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EA boosts its casual credentials with Hasbro tie-up

Monopoly, Scrabble, Nerf, Tonka… But will we get Twister on the phone?

EA boosts its casual credentials with Hasbro tie-up
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DS + Game Boy + PSP ...

With its recently announced restructuring resulting a new division called The EA Casual Entertainment Label (could it have thought up a more inappropriately boring title?), EA's looking to put extra lead in its pencil by hooking up with toy and boardgame giant, Hasbro.

The two companies have just signed a strategic relationship that runs to 2013 and could be extended for a further four years.

So from 2008, EA will get exclusive rights to create mobile, online, handheld, PC and console games based on Hasbro properties such as Monopoly, Scrabble, Yahtzee, Nerf, Twister, Tonka and Littlest Pet Shop.

For its part, Hasbro will be allowed to make toys and non-digital games on selected EA franchises – The Sims boardgame anyone?

It certainly seems to be a deal that makes sense for both companies. Previously Hasbro licensed its rights to a variety of different companies, with EA Mobile releasing Scrabble and Yahtzee on mobile, Glu taking mobile Monopoly, while Ubisoft is currently working on the DS and PC versions of Scrabble 2007 New Edition.

Pushing everything through EA should make things much easier for Hasbro, while the big cheque (its size wasn't officially announced but it probably will have been tens of millions of dollars) won't hurt either.

And EA will continue to do what it does best – put more licences into its huge sausage machine and churn out typically better-than-average games in return for lots of lovely revenue.

Jon Jordan
Jon Jordan
A Pocket Gamer co-founder, Jon can turn his hand to anything except hand turning. He is editor-at-large at PG.biz which means he can arrive anywhere in the world, acting like a slightly confused uncle looking for the way out. He likes letters, cameras, imaginary numbers and legumes.