Scrabulous, Facebook and EA

[Buccaneer]

Just read a short article on time.com talking about Hasbro suing the makers of Scrabulous (popular Facebook add-on for a Scrabble-like game).

Hasbro's Legal War On Scrabulous - TIME

Here's what caught my attention:

Hasbro holds the intellectual property rights for Scrabble in the U.S. and Canada, while online rights have been licensed to EA, which built the authorized app on Facebook.

Hasbro, which owns the intellectual property rights to the classic board game, released its own test version of online Scrabble earlier this year, opening the slow and clunky beta Facebook app to an indifferent public last week.

Well of course...

[Spree]

Apparently no one got the joke, because that is classic.

Or maybe everyone here is too burned out, demoralized, and ultimately left hopeless after EA's mistakes recently. Doesn't mean Captain Hook doesn't deserve a good whipping now and then, and they certainly deserve it this time for fucking up Scrabble.

[Ben E Lou]

They did it, some time in the last three hours. I played my turn in three games at around 5:00am Eastern, but the message below comes up now.

And yes, I tried out the EA version two days. I can verify that it sucks the big one. They should just buy these guys out and collect the ad money for Scrabulous. They'd make more in the long run. Scrabulous has revitalized interest in the game. I suspect large numbers will just stop playing now, and many will find better alternate options to play.

[Ben E Lou]

Heh. EA started a thread in their Scrabble application asking for feedback on their version. A large percentage of posts are saying in some form or fashion:

1. Ditch this version.
2. Hire Rajat and Jayant (the guys who made Scrabulous) and buy their code.
3. Re-release Scrabulous as Scrabble.
4. Give Rajat and Jayant free reign to continue updating the code as they see fit.

Surely they're going to have to start just deleting posts very soon.

[digamma]

Back when they sent their first cease and desist letter a few months ago, one analyst had some numbers that showed sales of the Scrabble board games had increased since Scrabulous was on Facebook.

[Buccaneer]

Originally Posted by Ben E Lou

Heh. EA started a thread in their Scrabble application asking for feedback on their version. A large percentage of posts are saying in some form or fashion:

1. Ditch this version.
2. Hire Rajat and Jayant (the guys who made Scrabulous) and buy their code.
3. Re-release Scrabulous as Scrabble.
4. Give Rajat and Jayant free reign to continue updating the code as they see fit.

Surely they're going to have to start just deleting posts very soon.

You think?

To me, the entrepreneur spirit is one of the greatest things there is. I just keep wondering why it stops when it hits a big company - to the point of cluelessness and delusion?

[Maple Leafs]

As somebody who does e-marketing for a living, this is an epic fail for Hasbro. They had a golden opportunity dropped in their laps -- all they had to do was shell out a few books to buy the Scrabulous app a year ago. But somebody invited the lawyers to the meeting, and they did what lawyers (and clueless executives) do.

Seriously, there will be chapters in text books about how dumb this was.

[Shkspr]

All Hasbro had to do was buy out Scrabulous and carve out a little space in the app to push another ad or two. From half a million subs to 10,000 and a reputation as a bully.

[Spree]

Originally Posted by digamma

Back when they sent their first cease and desist letter a few months ago, one analyst had some numbers that showed sales of the Scrabble board games had increased since Scrabulous was on Facebook.

I've just gone from the anger stage to the depressed stage.

[Mota]

Big surprise. It's the difference between labor of love vs. paid labor.

Typical EA. No love, no soul in their games.

[Oilers9911]

Hasbro has every right to do this. It is their property. Sure, they could have done it another way but they have the right to defend their own property.

[MJ4H]

I don't think many people are arguing that they don't have the right.

[albionmoonlight]

Originally Posted by Oilers9911

Hasbro has every right to do this. It is their property. Sure, they could have done it another way but they have the right to defend their own property.

I don't think anyone disagrees. It was just a horrible decision. Buying out the competition made lots and lots and lots more sense.

One thing that I learned in law school is that law school tends to create bad businesspeople. It is just a different skill set.

[Joe]

Well, the new version of this game.. "wordscraper" certainly sucks.

[finketr]

i got email today from scramble, a boggle-like game.

[sooner333]

Originally Posted by Joe

Well, the new version of this game.. "wordscraper" certainly sucks.

False, you can set up a board so it is exactly like scrabble. It is essentially the same game. I think it's a little broken right now where the point total in red for the potential move doesn't take into account the double letters, but when you play the move, it does take the spot on the board into account.

[digamma]

The potential move counter seems to be fixed now.

Once you build the scrabble board, you can invite friends to "play a similar game" which keeps the build in the next game you start. So, once you build it once, you're off and running.

Eff ewe, Hasbro.