Electronic Arts expands its casual game line-up

Electronic Arts is going after the casual consumer on multiple fronts. It offers Pogo.com online and EA Mobile for cell phone users (which will also expand to Apple’s iPod beginning July 7). Now EA Casual and Entertainment is unveiling the first offerings from the Hasbro licensing deal it negotiated last fall, and EA Sports is revamping its entire Wii lineup of games under the All-Play branding.

The publisher showcased many of its upcoming games at a New York event for the press. The games are part of an ongoing effort by the company to reach various casual audiences, including tweens, families and women — groups that don’t care for the first-person shooters and other action games that EA has traditionally made.

Last year, EA kicked its casual gaming efforts into high gear by creating separate label and organizational group led by former Activision executive Kathy Vrabeck to target the casual sector.

The company’s new focus is showing some positive results.

One of game worth noting is a sequel to “Boogie,” a Wii game that failed to win over the press the first time around, but sold enough units for EA’s new Montreal studio to go back to the drawing board. “Boogie: Superstar” is a game clearly aimed at tween girls, which Charles-William Bibaud, associate producer of the title, said was the one demographic that flocked to the original game. The new game, which ships in October, lets one person sing any one of 40 licensed tween hit songs while the second player is required to dance to choreographed routines. Up to four users can play the game taking turns. “Superstar” comes loaded with customization options that 10 to 14 year-old girls crave, including accessorizing their avatars. Ubisoft, Nintendo, Her Interactive, Disney, and a variety of other game publishers are regularly coming out with titles like this that target girls as the primary audience.

For girls 6 to 10 years old, EA has “Littlest Pet Shop” (pictured above) for Wii, PC and Nintendo DS. The Wii and PC game lets players travel through four worlds and collect 32 pets, which can be accessorized with over 100 items. Like “Nintendogs,” the Nintendo DS game will come in three different versions (Winter, Jungle and Garden), each with exclusive pets to interact with.

It’s been six years since “Monopoly” last appeared on a console. Now EA’s making sure most gamers have access to it by releasing Wii, PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions this October. Hasbro is doing its part as well, launching Monopoly World Edition this September with its own marketing campaign. EA’s game will include this newest version of the game as well as classic Monopoly and the fast-paced “Richest mode,” which lets a family of four speed through the game in 30 minutes. The Wii version demoed to journalists looked great and blends nicely with Nintendo’s remote-like controller.

For those who want an array of virtual board game options, EA’s “Hasbro Family Game Night” for Wii offers Boggle, Connect 4, Battleship, Yahtzee, Sorry, and the new Sorry Sliders (a mixture of Sorry and curling) on one disc. Mr. Potatohead serves as the host of this multiplayer game, which offers traditional and new variations of each of these classic family games. This is another great synergy between family-friendly Hasbro brands and EA’s take on Wii innovation.

One of the coolest games on display for boys was “Nerf N-Strike” for Wii (pictured left), which is the first game to ship with a gun peripheral that works in-game with the remote, as well as around the house as a foam mini-dart Switchshot. It’s not just little kids who’ll, get a kick out of this dual-purpose