January 6, 2009
EA DELIVERS SCRABBLE TO EVERY
MAJOR DIGITAL PLATFORM IN 2009 AND BRINGS HASBRO FAMILY FAVORITE BOARD GAME
EXPERIENCES TO XBOX LIVE ARCADE
Highly Anticipated Hasbro-Branded
Video Games To Be Showcased At Consumer Electronics Show Booth # 72201
Fans of casual, family-friendly
games are about to see their circle of fun widen with a slate of new
Hasbro-branded digital play experiences on a variety of platforms from
Electronic Arts Inc (NASDAQ: ERTS) in 2009. Leading the charge is SCRABBLE,
which rocketed to the No. 1 position on Pogo.com™ with more than 2.5 million
players laying down virtual tiles since its June 2008 launch. The best-selling
crossword puzzle board game is on deck to land on handheld platforms including
the Nintendo DS™ and Sony PlayStation®Portable system (PSP®) in March 2009 in
the US and Canada. EA is also gearing up to inject nostalgic fun into the Xbox
LIVE® Arcade by bringing perennial board game favorites to the popular platform.
Under a Hasbro Family Game Night banner, games such as SCRABBLE (US and Canada
only), BOGGLE, BATTLESHIP, YAHTZEE, CONNECT FOUR, SORRY! and SORRY! Sliders will
begin to roll out in Spring 2009. EA will showcase the highly anticipated lineup
at the Consumer Electronics Show on January 8-11, 2009 in Las Vegas.
“We believe our Hasbro Family Game
Night channel on Xbox LIVE Arcade will be one of the most dynamic and fun
collections available on the platform,” said Chip Lange, General Manager of EA
Hasbro. “We’ve been given the unique opportunity to create an exclusive EA
Hasbro branded destination within the Xbox LIVE Arcade so players can easily
find and play our lineup family-friendly digital board games. Just as families
have game closets in their home, they will also be able to stock a digital game
closet serving up hours of interactive play for kids and adults alike.”
“The consumer response to Hasbro’s
brands arriving on digital platforms in such fresh, inventive ways has been
incredibly positive,” said Mark Blecher, General Manager of Digital Media and
Gaming at Hasbro. “SCRABBLE alone has taken the US and Canadian markets by storm
in a very short period of time and we expect the momentum to remain at full
throttle through the Nintendo DS and PSP handheld releases and beyond. The level
of creativity and meticulous execution that EA has poured into the
re-imagination of the SCRABBLE and Hasbro Family Game Night experiences have set
the bar very high for the many other games under development, but we’re
confident that we’ve just scratched the surface of what digital fun feels, looks
and plays like. It’s going to be a very exciting year for casual game fans.”
SCRABBLE on the Nintendo DS and PSP
will offer something for every crossword puzzle fan with three modes of play
including: Classic, which offers traditional play; Speed, where players race the
clock; and, the new fast paced SCRABBLE SLAM card game where players try to be
the first to discard all their SLAM cards by making four letter words. SLAM will
be available for the first time digitally on the handheld versions of SCRABBLE.
With six difficulty levels, SCRABBLE will serve up a Training mode with six
training exercises that enable new or rusty players to polish their skills
before their first big showdown. SCRABBLE comes loaded with extras such as the
SCRABBLE Word Finder and Wi-Fi multiplayer capability (both single and
multi-cart play). Debuting in March 2009, the Nintendo DS and PSP games are
expected to be rated “E” for Everyone and carry an MSRP of $29.99.
The SCRABBLE Nintendo DS and PSP
games will join the roster of previously released versions which have proven to
hold great appeal, similar to its board game counterpart. In the past two years,
EA launched three separate mobile versions of the game (in the US and Canada
only) – including SCRABBLE for the iPod®, iPhone™ and feature phones. Online
versions of SCRABBLE also launched on Pogo.com and social networking sites in
June 2008. All have been widely adopted and received accolades across platforms.
SCRABBLE was the No. 1 multiplayer
game in its launch month competing against more than 100 other offerings on
Pogo.com. In July 2008, more than 5 million Scrabble games were played equating
to 4.3 million hours of play. SCRABBLE for the iPhone and iPod touch launched in
July and quickly rose into the top 25 of all applications. Today, out of over
8,000 applications on the App Store, SCRABBLE remains in or near the top 50.
EA and Hasbro will stock Xbox LIVE
Arcade with Hasbro Family Game Night, a crowd-pleasing assortment of games that
are instantly recognizable household names such as SCRABBLE, CONNECT FOUR,
BOGGLE, YAHTZEE, BATTLESHIP, SORRY!, and SORRY! Sliders. All games will feature
both original and new ways to play, including a Party Mode that features
multiple mini-game versions of each title. Additional customization features
will allow players to earn virtual trophies, furniture and themes to decorate
their personal virtual game rooms. The Hasbro Family Game Night lineup will take
full advantage of Xbox LIVE community features such as online play,
Achievements, the ability to launch new games without leaving the environment,
and sharing customized space with friends. The EA Hasbro virtual game closet is
slated to open in Spring 2009 with multiple games followed by additional
releases throughout the year.
