Lineup to Feature Family and Iconic Favorites on All Major Gaming
Platforms
REDWOOD CITY, Calif., Feb 13, 2009 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:ERTS) today announced that it will unveil
six new Hasbro-inspired video games that are in development for spring
and summer '09 releases -G.I. JOE, LITTLEST PET SHOP
Spring,SCRABBLE, TRIVIAL PURSUIT, and Hasbro
Family Game Night- at the International Toy Fair in New York
City. EA's casual gaming lineup will be on display in Hasbro's Showroom
on February 15-17, 2009.
"Our first wave of Hasbro-licensed games did extremely well at launch
through the holiday season and we're excited to push that momentum even
further with the stellar wave of titles that we have on deck for the
next six months," said Chip Lange, Vice President and General Manager of
EA Hasbro. "We'll have something for every gender and generation from G.I.
JOE to TRIVIAL PURSUIT and LITTLEST PET SHOP. This is
just a glimpse of what is to come for 2009 in terms of stocking the
ultimate EA-Hasbro virtual toy and game closet for hours of fun with
family and friends."
"Toy Fair presents a unique opportunity to spotlight the unsurpassed
creativity fueling the highly successful Hasbro-EA alliance," said Mark
Blecher, General Manager of Digital Media and Gaming at Hasbro. "As
attendees walk through the showroom, they will see the latest EA games
next to Hasbro's newest toy and board games underscoring the depth and
extensibility of our powerhouse brands. It's re-invention at its best."
Following are brief descriptions of EA-Hasbro games to be spotlighted at
Toy Fair:
G.I. JOE for all major video game consoles will feature an
exclusive storyline that picks up where the live-action movie, from
Paramount Pictures and Spyglass Entertainment, in association with
Hasbro, leaves off, allowing players to re-create and re-live the
greatest moments from the film, cartoon series and action figure toy
line. The game will feature 12 G.I. JOE characters, each with unique
abilities and weapons. Adding to the adrenaline rush will be an intense
single-screen co-op mode allowing two players to easily unite as a team
in a classic struggle between good and evil to defeat the powers of
COBRA. G.I JOE is set to launch on the Xbox 360(R) videogame and
entertainment system, PLAYSTATION(R)3 computer entertainment system, Wii(TM),
PlayStation(R)2, PSP(R) (PlayStation(R)Portable), Nintendo DS(TM) and mobile
devices this summer.
TRIVIAL PURSUITfor all major video game consoles
will allow players to customize the gameplay experience by choosing from
three different modes of play including: Classic TRIVIAL PURSUIT, which
is played like the traditional board game; Clear the Board where players
sharpen their skills on their own; and the all-new quick-playing Facts
and Friends mode which adds a fresh social dynamic to the game that
keeps everyone involved by encouraging players to guess whether the
opposing team will answer questions correctly. TRIVIAL PURSUIT
will launch in March, is rated "E" for Everyone and will have a MSRP of
$39.99 for Xbox 360, Wii and PLAYSTATION3 and $29.99 for the
PlayStation2. TRIVIAL PURSUIT is currently playable online for
free at Pogo.com
and will also be available for mobile phones, the iPhone(TM) and iPod(R)
touch.
LITTLEST PET SHOP Spring for the Nintendo DS is the latest
in the line of LITTLEST PET SHOP video games made exclusively for
girls 6-10. The Spring version features a new, colorful spring
environment to explore as well as six new exclusive pets, new play
areas, and four additional mini games - bringing the original 16
mini games to a total of 20. Plus, with new accessories, girls can spend
hours choosing from more than 100 different eyeglasses, hats, scarves,
etc. to step out in chic spring style! LITTLEST PET SHOP Spring
will hop onto store shelves this March, is rated "E" for everyone and
has a MSRP of $29.99.
SCRABBLE(available in US and Canada)on the
Nintendo DS and PSP will offer three modes of play - 1) Classic, which
is traditional game play; 2) Speed, where players race against the
clock; and 3) SCRABBLE SLAM, inspired by the new Hasbro card game
which is a fast-paced version where players try to get rid of their SLAM
cards by making four letter words. The game includes three modes of
training exercises designed to make you a better SCRABBLE player. Adding
to the word fun are six difficulty levels and a SCRABBLE word-finder,
the Official SCRABBLE Players Dictionary, and Wi-Fi multiplayer
capability for both single and multi-cart play. The Nintendo DS and PSP
versions of SCRABBLE will be released in March, are rated "E" for
Everyone and have a MSRP of $29.99. SCRABBLE is also currently
available in the US and Canada for the iPhone, iPod touch and mobile
devices for $4.99 as well as online for free at Pogo.com.
HASBRO FAMILY GAME NIGHT will serve upsome
of the most popular family favorite board games -SCRABBLE,
CONNECT FOUR, BATTLESHIP, YAHTZEE, BOGGLE, SORRY!,
and SORRY! SLIDERS - onXbox LIVE(R) Arcade (XBLA). The Hasbro
Family Game Night destination on Xbox LIVE will allow fans to enjoy
classic versions as well as brand new ways to play including Party Mode,
which offers mini-game versions of each game. Key features include
online play, achievements, avatar support, sharing customized space with
friends, and the ability to launch new games without leaving the current
game environment. The games are rated "E" for Everyone and will be
available starting in Spring 2009. Pricing has not yet been announced.
PICTUREKA! MUSEUM MAYHEMputs PC game players in
the shoes of a museum curator to re-establish order as quickly as
possible after discovering that anunknown culprit got into the
museum and jumbled all of the exhibits. Players must search for and find
hidden objects that are listed on clue cards. Each card helps rebuild
and re-organize the museum, re-opening another exhibit. It is a race
against time to restore the museum before its reputation is ruined. PICTUREKA!
MUSEUM MAYHEM is currently available online for download at Pogo.com
for $19.95. It is rated "E" for Everyone.
For more information about the EA Hasbro lineup, please visit hasbro.ea.com
About Hasbro
Hasbro, Inc. (NYSE:HAS) is a worldwide leader in children's and family
leisure time products and services with a rich portfolio of brands and
entertainment properties that provides some of the highest quality and
most recognizable play and recreational experiences in the world. As a
brand-driven, consumer-focused global company, Hasbro brings to market a
range of toys, games and licensed products, from traditional to
high-tech and digital, under such powerful brand names as TRANSFORMERS,
PLAYSKOOL, TONKA, MILTON BRADLEY, PARKER BROTHERS, TIGER, CRANIUM and
WIZARDS OF THE COAST. Come see how we inspire play through our brands at http://www.hasbro.com.
(C) 2009 Hasbro, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
About Electronic Arts
Electronic Arts Inc. (EA), headquartered in Redwood City, California, is
the world's leading interactive entertainment software company. Founded
in 1982, the Company develops, publishes, and distributes interactive
software worldwide for video game systems, personal computers, cellular
handsets and the Internet. Electronic Arts markets its products under
four brand names: EA SPORTSTM, EATM, EA SPORTS
Freestyle TM and POGOTM. In fiscal 2008, EA posted
GAAP net revenue of $3.67 billion and had 27 titles that sold more than
one million copies. EA's homepage and online game site is www.ea.com.
More information about EA's products and full text of press releases can
be found on the Internet at http://info.ea.com.
EA, EA SPORTS, and EA SPORTS Freestyle, and Pogo are trademarks or
registered trademarks of Electronic Arts Inc. in the U.S. and/or other
countries. Family Game Night, G.I. JOE, LITTLEST PET SHOP, SCRABBLE (in
the United States and Canada), and TRIVIAL PURSUIT are trademarks of
Hasbro and used with permission. Xbox, and Xbox 360 are trademarks of
the Microsoft group of companies. "PlayStation", "PLAYSTATION", and
"PSP" are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. Wii
and Nintendo DS are trademarks of Nintendo. All other trademarks are the
property of their respective owners.
SOURCE: Electronic Arts Inc.
EA Hasbro
Alexis Mervin, 650-628-7703
amervin@ea.com
or
Foghorn PR for EA
Shelly Eckenroth, 717-852-7060
seckenroth@foghornpr.com
or
Hasbro Corporate Communications
Julie Duffy, 401-727-5931
jduffy@hasbro.com
Copyright Business Wire 2009