In a recent press release PopCap announced that a new microwave that has been developed to allow computer games fans to play their favourite games while they cook a meal will be in UK and Ireland stores by Christmas 2011. Created by PopCap Games, the worldwide leader in casual video games, the ‘PlayWave’ features a fully functional touchscreen within the microwave door and comes preloaded with puzzle game Bejeweled. The 19 litre, 1,000 watt PlayWave will come with 167mb storage capacity as standard and will be able to connect wirelessly to the internet. In addition to the ‘full power’ and ‘defrost’ settings, the PlayWave will also have a ‘playtime’ setting, which will cook the food according to the player’s performance in the game.

PopCap Games co-founder and Chief Creative Officer, Jason Kapalka said: “It has always been our ambition at PopCap to create game experiences that people can enjoy anytime, everywhere. Our fans tell us they love to pass the time playing a few levels of their favorite games anywhere and everywhere and everyone loves a good meal so we thought why not combine the two?”

The launch of PlayWave follows extensive research into the gaming habits of consumers, which revealed they wanted to be able to play games wherever they were. In response to this research, PopCap have revealed that they are also working on a toilet game console. They originally hoped to launch both consoles as a kitchen and bathroom suite but due to complications arising from the curvature of the toilet touchscreen. PopCap do not expect to have a prototype of Play-n-Poop until early 2012.

(Ed.) Don’t believe everything you read, especially on the 1st of April.