BEVERLY, Mass. (May 12, 1999) Ð Hasbro Interactive announced today a new licensing agreement with the National Football League to create the NFL Football Em@il Game, based on AmericaÕs favorite sport and the newest way to play on the computer. The game is one of several new offerings by Hasbro Interactive to extend its new E-mail Gameª line.
For gameplay, players compete online with the convenience of e-mail. Hasbro InteractiveÕs NFL Football Em@il Game will give players the opportunity to set their starting and bench line-ups, form game plans, determine formations and choose from hundreds of offensive and defensive plays with their favorite AFC or NFC team. All games are designed as fully rendered, four-color game boards that are e-mailed to the second player as an attachment less than 5KB in size.
ÒWeÕre thrilled to be able to partner with the NFL on this exciting new breakthrough in computer entertainment,Ó said Tom Dusenberry, president of Hasbro Interactive. ÒCommunicating via e-mail is the most popular activity for people who use a PC and the NFL Football Em@il Game will bring people together to celebrate the competitive spirit of their favorite sport.Ó
ÒNFL fans are already online in large numbers,Ó said Gene Goldberg, vice president/consumer products for NFL Properties, Inc. ÒHasbro InteractiveÕs new Em@il games will give football fans of all ages a fun, new way to Ôplay footballÕ against their friends and families.Ó
Earlier this year, Hasbro Interactive launched this new way to have fun on the personal computer by using e-mail as a game platformÐputting entertainment into e-mail! Following the successful launch of its first three Em@il Game titles, Scrabble¨, Battleship¨, and Grandmaster Chess Em@il Games, the
company plans to introduce several more games this year, including the NFL Football title as well as
e-mail versions of Clue¨ and X-Com¨. Clue features the original gameplay of its board game counterpart and X-Com is based on MicroProseÕs original X-Com Apocalypse CD-ROM hit.
How does it work?
Hasbro InteractiveÕs Em@il Games are as simple as sending regular e-mail messages. All it takes is an Em@il Game disk, a Windows-based e-mail account and a CD-ROM drive for the host player. Games are simple to open and play: Player One starts the game and makes the first move. After Player One is prompted to enter both playersÕ e-mail addresses, the game is sent to Player Two as an e-mail attachment. Player OneÕs move is displayed on a colorful screen when Player Two opens the e-mail attachment. Then Player Two makes a move and sends it back. ThereÕs even a message feature so players can communicate with each other as they play.
The program allows the participant who has the disk to host multiple games simultaneously with different e-mail recipients. Only one player has to have the disk and opponents are automatically enabled as second players through the first e-mail move.
Hasbro InteractiveÕs new Em@il Games will ship this fall. The games will be available for Windows 95/98 at a suggested retail price of $14.95 - $19.95(U.S.) per title. Visit Hasbro InteractiveÕs Em@il Games web site at www.emailgames.com for additional information.
Hasbro began its relationship with the NFL in 1988 after the two leaders entered a full-scale licensing agreement. In that time Hasbro has launched an expanded line-up of its Starting Line-up figurines, a host of NFL Nerf products, NFL Trivial Pursuit and NFL Monopoly. New products, including the NFL Em@il game are being developed for the 1999 NFL season.
Hasbro Interactive, Inc. is a global interactive entertainment industry leader, innovating new ways to play and developing, publishing and distributing the highest quality interactive games, toys and lifestyle products for a full range of genres and platforms. Its premier brands include Hasbro Interactive ChildrenÕs and Family Entertainment, Atari¨, MicroProse¨, Avalon Hill¨, Hasbro Sports and Europress. Among the many award-winning titles published by Hasbro Interactive are: Frogger¨, Monopoly¨, Wheel of Fortune¨, Jeopardy¨, Tonka¨ Construction, Tonka¨ Workshop, Risk¨, Roller Coaster Tycoon¨, MechWarrior 3¨ and Falcon 4.0¨. A subsidiary of Hasbro, Inc. (NYSE: HAS), Hasbro Interactive has offices in the U.S., U.K., Australia, Canada and Germany and internal development studios in the U.S. and U.K. For further information, visit Hasbro InteractiveÕs Web site at http://www.hasbro-interactive.com.
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An Internet connection (TCP/IP); Windows 95/98-based e-mail account that uses file attachments is required by both players for play. Not compatible with some older email systems. Security systems may prevent you for playing this product over some corporate networks.
SCRABBLE is a trademark of Hasbro in the United States and Canada. Scrabble rights elsewhere in the world are held by J.W. Spear and Sons, PLC.
