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CASUAL CONNECT 08: Pogo is bringing a casual games version of classic family board game Operation to its portal in August – with a retail version following in September.

EA has revealed a new Sims title which allows gamers to rear animals and craft a garden paradise, entitled Sims Animals.

The iPhone/iPod Touch App Store is officially open for business and the leading lights in mobile games are falling over themselves to put their wares in the shop window.

Electronic Arts will release MySims for the PC this autumn, complete with online features and new characters.

Looks like the days ahead for unofficial Facebook game Scrabulous are numbered - EA has launched its own official Scrabble app for the social networking site backed by Hasbro.

Electronic Arts’ Mobile division has announced the release of Monopoly and The Sims DJ for Apple’s iPod.

While some executives at EA disagree what parts of their portfolio are casual and which aren't – or even what the word means – one of the company's key creative staff knows that his game is skewed towards the mass market, and says that in time the casual market will race ahead of the core one.

Electronic Arts continues to make good use of its Hasbro licence - the firm has just rolled out a new version of Monopoly for the classic Apple iPods on the European iTunes Store.

The boss of EA’s Casual Entertainment division Kathy Vrabeck has said that she expects the total global casual games market to be worth around $13.5 billion in the next “couple of years”.

Head of EA Casual Entertainment Kathy Vrabeck has spoken at length about her views of where casual gaming will go over the next few years – candidly answering questions on all aspects on the industry.

Electronics Arts has bought the South Korean arm of games publisher Hands-On Mobile.

The march of Electronic Arts into the casual space continues - the company has just announced a new console game based on a number of Hasbro board games which it is aiming at a family audience.

I spent a chunk of my free time last weekend playing through new Wii casual game Boom Blox - or, as it says in the press release, Steven Spielberg's Boom Blox. It's a great game, which deserves all the praise it's getting, but it highlights some embarrassing games industry truths.

The global president of MTV Networks’ digital division has predicted that EA and other established boxed video games publishers face a "huge challenge" in making serious money from free-to-play casual titles.

Electronic Arts has revealed that casual gaming subsidiary Pogo enjoyed over $100 million in revenues in the 12 months to March 31st, 2008.

Electronic Arts CEO John Riccitiello has condemned the 'soft' state of PC gaming – but praised the casual sector for keeping the format viable.

The global boss of EA’s The Sims division has said that the publisher does not see the series as part of the casual gaming phenomenon.

The head of Hasbro Europe's digital media & gaming group has told CasualGaming.biz that the company is following demographic trends via its games agreement with Electronic Arts, saying the casual audience is "our target customer".

Electronic Arts has unveiled a new sub-brand for its EA Sports label - a casual-oriented line of games under the EA Sports Freestyle umbrella.

Embracing games for bigger audiences has created a big strategy change for Electronic Arts when it comes to making and marketing games, the company's Casual Entertainment label VP Russell Arons has told CasualGaming.biz.

President of EA Sports Peter Moore has called into question the longevity of the term ‘casual games’ – despite Electronic Arts owning its very own Casual division.

EA’s Casual Entertainment Label will publish the video game version of Warner Bros movie Harry Potter and The Half Blood Prince later this year.

The head of EA’s casual and mobile games business Kathy Vrabeck has forecast that interactive entertainment may evolve to the point that it is now longer referred to as ‘games’.

EA Mobile has confirmed five major new titles including two new Sims games. The new line-up include The Sims 2 Castaway and The Sims Pool, plus Monopoly Here & Now, Yahtzee Adventures and Merv Griffin's Crosswords.

Sprint and EA have launched Sprint Arcade, a subscription casual games channel.

Electronic Arts’ casual games department used the company’s E3 presentation to unveil upcoming product – but no game could match the audience reaction to Harmonix-developed rhythm title Rock Band. The company said that it had a goal to capture the spending power of 200 million casual gamers before demonstrating EA Mobile titles including Madden, NBA Live and Harry Potter.

Electronic Arts has appointed ex-Activision exec Kathy Vrabeck as head of a new Casual Entertainment department. The division will develop and publish games for consoles, PCs, handheld devices and mobile phones. “All over the world, consumers are playing games that don’t require hours of intense concentration,” said Vrabeck. “The common denominator is casual fun. Whether it will be playing Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix on the Wii with the family or downloading Madden NFL 08 on a phone, quick-to-the-fun games are bringing new players and new demographics to interactive entertainment.”