Just this past week, PopCap Games announced that Bejeweled 2 for iPhone would be retired and replaced by an all-new version simply entitled ‘Bejeweled’. The announcement was also accompanied by a new, standalone version of Bejeweled Blitz for Facebook. PixelPerfectGaming.com had the pleasure of conducting a Q&A with Giordano C ontestabile, the franchise business director for Bejeweled, about PopCap’s decision to retire Bejeweled 2 and to discuss the features of their latest Bejeweled game(s) for iOS and Facebook.
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PixelPerfectGaming: Why are you retiring the old version of Bejeweled 2 for iPhone and iPod touch?
Giordano Contestabile: We are retiring Bejeweled 2 from the App Store because we have launched a new version of Bejeweled. Called simply “Bejeweled”, it includes 3 game modes from Bejeweled 3 (Classic, Zen and Diamond Mine) that are incredibly popular with fans, as well as updated graphics and user interface. We plan to support this game over time, adding content and features to it, keeping it fresh and responding to players’ feedback.
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PPG: What made you decide to offer a freemium version of Bejeweled Blitz?
GC: Bejeweled Blitz has become one of the most popular games on Facebook, with about 10M monthly users, and it has always been free on that platform. Rather than tether it to a paid version of Bejeweled, we wanted to offer a free version to a broader audience, and give more players the chance to experience the game. Additionally, a stand-alone version of Blitz also gives us more flexibility to update Blitz over time to reflect new features we release in the Facebook game.
PPG: How has the interface changed in Bejeweled Blitz?
GC: We updated the interface to take advantage of features of recent iPhone models, most notably Retina display. Besides that, we tried to make it as easy to use as possible, allowing players to connect to Facebook with one click, and to give access to all the most important features from the main menu.
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PPG: Are there options available in the Freemium version that are not present in Bejeweled, and vice versa? What are they?
GC: Bejeweled Blitz and Bejeweled are two fundamentally different games. Bejeweled Blitz is a competitive, fast-paced 1-minute game that’s meant to be played with your friends on Facebook and smartphones. Bejeweled is a new iteration of the best-selling single player game, including different game modes that can be played at your own pace.
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PPG: How does the Facebook integration work in the Freemium edition?
GC: Bejeweled Blitz is a fundamentally social game, and it’s more fun to play it with friends. As such, we offer players the opportunity to connect easily with Facebook and, once they have, we provide access to their friend list and leaderboard, allowing them to compete and compare scores with their friends. Players can also post their best scores and achievements on their Facebook wall. The Facebook version and the iOS version are now essentially identical in terms of features.
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PPG: In regards to Bejeweled. are there plans to release a version compatible with iPad and Android?
GC: We are very keen to make the game available on other platforms, as we know that a large number of Bejeweled fans are waiting for it and, while we don’t have any specific announcements to make, we’re actively looking at it.
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PPG: What are some of the other features planned for Bejeweled and the Freemium?
GC: If we were to tell you, we would be ruining the surprise! Jokes apart, we plan to fully support both products with regular updates in the future and, for Bejeweled Blitz, our goal is to keep the mobile version as up-to-date as possible with the Facebook version.
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PPG: Will there be an option to buy a package of PopCap titles consisting of various titles?
GC: We don’t currently plan to offer this option on mobile platforms, but you can head right now to PopCap.com and buy a package containing all the games ever released by PopCap for your PC.
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PPG: What other games can we expect to come to iPhone?
GC: We don’t have any specific announcement with respect to future titles, but we are fully committed to the iPhone platform and to satisfying our dedicated players that enjoy playing PopCap games on it.
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PPG: Do you find yourself as addicted to Bejeweled as the rest of us?
GC: Absolutely. The truth is that, even if I play Bejeweled a lot for “work reasons”, I find myself playing it on my phone all the time, and I often play Bejeweled Blitz on my PC when I have a few minutes to kill or want to relax. My wife plays it a lot too, and often you can hear dueling Bejeweled soundtracks in our house!
PixelPerfectGaming.com would like to thank Giordano Contestabile for taking time out of his busy schedule to conduct this Q&A with us.
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Bejeweled iOS Screenshots:
