PopCap: 'Solitaire Blitz won't live or die on ... its first three months'

If you're a fan of PopCap's social take on the normally solo card game, rest easy. Solitaire Blitz, the EA-owned developer's newest game on Facebook, ain't goin' nowhere, according to PopCap worldwide publishing VP Dennis Ryan. The executive told Gamasutra that PopCap doesn't take the same approach to Facebook games that most social game makers do.

"Even though it's a new game, Solitaire Blitz won't live or die on its performance in the first three months of its launch," Ryan told Gamasutra. "It's a game we believe in, and we're going to continue to invest in it regardless of how well it does in the first three months."

In short, Solitaire Blitz will be a slow burn, meaning we likely won't see a meteoric rise and steep or slow-and-steady decline that most social games experience short after. (However, its early numbers suggest otherwise.) Ryan likens the developer's strategy on Facebook to how it handled the free-to-play demos of its PC and Mac games, like say, Peggle.

"It was for getting people exposed on a very, very broad scale to, for example, the game of Peggle. And then over time we'd figure out how to best monetize those customers through enhanced play experiences," Ryan said. On a high level, it's the same thing on Facebook. We put our social games out there, and the most important part is people start playing and enjoying."

Are you still digging on Solitaire Blitz since its launch earlier this month? Do you see the game gaining the same long term traction that Bejeweled Blitz has? Sound off in the comments. Add Comment.