EA Brings Scrabble to Facebook

Venerable computer game giant Electronic Arts has obtained a license to distribute Scrabble on Facebook. The game is licensed from intellectual property holders Mattel and Hasbro who expressed satisfaction with the opportunity to deliver their brand name game whenever and wherever their consumers wanted it. Electronic Arts confirms the game will be free for users and there are no initial plans to package it with revenue-generating advertisements.

But what does this move mean for Scrabulous, the near identical game released by two Indian brothers that has become one of the most popular applications to be downloaded on Facebook? Reports have suggested that advertisement opportunities allow the two brothers to generate nearly $25,000 a month in revenues. Legal action against Scrabulous is pending but the game's popularity many wane anyway in the face of a competitor that is "the real thing".

Mattel and Hasbro insist this is just the beginning and we can look forward to other classical board games like Monopoly, Trivia Pursuit and Boogie on the Facebook platform.