PopCap Games has got to be the king of the casual/flash game realm. I don't think it's an exaggeration to say that every single human being on earth, and their grandmothers, knows the names and rules of Bejeweled, Bookworm and Zuma. While most of these games can be played for free in browser versions, there is also an enormous market for them on the Apple iTunes App Store. The most recent port the company brought to that platform was the cartoonish post-apocalyptic tower defense game Plants vs. Zombies. When the game was released nine days ago, many feared that the combined drop in productivity of the American worker caused by the countless hours spent playing the game would lead to a worsening of the current recession. According to a press release sent today from PopCap, those fears may have had some basis in reality. Plants vs. Zombies has set a sales record for the iTunes Store, selling over 300,000 copies in just nine days, reaching the #1 spot within just 24 hours of its initial release. When you calculate its $2.99 price point, this means that the game has already brought in over a million dollars.

Further, PopCap also stated that Bejeweled 2 has become the first paid app on the App Store to reach 3 million units sold. In all, the company has had a total of three games reach the top spot on the sales chart; those being Bejeweled, Peggle and now Plants vs. Zombies. Andrew Stein, director of mobile business development at PopCap (aka the King of the Kingdom), was aptly excited by the announcement, saying:

"Plants vs. Zombies is our latest major franchise to make the jump to iPhone, and from the early customer and critical feedback it appears to be a great adaptation of the game. There's always a concern when bringing a computer game to a mobile, pocket-sized device that something will get lost in the process, but in this case the overwhelming consensus is that Plants vs. Zombies is even more fun on the smaller touch screen!"

It's amazing to see the amount of money people will spend on what essentially boils down to little more than a time-wasting device. Don't get me wrong- on my iPhone right now I have both Bejeweled 2 and Bookworm (still waiting on Plants vs. Zombies), and it certainly didn't break my bank to get them. I guess it just astounds me how quickly the two or three dollar apps can generate a million dollars in sales.