PopCap Games

Background

PopCap Games is an American video game company that was founded in 2000 by John Vechey, Brian Fiete, and Jason Kapalka. In 2012, PopCap was acquired by Electronic Arts. It is best known for producing the Bejeweled, Bookworm, Peggle and Plants vs. Zombies franchises, among others.

Contents

1st Logo (November 9, 2000–June 11, 2003)	2nd Logo (February 25, 2003–April 1, 2024)	3rd Logo (February 24, 2012–)

1st Logo (November 9, 2000-June 11, 2003)

Visuals: On a black background, the words "Pop" and "Cap" come from the left and right respectively to form the PopCap wordmark and a yellow circle with a red inner line. Finally, the word "GAMES" emerges from the top, stacked by letter next to the logo.

Technique: 2D computer animation.

Audio: None.

Availability: Made its first appearance on Diamond Mine and its last appearance on Typing Shark.

2nd Logo (February 25, 2003-April 1, 2024)

Visuals:

First: On a black background, there is a redone version of the previous logo, where the circle is metallic blue with a silver outline. Also, "GAMES" is enclosed in the circle, causing the "PopCap" text to be pushed left.
Second (February 27, 2009-November 15, 2011): On a blue background with stars, the word "Pop" falls and "Cap" rises to form the PopCap logo, which then shakes and some pixie dust appears and the background turns white.
Third (Bejeweled 3 custom variant) (October 11, 2011): There is a blue-light blue gradient background. A Bejeweled Gem appears with a pixie dust effect. It rotates to reveal the PopCap logo. The Bejeweled gem disappears while the logo shines. Bejeweled butterflies fly out of the logo, turning the background white. The PopCap logo finally fades to white, transitioning to the game itself.

Variants:

A prototype variant exists where the logo is the same colors as the previous logo.
Starting in July 2007, "GAMES" is removed altogether and the "PopCap" text is centered again. The text is also redrawn a bit.
On older and console versions of Plants vs. Zombies, a zombie's hand tries to push the logo open like a manhole cover, but the logo slams on it and moves back to the center.

Technique: A still, digital graphic. The second is 2D computer animation and third is 3D.

Audio:

The first variant of the logo has either none or the opening/menu theme of the game.
The second has a three-note acapella theme with sparkling sounds, then the sounds of metal clanking, and finally a magical sound. The variant added some noises of the zombie, with a clank sound, pushing sounds and a slam sound instead of a magical sound.
The third and final variant has a synth orchestral version of the second variant's theme.

Availability:

First appeared on Bookworm (except the Java web version, which used the previous logo).
The second variant only appeared on PlayStation 3, Playstation 2, Xbox 360, and some DS ports of PopCap games. The variant also appeared on older versions of Plants vs. Zombies.
The third and final variant can only be seen on the Xbox 360 And Playstation 3 versions of Bejeweled 3.
It was used until discontinuation of the web version of Plants vs. Zombies on itch.io in April 1, 2024.

3rd Logo (February 24, 2012-)

Visuals: The sequence starts on a white background. The background fades to red to reveal the PopCap text, without the circle and aligned horizontally, extremely close to the screen so only the second "p" and the "C" are visible. The text quickly zooms out, and once it reaches a comfortable position, it bounces a bit, causing the colors to reverse. The logo then explodes into small dots.

Variants:

On most games and trailers starting in 2014, it is still.
On Bejeweled games, the dots are replaced with the jewel shapes.
On Peggle 2, the logo plays similarly to the regular variant, except the white background does not fade into red, but instead the second "P" takes up the entirety of the screen until it zooms out. When the logo bounces, it then displays rainbow colors while Bjorn (from the game) rises upwards with a smug expression and pokes the logo with his horn, causing the logo to explode into multi-colored pegs (also from the game).

Technique: 2D digital animation.

Audio: A 6-note synth xylophone theme with two bangs when the text bounces.

Audio Variant: For the Peggle 2 variant, a choir sings the 6-note theme then sings "PopCap!" when the logo bounces, then sings "Peggle!" accompanied by a harp when the logo changes colors. The bangs are retained for this variant.

Availability:

First appeared on the PS Vita port of Plants vs. Zombies, plastering over the previous logo, and made its first official appearance on the music video Stop Zombie Mouth.
The still version debuted on Plants vs. Zombies 2, released on July 13, 2013.
It also plasters the 2nd logo on current mobile prints of Plants vs. Zombies.