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Avanquest has announced that one of the Hidden Mysteries games would be coming to the Nintendo DS and Wii, called Titanic Secrets of the Fateful Voyage, which was originally released on PC. The game is a cross between a proper adventure game and a hidden object game.

The game starts on April 10, 1912 as the HMS Titanic launches from Southampton docks and ends on the disastrous day of the ships sinking. During this time, the player deals with 20 levels of puzzles as they collect items such as photographs, cigar cases and compasses, which are then put in an inventory list and used to solve various puzzles within the puzzle.

Between puzzles, players will meet fellow passengers and explore a variety of locations on the famous ship, like the boiler room, the passenger cabins, the ship’s grand stairway, and of course the lifeboats, looking for hidden objects. Dialog choices give players options to follow different paths within the game and multiple endings are created based upon those choices.

Hidden Mysteries: Titanic Secrets of the Fateful Voyage will be released on the DS and Wii on July 30.

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PlaySpan and VGMarket have just released their findings on a study of the purchasing of virtual goods.  Their results are of interest to developers and publishers, because understanding how and why people buy virtual goods helps them make better virtual goods to buy.

It is also of interest to anthropologists and those who study the differences between the sexes, because the study revealed that while there are more men spending more money on virtual items, per-capita women are spending twice as much as men are!  What does that mean?  It means for while the average male gamer spends $25 dollars on in-game money per year, the average female gamer will spend $50.  For in-game item,s the difference is less but still dramatic :$30 for males over a year and $55 for women.

It is too early to say if there is any causation here though.  Women were the minority in the study, representing less than 15% of the study pool. That gives each individual woman a much greater weight compared to individual men.  Furthermore, the types of games, in general, that men and women play also could have skewed the results.

Regardless, its an interesting number, an interesting result, and if it nothing else it makes for some neat small talk.

(Thanks, Gamasutra)

Big Fish has announced that the iPad version of their popular hidden object adventure game Everest: Hidden Expedition HD is now available for $6.99 U.S. at the iTunes Store.

The game offers two multiplayer modes: single-player and multiplayer for head-to-head competition against friends in which players are pitted against another group of climbers in a race to the summit of Mount Everest.

The app includes more than 30 beautiful hidden object scenes from around the world and exclusive, stunning photographs of Viesturs’ ascent from Nepal to the summit of Mount Everest.

Everest: Hidden Expedition was originally released on PC and Mac.

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Playfirst has announced their first foray into Facebook social networking, with a new version of their popular chocolate making game, Chocolatier: Sweet Society. The game will use three tiers of gameplay that will take advantage of Facebook: managing the sweet shot, running a factory, and “lickable art” to tempt the tummy with images of mouthwatering chocolates. The game itself, currently in beta, features lush animation and graphics and a pleasant music score, as well as lite roleplaying elements and achievements.

Players go behind the scenes as factory machines, aided by a compelling mini-game, create an assortment of delectable confections, unlocking the Baumeister’s secret family recipes from Dark Chocolate Ginger Infusions to Cacao Lime Balls. Then, players decorate and manage their shoppe for the ultimate opulent chocolate experience. With the help of friends, everyone can taste their way to a grand chocolate empire.

The game also coincides with a survey which Playfirst co-sponsored with Frank N. Magid Associates titled “Magid Media Futures 2010 Social Media and Consumers”. The survey notes that “all regular social network users 18 years and older regularly play social network games, and 58% of these players are women.” Not so coincidentally, Chocolatier has had the same demographic since its debut in 2007.

Players interested in Chocolatier: Sweet Society can find it on Facebook here.

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The Xbox Live Arcade version of Plants Vs. Zombies will feature new multiplayer modes, including a co-op mode and a versus multiplayer mode.

Popcap Games’ Ed Allard stated:

With a ton of new features and content exclusive to the XBLA version, we’ve pulled out all the stops to both expand and optimize this adaptation for a hard core gaming audience. The two new multiplayer modes allow gamers to work cooperatively to defeat hordes of invading zombies, or go head-to-head in a true ‘plants vs. zombies’ challenge. We’re also featuring a customized ‘house’ for tracking and sharing progress as well as a total of 21 mini-games and 12 achievements, all designed to enthrall Plants vs. Zombies players once again.

Let us know how much you’re looking forward to Plants Vs. Zombies on XBLA. The game has no set release date yet, and will cost 1200 MSP ($15 USD).

Read the original Casual Gamer Chick review here.