PopCap launches Bejeweled 3 from English mum's living room tea party

Bejeweled 3 Tea Party
Forget those glitzy and glamorous launch parties for the year's biggest games like Halo: Reach or Call of Duty: Black Ops. The sequel to one of the best selling casual games of all time, Bejeweled 3, launched from a British mother's living room. A bold move by famed casual game developer PopCap, the comfier launch was made in honor of recent research targeting the largest demographic of Bejeweled players: middle-aged, tech savvy mothers.

According to a survey of 2,000 casual gamers conducted by 72 Point, the average player of games like Bejeweled is "a 43-year-old married mum called Sue with two grown up children who counts watching Midsomer Murders and playing on her own games console as among her favourite pastimes." While this is an especially personalized and hilarious account of a statistic, it checks out with claims made elsewhere.

Guests invited to the launch party included a Women's Institute secretary, a granny, a Welsh librarian, a glamorous banker and a trendy dad to name a few. And what did they once they arrived in the Northern London living room of this British mother of two? Why, they had a tea party over Bejeweled 3, of course.

Despite containing twice the game modes, better visuals and sound and eight mini games, what has to be the game's most unique and interesting feature is its Zen Mode. Neil Shah, a member of the Stress Management Society, was invited to the launch tea party to test this new game mode and says, "Bejeweled 3's new Zen mode is a great idea for helping players chill out even more and put all their worries to one side." According to PopCap, Bejeweled 2 was proven to reduce stress levels by 47 percent and the new Zen Mode is designed to create a "mental vacation" for players. Players can find their very own mind escape first thing tomorrow.

PopCap launches Bejeweled Blitz LIVE on XBLA with blazing speed

Consider your Xbox 360 assimilated. PopCap announced today that the company has launched Bejeweled Blitz LIVE on Xbox Live Arcade. The game costs 800 Microsoft Points, or $10 USD, and is essentially Bejeweled Blitz without the Facebook connectivity. However, the game does make liberal use of Xbox Live, allowing 16 players at once to compete in 60-second matches. You can also battle your friends one-on-one on the same console or over Xbox Live. The question is: Will your Xbox Live friends be as impressed by your Bejeweled score as your Facebook friends? Check out our preview of Bejeweled Blitz LIVE before rushing to the Xbox Game Marketplace and decide for yourself.

[Image Credit: PopCap]

Have you tried Bejeweled Blitz on Xbox 360 yet? What PopCap game would you like to see on consoles next?