SEATTLE, Feb. 28 /PRNewswire/ -- PopCap Games(R), the leading developer and publisher of casual games, today announced the launch of Peggle(R), a new type of video game to enthrall players of any age or gender. Peggle combines elements of pinball, pool and pachinko to create a completely different kind of game experience. The game challenges players to use skill, strategy and luck to clear progressively more difficult levels of orange pegs by firing a small silver ball from the top of the screen. Stationary and moving obstacles along with numerous power-ups and special effects combine with dynamically- assigned peg colors to make each level unique every time it's played. Peggle carries a retail price of US$19.95, and a free trial of the deluxe version is available for download at http://www.popcap.com/ and will be available on other leading game portals, including RealArcade.com, MSN's Game Zone and Yahoo! Games, next week.

"Peggle really proves that there are completely new game archetypes, and even entire game genres, yet to be imagined and built in the casual games space," said Sukhbir Sidhu, Peggle's producer and Studio Director at PopCap Games. "Peggle took a long time to perfect but it's been worth the wait and effort -- it's truly a novel game that appeals to a wide range of people and has proved extremely enthralling for our beta testers. One of the great things about the game is that on any given level, there are nearly infinite styles and strategies for winning, and things keep changing from one shot to the next."

In Peggle, players fire a metallic silver ball from the top of the screen, relying on gravity to propel the ball downwards while ricocheting off orange and blue 'pegs'. The goal is to clear all the orange pegs from the screen before running out of balls. A moving "bucket" at the bottom of the screen offers free balls, while green power-up pegs give the player one of ten different abilities, such as explosive area-clearing blasts, lobster claws which serve as pinball-type flippers, and "fireballs" that cut through all pegs in their path. "But nobody can really be told what Peggle is like," said Jason Kapalka, PopCap's Creative Director. "You just have to play it for yourself."

Ten colorful "Peggle Masters" help escort players through the 55 levels in the main "Adventure" mode of the game, training players in the use of each unique power-up. In "Quick Play" mode, any level can be played using any power-up, a great way to hone skills and try new strategies. "Duel" mode enables players to compete in head-to-head Peggle matches, either against computer opponents or another human player on the same PC. "Challenge" mode lets players put their newfound Peggle mastery to good use with 75 additional puzzles of varying difficulty, including score challenges, multi-level matches, epic duels , and other variants on classic Peggle gameplay.

Key features of Peggle include: -- Four different modes representing hundreds of levels: -- Adventure Mode takes players through 55 unique hand-painted levels on a quest to become a Peggle Master -- Duel Mode allows for head-to-head battles against friends or computer opponents -- Challenge Mode features increasingly difficult goals across 75 levels -- Quick Play mode lets players choose their favorite level and power-up combinations, or play a random set of levels and/or power-ups. -- Ten special power-ups, from multi-ball to the "karmically enhanced" Zen shot! -- Ten "Peggle Masters" -- they teach you how to play but later serve as tricky opponents -- Beautiful 2D graphics, cut-scenes and special effects -- Stunning sound FX and themed music -- Realistic bouncing ball physics engine creates fun, dramatic and mesmerizing gameplay -- Instant Replay function -- save your best, weirdest and luckiest shots for posterity; share with friends! -- Dynamic Level Generation ensures each game is different no matter how many times you play -- "Style Points" reward players for shots that display great skill or just incredible luck! About PopCap

PopCap Games (http://www.popcap.com/) is the leading multi-platform provider of "casual games" -- easy-to-play yet utterly entertaining and engaging brain food enjoyed by players young and old, male and female. Based in Seattle, Washington, PopCap was founded in 2000, and has more than 110 employees in its Seattle, San Francisco and Dublin offices. PopCap's games have been downloaded more than 200 million times by consumers world-wide, and its flagship title Bejeweled(R) has sold more than 10 million units across all platforms. PopCap games are available for Web, PC, Mac, mobile phones, PalmOS and Windows Mobile PDAs, Xbox Live Arcade, iPods, in-flight on leading airlines, as scratch-off lottery tickets, and more. PopCap is the only casual games developer with leading market share across all major channels, including web portals, mobile phones, Xbox, retail, and PDA.

PopCap, PopCap Games, Peggle and Bejeweled are registered trademarks of PopCap Games, Inc. All other trademarks and registered trademarks are the property of their respective owners, without intent to infringe.

CONTACT: PR Contact, Garth Chouteau of PopCap Games, +1-415-602-8147,
garth@popcap.com

Web site: http://www.popcap.com/