front and then it's continually updated from there like Guild Wars 2 is or Team Fortress 2 original was.
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Thanks!
 
Sorry to hear that, hope everyone lands on their feet.

Having said that, are we now going to start a "mobile gaming is doomed/crashing/over" meme or what?
 
I would have supported Peggle 2 if it released on any of the platforms I own.

These include:

X360 (coming soon but still...)
PC/Steam
Wii U
3DS
iOS

Not a $500 system that I'm probably years away from buying.

Peggle is one of my favorite arcade games ever.
 
Meh, they haven't done anything worthwhile in a long time. Hard to feel bad about this when they shat on one of my favorite games (PvZ) so damn hard with their crap, on top of ignoring the PC where all their franchises began and found success for a single fee.

You reap what you sow, in this case, under-performing crappy games.
 
JustinBB7 said:
This and on Steam with no Origin and I would have gotten it too. Loved the first one.

Such a shame.
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Its so baffling, the last two games of the the big Popcap games did well because they were literally everywhere and on almost every platform and device, and for their sequels, EA though they could get the same level of success with massively limiting the platforms they can be played on?
 
EA needs to close their fucking doors. They have single handedly destroyed more companies than I care to remember. WestWood Studios, Bioware, Maxis, PopCap.
 
Looking at that comic again... I really miss Bullfrog. I wish EA would sell the Theme Park IP to somebody... I need my fix...

That game was so mindblowing back in the day. I preferred it to Roller Coaster Tycoon because it had more of a business aspect.
 
Jut thought about it for a minute

I have all the peggle games on pc, and I have PvZ on PC as well.

I actually bought PvZ for android.

I can't do any of that for their sequels. Can't outright buy PvZ2 for android or pc, can't buy Peggle 2 for PC.


It's almost like they were aggressively trying to avoid money.
 
I deleted PvsZ2 off my phone a while back. Wish they just released it at a set price with all content. I would've bought it.

Also can't believe there's no Peggle 2 on iOS. Brilliant move EA.
 
PvZ 2 isn't even in the top 100 most downloaded free apps on the iOS store anymore. I would have gladly paid $10 for that game on iOS without the FTP infused crap. As it was, I paid $0.

PvZ 1 is #16 in the paid apps.

Unfortunately the people that made the decision to go FTP are probably still employed and the developers were let go.
 
EA threw a great game like Garden Warfare to the fucking wolves while they were too busy hyping up Titanfall.

PvZ2 was a bad misstep in game design that clearly did not take off.

And Peggle 2 suffered immensely from its exclusivity contract and being released incomplete just to make december.


Just awful decisions all around.
 
How many developers does this make now? I know going with EA brings the devs a lot of money but look at the end result, almost everyone dismantled and absorbed.
Hopefully the guys laid off bounce back soon.
 
I'd love to say that I'd buy Peggle 2 or PvZ:GW if they were on the PS4, but I just can't. P2 looked like it replaced having tons of boards with having one shot challenges, and from what I saw, none of the original characters are in this sequel. As for PvZ, why Third Person? I thought it would be a COD/Battlefield spoof that I could use for my kids to cut their teeth on FPS's without the blood and human killing.
 
SeanR1221 said:
Hey EA, I'd love to give you some money for Garden Warfare and Peggle 2.

- A ps4 owner
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Nah we'd rather take MS's money and fire people. This is in-line with our business strategy of screwing over the most people possible with every decision we make. iOS/android, ps4 and PC people all miss out on the game, shareholders are unhappy, and best of all, people lose their jobs. Almost everybody loses and that makes us happy.

-EA
 
GWX said:
I still can't believe you can't play Peggle 2 on a PC or an iOS device. I mean, what the fuck they were thinking?
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Fucking this.

I get the PS4 angle. Although I want to play these new Popcap games on my PS4, I get it. But to withhold Peggle 2 from PC/Origin and iOS is ridiculously stupid.

Good luck to all those individuals who lost their jobs today.
 
Banjo-Kazooie said:
You seem to be in posession of information about Peggle 2 units sold, care to share them?
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With no sales data given, one can only make an educated guess:
- No mention of sales anywhere
- three months in and no mention of promised leaderboards or bug fixes
- released only on Xbox One
 
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