When Square Enix and PopCap Games combined their strengths to create a new game, the result was Gyromancer. The puzzle RPG was announced in TGS 2009 back in September and redefined the tried, tested, and often cloned Bejeweled. But what we didn't know was that there were other games on that negotiating table - among them, Zuma and Peggle.

The console versions for PopCap Games' alive and kickin' hit of a game about the undead attacking your lawns, which are in turn protected by them fragile but fierce plants may not yet be ready, but the retail version for the PC is! Yep, Plants vs. Zombies is now for sale at retail.

On one hand, we've got PopCap Games, known for its highly addictive puzzle games that spawned clones all over. On the other, there's the prolific RPG master, Square Enix. What happens when those two team up and merge their specialties? That's where this new game comes out of - Gyromancer, a new puzzle RPG coming to Xbox Live Arcade and PC.

The worms are back! No, these aren't the action-oriented type of worms. They're the other kind of worms, meek and quiet, battling it out with villains using not guns but words. It's the Bookworms! PopCap Games has unveiled Bookworm Adventures 2 and it's out to get your attention hooked once more.

An apple a day keeps the doctor away? Forget it. Play a round of Bejeweled instead. According to a new study, casual games are proven to be beneficial for your health. Details in the full article.

 The video game industry is undoubtedly dominated by males, but we do know that gaming is not just a big frat house. Female gamers do exist, and like the opposite gender, they come in different shapes, sizes and forms. If you do your homework, you'll also notice that girl gamers have distinct traits which allow us to divide them into several types (just like guys). In this QuickList, we'll give you a rundown on what these types are. Hit that jump!

The Casual Games Association has announced that it will be hosting Casual Connect Europe. This event will run from February 6 to 8 in Amsterdam and is being held to gather industry leaders in the hope of promoting casual games as well as securing its future development.

Want to know more? Check out the full article via the "read more" link below.

A study, commissioned by PopCap Games, showed that women love a good game of Cake Mania, and they aren't shy about it. After media content providers were determined to deliver advertisements catering to the young male bracket on consoles, the study by Information Solutions Group (ISG) reveals that casual gamers are "predominantly female."

Looking for numbers? Try 76% casual gamers that are female against 24% male casual gamers. And even over at Yahoo! Games and Electronic Arts casual gaming bet Pogo, more casual gamers are female.

The non-gamer bracket that included your girlfriend and your grandmother is now blessed with a gamers' edge on Zuma, thanks to the simplistic, yet entertaining casual game. With Miyamoto's previous speech on catering the Nintendo Wii to women, it's now clear that introducing games to the female bracket shows just how big of a market the game industry can tap into.

The games women play may not be "hardcore," but it's a start for toning hand-eye coordination technique and basic game mechanics. Females are entering the mainstream gaming scene, and not as promo girls on the side (mind you).

Even if the hardcore gamers are predominantly male, it's no indication that it should stay that way. There are already girl gamers around in the professional gaming scene, and it won't be a surprise if that increased this year, too.

One such study back in 2006 highlighted that 42% of adult console gamers were female, and the rest were male. In a broader scale, PC and console games were played by more males than females: 62% against 38%. So in essence, the gaming demographics is becoming more evenly distributed as time rolls on.

And with the success of the Nintendo Wii and MMO games, this year could spell the game industry's renewed focus on delivering games to gamers, and not games to males only.

If you're like us, who are guilty of hogging the pachinko machine at the local arcade, you'd probably enjoy this new game from casual games developer PopCap Games: Peggle. It's an old story to think that pachinko is just a trend, so stop smirking - you may think it's silly but believe us, these sort of games can be very addicting.

Peggle combines the elements of pool, pinball and pachinko to interest players of any age or gender. In this game, you fire a metallic silver ball from the top of the screen to clear all the orange pegs from the screen. There are power up pegs to hit, too, and different modes to play in the game. But PopCap creative director Jason Kapalka puts it best by saying, "you just have to play the game yourself."

Peggle has just launched with a retail price of US$ 19.95. You can check out the official trial of the game, for free at PopCap's official site and other gaming portals. In any case, here are some screenshots of the game.

The rest of the screens await after the jump!

Casual games maker PopCap Games has just announced that a brand new position has been created in the company: VP of Video Game Platforms. Filling in this position would be Greg Canessa, former GM for Microsoft's XBLA service. With this appointment, the company is hoping to be able to further expand its reach to video game consoles, handhelds, as well as related online gaming services.

According to the newly-appointed Canessa,

From the Xbox 360 video game console to handheld videogame devices and more, PopCap's lineup of casual games are really well suited for a wide range of platforms, and I'm excited to have this opportunity to help guide PopCap's future growth.

For those who are not familiar with this man, he is one of those who helped define and manage Microsoft's online games strategy, and has been an early advocate of bringing casual games to the Xbox 360. To date, six titles from PopCap Games have already been released on the XBox and Xbox 360, both of which have proven to be successful.

So, does this mean more Zuma and Chuzzle goodness on all major platforms. We'll find out soon enough in the months ahead.