15 years ago today, PopCap Games potentially shifted the entire game market in a whole new direction.
The time was 2010 and there was a new crazy tech boom in people’s pockets. Cell phones were not simply for calling your grandma and texting your ex (after 9pm, so it was free) anymore. In 2010, cell phones transformed from basic communication devices into pocket-sized computers, marking a significant tech boom. This shift was driven by the rise of “apps,” with Apple leading the charge through its innovative iPhone and the iPod Touch (released in 2007).
Gamers had their preferred consoles and PCs, however, which offered games and applications that made the new smartphones seem quite basic. They existed in a completely different realm. The argument was straightforward: if you wanted to play games, you purchased a gaming device, not a stupid phone. Then things changed, and they changed quickly. The number of mobile gaming users was rapidly increasing, with more casual gamers choosing a smartphone over a controller. This presented an opportunity to reach a new target audience.
In 2010, a year after its PC release, Plants Vs Zombies was released on iOS, becoming one of the first PC games to make the jump to mobile. The quirky tower defense game quickly dominated the mobile market due to a lack of competition and the novelty of a fully developed PC game on mobile, becoming a massive success and the face of casual mobile gaming.
The game’s simple design, where players strategically place plants and observe the outcome, made it easily adaptable to mobile platforms, contributing to a shift in the gaming landscape. Rather intentional or not, the ease of use of PVZ was actually better to play on a mobile device with a touchscreen, vs a controller or mouse. This new focus on adaptability would eventually become a new focus point for game publishers, with many publishers suggesting games needed to keep mobile gaming in mind.
However, the most significant change occurred in 2013 when PopCap implemented a “freemium” model, eliminating the $2.99 entry fee and offering the game for free. This allowed players to enjoy the game at no cost while generating revenue through advertisements and in-game purchases for additional features. This strategic move not only expanded the player base but also significantly increased PopCap’s profits, while proving the new “free” approach is a viable opportunity for future games. The concept of “free-to-play” was born, and has evolved so far from this point that “live service games” are the new focus point of publishers. Think Fortnite, Apex Legends, and Destiny.
In 2011, EA purchased PopCap for $750 million due mostly to the success of Plants Vs Zombies during the shift to mobile gaming. With additional bonuses for meeting milestones, the deal was worth over $1.3 billion and became the largest acquisition in EA’s long history. This acquisition indicated that the gaming industry was beginning to recognize the potential of the mobile gaming market, and future investments would likely include games that could cater to this growing audience. PopCap was an obvious choice for this with having success on browser based games like Bejeweled, which evolved into mobile game hits.
In 2010, when PVZ first went mobile, the market share of mobile games was anywhere from 5 to 10 Billion dollars, and was mostly due to the success of browser games finding new success. By 2024 the mobile game market is worth over 76 Billion dollars, and it is expected to exceed 100 Billion by the end of this year. We have gone from mobile inspired games that need to be built with a touch screen in mind, to handheld devices that can play some of the hottest new releases.
15 years doesn’t seem like that long ago, but a lot has happened since then. Plants Vs Zombies is still getting updates on mobile devices, and EA/Popcap have released more console focused Garden Warfare titles (which we hope will return!). But you can’t look anywhere in the gaming industry without seeing the influence Plants Vs Zombies has put on everything. A simple, quirky, game dynamically changed how we pay for, and play games, 15 years later.
Let us know, what are some of your favorite early mobile games?
