I think everyone seen this coming eventually. PopCap have now announced Bejeweled 3 is on it’s way and will be out before Christmas this year. Sure there have been spin-offs of Bejeweled 2, but this will be the first true sequel for the series in 6 years. Now I’m sure you would like to know the new additions on the way as well, and PopCap has jap packed this sequel full. Here is a snippet of the official press release:
Beyond stunning, high-definition graphics and mellifluous music and sound effects, Bejeweled 3 is packed with completely new game experiences in addition to updated and expanded re-imaginings of the four original game modes from Bejeweled 2. Four all-new secret games including Ice Storm and Poker offer surprising new interpretations of the Bejeweled theme, while Quest mode features eleven mini-games — clever hybrids of Bejeweled game-play with other classic game mechanics — comprising 40 total quests.
“Casual video games have been popular going back to the 1980s, but the introduction of Bejeweled 10 years ago launched an entire industry,” explained David Cole, founder and president of DFC Intelligence, the oldest research firm focused entirely on the video game market. “No other casual game comes close to the success of Bejeweled in terms of popularity and influence. PopCap has been able to keep the franchise strong for 10 years because they have focused on quality and innovation and have not flooded the market with dozens of sequels. I fully expect Bejeweled 3 to not only be a big success in its own right, but also ensure the Bejeweled brand continues to grow in popularity over its next decade on the market.”
Features are set to include:
“The challenge in creating a new version of Bejeweled is to innovate and keep it fresh and exciting without losing touch with the game-play that millions of people love. So we’re very careful when we make changes to the core game, which is why it can take so long!” said Jason Kapalka, co-founder and chief creative officer at PopCap and co-creator of Bejeweled. “We’ve worked hard to make sure Bejeweled 3 retains the classic appeal of the earlier games while bringing a host of exciting new features to the table.”
Since the launch of Bejeweled 10 years ago, 50 million units have been sold across 17 platforms and the franchise continues to sell one copy every 4.3 seconds. I am extremely excited to try out Bejeweled 3 as Bejeweled 2 is a staple of my puzzle games I frequent and this one seems to stick true to the formula which is great to see. My main question as of now is not if, but when we will see the ports on consoles. On December 7th, Bejeweled 3 will release worldwide and you can be held over until then with some nice screenshots and a brand new trailer below.
