Forbes Magazine is reporting that an inside source told them Zynga offered $1 billion in cash to acquire PopCap Games, who turned the deal down to accept a more complex but potentially more lucrative deal from Electronic Arts, which included $650M in cash and $100 in Electronic Arts stock, as well as another $550M contingent on company performance over the next two years.

The EA deal could potentially pay out $1.3B.

Zynga’s potential offer would have been financed in part by a line of credit supplied by Goldman Sachs. Forbes also notes that their information on Zynga had them just shy of $1 billion in cash on its balance sheet.

Zynga has issued a no comment on its involvement with Popcap.

Electronic Arts has officially purchased casual games giant Popcap Games for a cool $650M plus $100M in stock. The acquisition had been first rumored about three weeks ago.

According to Electronic Arts CEO John Riccitiello:

“EA and PopCap are a compelling combination. PopCap’s great studio talent and powerful IP add to EA’s momentum and accelerate our drive towards a $1 billion digital business. EA’s global studio and publishing network will help PopCap rapidly expand their business to more digital devices, more countries, and more channels.”

Popcap Games became a casual gaming giant quickly after being founded in 2000, on the strength of Bejeweled. From there, major games like Peggle, Bookworm and Plants Vs. Zombies catapulted the company into a force to be reckoned with.

Electronic Arts had flirted with the casual games market with their EA Casual label, but it didn’t penetrate as EA thought it could have. With Popcap Games, they now have the premiere prize in the genre.

The acquisition becomes finalized in August.

Tech Cruch is reporting that Electronic Arts is about to acquire casual games giant Popcap Games for a cool $1 billion, which would exceed EA’s market cap by over 13%. If true, this would be EA’s definitive entry into the casual games market, a field they broke into 7 years ago.

Despite consuming a significant chunk of EA’s reserves. buying Popcap would bring them IPs such as Bejeweled, Plants Vs. Zombies, Peggle, Zuma and Bookworm.

We’ll keep an eye on this deal as it happens.

Bejeweled 2 is free today from Popcap. Just head over to this link for the freebie. Act fast.

We’re hooked on yet another casual game from Popcap, this time it is Zuma’s Revenge! Perhaps not as addicting as the original Peggle was, the challenge factor and game design keeps bringing us back for more. Those who have played the original Zuma, as we did on our Xbox 360, will find themselves right at home with the sequel.

This is your classic “marble popper” style game with expanded features from the original, with over 60 new levels, mini-bosses and additional modes to bring up the replay value. A good casual game that is priced at USD $19.95 must have great replay value in order to bring gamers the worthwhile experience. In replay value, you be willing to shell out the twenty bucks for this title.

Zuma’s Revenge! looks amazing from a graphical standpoint and the sound is, by far, the best we’ve heard in a casual game including all titles in Popcap library of casual games. The tiki theme lends itself well to the Polynesian tribal music, bringing you deeply into the experience; it felt like something we’d hear in a restaurant or on a Hawaiian Luau. The games graphics are highly polished and glossy with explosive effects that rival that of Bejeweled Twist.

Unlike Bejeweled Twist, this game doesn’t stretch far from its roots, sticking with the traditional style of game play with added power-up’s including Lightening, Laser and Tri-Shot with all new stage designs. Each new power-up changes the strategies that can be applied to the game board and the addition of lily-pad hopping in a select few levels ramps up difficulty and encourages a bit of creative thinking.

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