6 Dec, 2010
Your video game is due to be launched on the same day as World of Warcraft: Cataclysm and you’re left wondering how on Earth you’re going to compete for press attention and column inches. One possible but unusual solution would be to shun the usual pomp and splendour and launch the game from a North London living room, which is how PopCap Games today staged their launch for Bejeweled 3.
The official Bejeweled 3 launch event saw no glitz beyond that of the in-game gems. Invited guests were treated to a cosy, chilled out tea party; instead of A to Z-list celebrities, the world’s most casual game launch hosted a cross section of the UK’s most prolific casual video gamers: a Women’s Institute secretary; a granny; a Welsh librarian; a glamorous banker and a trendy dad.
PopCap spokesperson, Cathy Orr, had this to say: “Videogaming has become as mainstream a lifestyle entertainment as watching TV or reading a book so we couldn’t think of a better place to launch Bejeweled 3 than a living room. Bejeweled is a phenomenon appealing to the widest possible audience of everyone – men and women, aged 6 to 106, from kids to glamorous businessmen and women to grandparents.”
The launch comes on the back of news that scientific research has proven that playing Bejeweled 2 actively reduces stress by an average of 47 per cent. Those who enjoy the calming effect of the games will be glad to hear that Bejeweled 3 includes a Zen mode, a relaxing endless mode loaded with options for meditation and stress relief, including breath modulation, ambient sounds, binaural beats and mantras for focusing your thoughts. All Zen mode options can be combined and adjusted in virtually infinite ways to create each player’s own custom “mental vacation.”
Denise Belingy, Thomas McHugh, Sandra Messenger, Kelly Alexander and Alison Tomkins are pictured at the launch.
This is fantastic! Bejewelled really has taken on a life of its own!