Monopoly Here Amp; Now The World Edition

[Octavis Uberstine]

EASTLONGMEADOW, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 19, 2008--After aworldwide vote, Montreal will represent the most expensive property onthe new MONOPOLY Here & Now: The World Edition game board. Latvia'snational capital, Riga, joins Montreal to round out the dark blueproperty group, the most prestigious property group in the populargame invented by Charles Darrow in 1935.

During a six-week period in early 2008, MONOPOLY fans from aroundthe world voted for the global cities that they would like to seerepresented on the first-ever World edition game board. More than 5.6million votes were cast for 70 world-class cities, which determined 20of the 22 cities featured in the game. Then, the 20 cities with themost write-in votes faced off in a bonus vote and the two with themost votes, Taipei and Gdynia, earned the brown property spaces on thegame board.

"We hope that fans of the world's most popular board game willenjoy buying, selling and trading real estate from around the globe inthe new MONOPOLY game that they created with their votes," said HelenMartin, Vice President of Global Marketing for toy and game-makerHasbro, Inc.'s (NYSE: HAS) MONOPOLY brand. "We are thrilled that thefirst-ever global game board includes an interesting mix of citiesthat showcases the dynamic cultures, sights and history of theplanet."

"The destinations chosen by the international voters offer afascinating snapshot of which cities have the world's attentiontoday," said Pauline Frommer, creator of the Pauline Frommerguidebooks. "Of course, there are the perennial favorites--Paris,London, Rome, Jerusalem, New York--but also some real surprises on thelist, like Riga and Gdynia. I hope the game sparks players interest ingeography -- and visiting all of these cities would certainly enhanceyour life!"

Along with the 22 property spaces featuring world-class globalcities, the game will include updated Chance and Community Chest cardsthat highlight events and culturally relevant scenarios from countriesaround the world. Players may celebrate at Carnival in Rio de Janeiro,organize an international music festival or host a St. Patrick's Dayfestival in Dublin. Additionally, the tokens, houses and hotelsreflect icons and styles from all seven continents.

The new MONOPOLY Here & Now: The World Edition will be availablein stores around the world starting on August 26, 2008 in more than 50countries and in 37 different languages. Please check www.monopoly.comfor local availability and price.

Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: ERTS) has created digital versionsof MONOPOLY which will be available for download on mobile phones orfree online at www.Pogo.com starting September 3, 2008. It will alsolaunch for console systems including Nintendo Wii, Xbox 360,PlayStation2 and PLAYSTATION3 in October 2008.

Hasbro, Inc. is a worldwide leader in children's and familyleisure time products and services with a rich portfolio of brands andentertainment properties that provides some of the highest quality andmost recognizable play and recreational experiences in the world. As abrand-driven, consumer-focused global company, Hasbro brings to marketa range of toys, games and licensed products, from traditional tohigh-tech and digital, under such powerful brand names asTRANSFORMERS, PLAYSKOOL, TONKA, MILTON BRADLEY, PARKER BROTHERS,TIGER, CRANIUM and WIZARDS OF THE COAST. Come see how we inspire playthrough our brands at 2008 Hasbro, Inc. AllRights Reserved.

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Our chance to hit it big in Monopoly, the board game, that is. By hit it big, we mean have Asheville's name become one of the featured property spaces in the new Monopoly Here & Now game coming out this fall.

"I'm writing on behalf of Hasbro with great news: Asheville is one of the U.S. cities included in the Monopoly Here & Now campaign taking place until March 4. The Monopoly Here & Now campaign asks fans around the country to vote for their favorite city at As of now, Asheville is ranked 14 out of 60!"

But, that's a good thing, because, as the Monopoly rep points out, "the top 20 cities will be featured as property spaces in the new Monopoly Here & Now game this fall, and the number 1 city will even become the notable Boardwalk space!"

Hasbro, the game maker, has teamed up with social news and entertainment company BuzzFeed to ask fans to choose cities around the world that will be featured on the game. Here's the rest of the press release:

"Through March 4, fans can pick from a list of global destinations that will be featured in the Monopoly Here & Now World Edition game to be sold globally this fall, as well as top American cities for the Monopoly Here & Now: U.S. Edition game to be sold only in the U.S. From London to Los Angeles, Chicago to Cape Town, fans can rally behind their beloved hometowns, favorite vacation spots, or cities on their travel bucket lists by sharing the vote on Facebook and Twitter using the hashtag #VoteMonopoly as well as engage with fun BuzzFeed content featuring the cities in the vote.

From March 3 through March 9, all cities big and small will have the chance to compete for two spaces on the Monopoly Here & Now game boards during "Wild Card Week." Fans can write in additional locations not included in the initial list of destinations and the cities with the most submissions during this week will be featured as the two brown property spaces in the World and U.S. editions of the game.

"We are thrilled to be teaming up with BuzzFeed as one of the leading social news and entertainment sites to bring our fans an exciting way to choose the cities that will be featured in the new Monopoly Here & Now game," said Jonathan Berkowitz, vice president of global marketing for gaming at Hasbro. "This innovative campaign demonstrates how we continue to keep the Monopoly brand relevant by empowering our fans to help create today's game."

"From sharing on BuzzFeed to gathering around the Monopoly Here & Now game, our collaboration with Hasbro marries traditional and new media to create great social experiences that bring fans together worldwide," said Jonah Peretti, founder and CEO at BuzzFeed.

The final list of cities that will be featured in the Monopoly Here & Now games will be announced on March 19, World Monopoly Day and the Monopoly brand's official birthday. The Monopoly Here & Now games will be available this fall and will feature iconic landmark tokens and new gameplay where players travel around the board to visit as many locations as possible, collecting passport stamps along the way. Players will collect cash from visitor fees when opponents land on their locations and the first player to fill their passport wins.

The Monopoly brand is the world's favorite family game brand and the game has been played by more than one billion people in 114 countries around the world. Whether fans play face-to-face, online or on their mobile or console devices, there is a Monopoly experience to fit every lifestyle. Learn more about the Monopoly brand at Monopoly.com, join the conversation at Facebook.com/Monopoly, and vote in the Monopoly Here & Now campaign at VoteMonopoly.com.

The landmark monopoly trial between the U.S. Justice Department and Google comes to a finale this week. After a five-month hiatus, both sides will present closing arguments starting Thursday aiming to persuade the federal judge why they should win the case.

It's the first high-profile monopoly case to go to trial among a handful that the U.S. government has brought against tech companies in recent years. The U.S. has also sued Amazon, Apple and Facebook parent Meta over business practices it says hurts both rivals and consumers.

During the trial last fall, the two sides battled it out in court over a 10-week period. Silicon Valley executives, including Google CEO Sundar Pichai and Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, testified, while troves of internal documents were introduced. Arguments erupted over redacted evidence, closed-door testimony and alleged destruction of employee chat logs.

"There's this wider debate about whether the antitrust laws are up to it with the big technological world we live in now," says Sam Weinstein, a former Justice Department antitrust lawyer who's now a professor at the Cardozo School of Law. "And so, this is putting it to the test."

The Justice Department first filed its lawsuit against Google in 2020. A group of 35 states, along with Guam, Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia, filed a near identical suit at that time. Both suits were heard by Judge Amit Mehta during the trial, which wrapped up in November.

The Justice Department's case hinged on allegations that Google illegally orchestrated its business dealings with device makers, like Apple and Samsung, and web browser companies, like Mozilla, which runs Firefox.

During the trial, the government showed that Google paid billions of dollars every year for exclusive agreements with these companies. In 2021, it spent a total of $26.3 billion to ensure it was the default search engine on phones and web browsers, according to witness testimony. Apple, which had the most lucrative deal, was paid around $18 billion in 2021, according to the New York Times.

"Google illegally maintained a monopoly for more than a decade," Kenneth Dintzer, the Justice Department's lead lawyer, said in the trial's opening statements. "If Google sets the rules, it will always be to their advantage."

Google's parent company Alphabet, which is now worth more than $2 trillion, controls roughly 90% of the U.S. search engine market. For its defense, the company put together a massive legal team and brought on outside law firms to help fight its case.

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