EA just released a press release about how they are finally bringing some of the Hasbro properties that they licensed last year. Included in the list of titles announced are : BOGGLE, BATTLESHIP, YAHTZEE, CONNECT FOUR, SORRY! and SORRY! Sliders. While I personally hope that this means that EA has realized that selling Monopoly as a retail disk was a bad idea, but there is something even more interesting about the PR. Looking at the following quite:

Additional customisation 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.

To me this sounds a lot more like the “Live Party” channel system (think 1 vs. 100) than XBLA, but unfortunately I haven’t been able to get anyone at EA to confirm or deny this yet. If it is indeed “Live Party” then it seems to reason that Microsoft is going full out for the service, perhaps trying to go after both the Wii Market and PS3’s Home in one shot.

What do you guys think of this, would you like to see more (read: any) “Live Party” games or should MS stick with the traditional XBLA titles?

Full PR After the break

Guildford, UK, January 6, 2009 – 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. EA are 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 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.” EA and Hasbro will stock Xbox LIVE Arcade with Hasbro Family Game Night, a crowd pleasing assortment of games that are instantly recognisable household names such as 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 customisation 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.