Electronic Arts has announced that Scrabble is launching on iGoogle in conjunction with the support of Opensocial, which offers users a more powerful and interactive way to play games on their iGoogle homepage, personal websites or desktop for quick pick-up-and-play fun. The new social features on iGoogle allow users to share content, play games and collaborate with friends on their personal homepage. Scrabble as a gadget is the 6th official version of the Hasbro owned Scrabble franchise launched by EA to give fans of the game a vast array of ways to play.
The Scrabble gadget customized for iGoogle provides the authentic game experience as well as an intuitive interface that allows head-to-head challenges against friends and family (based on subset of Google contacts). Gameplay is asynchronous and allows for up to five simultaneous games. With easy tracking of scores and statistics, one always will know where they rank against their friends as well as the iGoogle community at large. Players also can get help from extensive word lists and choose one of the several flexible speed levels to customize their level of difficulty.
“Scrabble is one of the most beloved and popular games around, so we’re excited it’s among the first games to launch as one of the new gadgets on iGoogle,” said Robert Nashak, Vice President of the Social Games Group. “Our goal at EA is to provide as many ways as possible to play digital versions of Scrabble so players can identify what best suits their gaming habits. To date, EA has launched Scrabble on mobile devices, social networking sites, online and Xbox Live Arcade. Now with Scrabble as a gadget, players can easily add the game to their iGoogle page, which allows for a quick, fun Scrabble break during the day.”
“Our goal is to make iGoogle as useful and personalized as possible and adding social elements to gadgets enables our users to have a much richer experience on their personalized homepage,” said Marissa Mayer, Vice President of Search Products and User Experience. “We’re excited to have EA’s Scrabble gadget on iGoogle. It’s an iconic game that will be fun for our tens of millions of users.”
Scrabble is currently available on several platforms in the US. For mobile phones, Scrabble can be purchased via handset or at www.eamobile.com. The site also has specific price information.
For the iPhone or iPod touch, Scrabble can be purchased on the Apple App Store www.itunes.com/appstore. Players can also purchase the game for their Nintendo DS and Sony PlayStationPortable system (PSP) for a MSRP of $19.99. Owners of the Xbox 360 can purchase the game via Xbox LIVE Arcade for 800 Microsoft Points. Online gamers can play the game for free at Pogo.com.
