If EA CEO John Riccitiello's email to employees was designed to promote the firm's acquisition of PopCap as a positive move for the publisher as a whole, it would appear it has worked.

An article posted by GamesIndustry.biz detailing the views of three EA insiders suggests the reaction within the publisher has been almost universally positive. 

Their take is, while the studio's library might be aimed at an entirely different brand of consumer to some of EA's console properties, there's great value in strengthening the publisher's hand in the casual gaming market.

Meeting the market

"I'm not a casual gamer, but I think the opportunities with casual games, with all the Facebook stuff and iPhone, iPad I don't they've they've even touched where they're going to be able to go with it," said SSX producer Sean Smillie.

"I think there is some competition but at the same time casual is so accessible that I think people are just playing probably more overall."

In Smillie's view, PopCap's brand of gaming matches the habits of scores of consumers perfectly.

"They're going home after work, after school, playing console games, big franchises, and on the way to work I think they're playing casual games," he added.

"So I think there's probably a little bit of competition there, but people are just making more time to play more games."

Property power

The reaction of two other EA employees - EA Partners producer Ben Smith and Mass Effect marketing director David Silverman – was equally positive.

"I love Popcap games, so I'm looking forward to whatever they're doing that is like Plants vs. Zombies or Bejeweled," said Smith.

"I think they do an amazing job creating great properties and great games that millions of people can just sit down and play," added Silverman.

"My mom, she's beaten that game more than anybody I know, every time I see her she's playing Plants vs. Zombies, and the fact that it's an EA property now is awesome."

Push for PopCap

But there will also be benefits aplenty for PopCap, claimed Silverman.

"One of the biggest strengths of EA is probably what no other game company has, is that it can literally take its property and put it across everything," he concluded.

"No other studio has that pipeline to make HD products, to make casual games on Facebook, to make games on mobile. We can take our properties and throw them on every platform known to man. Nobody else can do that."

[source: GamesIndustry.biz]