Hasbro to Offer Games Online With Go2Net

Hasbro Inc. announced plans to offer popular family games such as Monopoly, Clue, Risk and Battleship to online players through a three-year licensing and distribution partnership with Go2Net Inc. “Games are proving to be the killer application on the Internet,” said Alan G. Hassenfeld, chairman and chief executive of Pawtucket, R.I.-based Hasbro. “Our vision is to create the best online games portal, offering mass-market entertainment with branded games for every member of the family.” The new site will face competition from two experienced Internet players, America Online and Lycos. Last month, AOL, the nation’s top Internet service provider, announced an agreement with computer games maker Electronic Arts to develop online games for AOL and run its online game channel. In May, Lycos announced a deal with Bonus.com, a popular children’s site, to launch a co-branded online arcade. Go2Net will get a $7.5-million fee from Hasbro and access to the company’s games for a licensed, co-branded Games.com offering on its game site, PlaySite.com. Hasbro gains access to Go2Net’s technology to develop the site and all public domain games offered on Go2Net’s site.