Hasbro Aims to Attract Video Gamers with "Monopoly Live"

Posted 02/23/2011 at 6:04am | by Paul Lilly

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Hasbro recently showed off a new version of its popular Monopoly game at the Toy Fair in New York. The new version is called Monopoly Live, which sports the same board and properties you're already familiar with. The difference is that Monopoly Live sports a giant tower in the middle, which replaces the Chance and Community Chest cards, and the dice. A speaker issues instructions and keeps track of money, so there will be no more cheating the banker with your shenanigans.

"It seems that there's a computer that makes most of the decisions for you -- it changes a lot of the rules, it removes a lot of the skill," laments Ken Koury, a competitive Monopoly player. "With this computer, I'm wondering what's left for the player to decide -- is it they just keep pushing buttons and wait for someone to win?"

On the flip side, Hasbro hopes the digital makeover will attract a new generation of board gamers, ones who have been raised on videogames and electronic handheld devices. It will be available in the Fall for $50.

More on the topic here.

Image Credit: Hasbro