PopCap Games has put the world on notice that Bejeweled 3 is coming with the most hard-rocking, take-no-prisoners game launch tea party ever held in the living room of a middle-aged British mother of two.
Launch parties are always fun, especially themed events that go all-out to immerse attendees in the ambiance of the game, like the recent New Vegas festivities that took place at the Palms Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. So with Bejeweled 3 in the offing and widely expected to be one of the biggest hits of the year, PopCap went all-out to give it the most unique and appropriate blowout of all.
A survey of 2000 casual gamers in the U.K. drew a mostly-serious conclusion that the average Bejeweled player 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 favorite pastimes.” With that in mind, PopCap launched the game in the U.K. with a get-together attended by a Women’s Institute secretary, a grandmother, a Welsh librarian, a “glamorous banker,” a trendy dad and several others, held at the home of a mother of two where tea was served and Bejeweled 3 was played.
The new game’s most “unique and interesting” feature, according to Games.com, is the “Zen mode.” PopCap claims that Bejeweled 2 is already a proven stress reliever and with the sequel, it set out to take that even further, creating a “mental vacation” for players. “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,” said Stress Management Society member and launch party attendee Neil Shah.
It’s all a bit silly and tongue-in-cheek, but don’t be too quick to dismiss it as lightweight fluff. Since its debut ten years ago, the Bejeweled franchise has sold more than 50 million units, and PopCap claims that a new copy is sold every 4.3 seconds. That, my friends, is a whole lot o’ tea.
Bejeweled 3 comes out on December 7 for the PC and Mac.
