Littlest Pet Shop Online
Website for girls.
Guildford, UK / Pawtucket, R.I. – 12th February 2009 – Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: ERTS) and Hasbro (NYSE: HAS) today announced that the two companies will launch an online entertainment and community destination for girls based on the globally popular LITTLEST PET SHOP brand in 2009. The Web-based LITTLEST PET SHOP ONLINE experience will allow girls to play and customise their favorite pets, connect with lots of friends, and participate in online games, activities and events.
“The creation of a LITTLEST PET SHOP virtual world marks the first major online collaboration designed for girls between EA and Hasbro that masterfully blends the leadership in imagination and innovation that each company brings from their respective industry,” said Chip Lange, General Manager and Vice President of EA Hasbro. “Pre-teen girls spend an enormous amount of time online and are actively seeking something that they can connect and have fun with in a meaningful way. LITTLEST PET SHOP ONLINE will become the safe destination where girls go to explore and interact with their virtual LITTLEST PET SHOP collections and friends.”
EA released five LITTLEST PET SHOP video games in 2008 on the Wii™, PC and Nintendo DS™ platforms and sold 2.8 million copies worldwide. In the holiday quarter, LITTLEST PET SHOP was a top-five title on the Nintendo DS in Europe and North America, based on NPD data. A sixth game, LITTLEST PET SHOP Spring for the Nintendo DS, is due to hit retail shelves in March 2009.
“LITTLEST PET SHOP is the ‘must have’ property among tween girls worldwide,” said Mark Blecher, General Manager of Digital Gaming and Media at Hasbro. “Building on its success of creating LITTLEST PET SHOP digital experiences that were embraced by legions of fans, EA is once again set to re-invent the LITTLEST PET SHOP play experience, but on a much larger scale – the Internet. Millions of girls globally will now have a place where they can come together to connect, collect and share in LITTLEST PET SHOP fun.”
Please visit www.lpso.com for more details and to sign up for the LITTLEST PET SHOP ONLINE newsletter.
# # #
About LITTLEST PET SHOP
Hasbro’s LITTLEST PET SHOP brand is a line of collectible mini-dolls aimed at tween girls and their zeal for nurturing and collecting. Since its launch in 2005, LITTLEST PET SHOP has quickly become one of the fastest growing girl brands in the toy industry. More than 200 million pets have been sold. Additionally, www.littlestpetshop.com has become one of Hasbro’s top-performing brand Web sites with more than 1.8 million girls creating and tracking online pet collections. The LITTLEST PET SHOP brand is also one of the hottest licensed lifestyle properties among young girls. Nearly 180 licensees bring LITTLEST PET SHOP-branded goods to market around the world in every major category from apparel and accessories to publishing, paper/stationery, and room décor.
About Hasbro
Hasbro (NYSE: HAS) is a worldwide leader in children's and family leisure time entertainment products and services, including the design, manufacture and marketing of games and toys ranging from traditional to high-tech. Both internationally and in the U.S., its PLAYSKOOL, TONKA, MILTON BRADLEY, PARKER BROTHERS, TIGER, CRANIUM and WIZARDS OF THE COAST brands and products provide the highest quality and most recognizable play experiences in the world. ©2009 Hasbro, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
About Electronic Arts
Electronic Arts Inc. (EA), headquartered in Redwood City, California, is the world's leading interactive entertainment software company. Founded in 1982, the company develops, publishes, and distributes interactive software worldwide for video game systems, personal computers, cellular handsets and the Internet. Electronic Arts markets its products under four brand names: EA SPORTS™, EA™, EA SPORTS Freestyle™ and POGO™. In fiscal 2008, EA posted GAAP net revenue of $3.67 billion and had 27 titles that sold more than one million copies. EA's homepage and online game site is www.eagames.co.uk. More information about EA's products and full text of press releases can be found on the Internet at www.electronicarts.co.uk/press.
EA, EA SPORTS, and EA SPORTS Freestyle, and Pogo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Electronic Arts Inc. in the U.S. and/or other countries. LITTLEST PET SHOP is a trademark of Hasbro Inc. and is used with permission. Nintendo DS and the Wii are trademarks of Nintendo. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.