Majesco Makes First Move To Facebook With Bananagrams

Publisher Majesco has announced that it is making its first foray onto the Facebook platform with the forthcoming conversion of anagram game Bananagrams, to be developed by Rocketbowl and Snapshot Adventures studio Large Animal Games and due for an August release. The move onto Facebook is the second expansion for the publisher away from its recent traditional focus on the Wii and DS, following its recent announcement that it was moving into casual PC territory with Orchard, a crop-growing and roadside stand simulation title from Zen Fashion developer BoomZap Entertainment. In a recent investor call, Majesco operations VP Gui Karyo responded to analyst questions about the prospect of the company moving onto further new platforms by saying they were "looking actively at XBLA and WiiWare." Due for a free release Bananagrams will be a web version of the physical board game which sees players simultaneously trying to create as many interconnected words as possible from a batch of selected titles. Majesco says the Facebook version will have options for both single player and up to four or eight friends in multiplayer. Said Karyo, "Casual gaming applications have exploded on social networking sites like Facebook and Bananagrams is an ideal fit for the demographic. With its fast-paced action and addictive but simple gameplay, we believe this game has potential to become one of the most popular gaming applications on the site."