EA Unveils First Wave Of Hasbro Titles

Officials from Electronic Arts have released specific information on the company’s partnership with toy maker Hasbro, first announced in August of last year. A strategic licensing agreement between the two companies allows Electronic Arts to created games based on wide range of Hasbro properties, but until now details have been scarce. The first two Wii and Nintendo DS titles will be available this Autumn, beginning with Littlest Pet Shop, also for the PC. In a manner similar to Nintendogs, the game will be available in three different version for the Nintendo DS, each with unique pets. Also announced for Autumn 2008 is Nerf: N-Strike for the Wii and DS, featuring a custom controller which can also fire real Nerf darts. Both games are developed by Electronic Arts’ Salt Lake Studio, with the company also developing new Monopoly and Scrabble titles for multiple platforms, although the latter license is only for North America. These are implied not to be for release in 2008, with other new titles to be announced later this year. On mobile phones the company has already release Yahtzee Deluxe and Scrabble (North America only) and starting this spring will also introduced Monopoly Here & Now, Trivial Pursuit, Risk and Yahtzee Adventures. The third major use of the Hasbro license will occur via Electronic Arts' online portal Pogo.com, where a version of Yahtzee is scheduled for summer 2008 and Monopoly: Here & Now and Trivial Pursuit for the autumn. A downloadable PC version of Operation is also schedule for the same time, as well as Pictureka. All the Hasbro titles are part of the newly formed EA Casual Entertainment Label, focused on creating “casual entertainment experiences”. The label has already been responsible for trivia title SmartyPants for the Wii, Tetris for mobile phones and Pogo.com and the forthcoming Bloom Blox co-created by Steven Spielberg. “EA and Hasbro want to give families new ways to enjoy games; we want give them a new way to come together, connect, spend time and have fun around the TV or online,” said Chip Lange, vice president and general manager of EA’s Hasbro Studio. “Bringing the spirit of these games to life as video games has allowed us to create really unique and creative experiences for families and friends of all ages to enjoy together at home or online.”