In the face of recent financial woes, Infogrames has sold back to Hasbro online and wireless rights to nine game franchises for $19.5 million. Risk, Monopoly, Scrabble, Game of Life, Cluedo, Yahtzee, Simon, Battleships and Boggle are the nine properties included in the deal. As a part of the same agreement, Infogrames has extended its rights to the Dungeons & Dragons brand until 2017.
It is speculated that Hasbro will relaunch their Hasbro Interactive division, but Senior VP of Corporate Communications Wayne Charness see many digital avenues available. “We are in the process of evaluating our options,” he said.
Board and card games such as Settlers of Catan and UNO have been popular on Xbox Live, and the Nintendo Wii and DS have become strong competitors in the casual marketplace. Hasbro is likely eager to take advantage of these trends and leverage their strongest traditional gaming franchises.
