The new version of Monopoly features an ominous computer tower which monitors your moves, counts your money, rolls the dice for you and tells you what to do…Sounds fun!
Jeopardy isn’t the only game being threatened by computer domination.
A new version of board game staple Monopoly will ditch the dice and paper money in exchange for an ominous computer tower that monitors player activity. Hasbro unveiled the product –somewhat ironically dubbed “Monopoly Live” — at this week’s Toy Fair in New York, reports The New York Times.
The ten-inch tower sits in the middle of the game board, using infrared technology to keep track of the action while barking out instructions to players. Move one too many spaces? The all-seeing eye computer tower will know. It even rolls the (virtual) dice for you.
Thankfully, the core element of the Monopoly board — the location of properties — has remained unchanged, so you can still set up your favorite hotel chains, land on free parking and scoop up dough by passing “Go.” But say goodbye to that brightly colored Monopoly money and those Community Chest and Chance cards — if it’s made of paper, it’s pretty much gone. Instead, players will buy and sell properties by holding their hands over special decals and will check their accounts by inserting ATM cards into the tower.
The Big Brother-like move is intended to revive interest in the dwindling board game market.
“How do we give them the video game and the board game with the social experience? That’s where Monopoly Live came in,” Jane Ritson-Parsons, global brand leader for Monopoly, told the Times.
The newfangled Monopoly is sure to have detractors, however. Players have long considered the basic Monopoly rules to be more a set of loose guidelines, and have traditionally livened things up by encouraging sneakier tactics like hiding money and making deals with other players on the fly. With the tower overseeing every move, such casual cheating will be a thing of the past.
With Monopoly Live, Hasbro is hoping to appeal to younger players more accustomed to the fast-paced world of digital downloads and bite-sized game apps (the biggest of which, Angry Birds, will be getting the board game treatment later this year.) It’s planned to be a shorter, quicker experience that doesn’t require thumbing through an instruction manual, and will even include random mini-games — such as a horse race or sudden property auction — to break up the game’s oft-criticized monotony.
The game goes on sale this fall for $50. Other Hasbro franchises will receive a similar upgrade in the future, with Battleship going under the hi-tech knife later this year.
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97 Comments on "New Monopoly features a computer tower monitoring every move"
@Psyche,
If you fear that they are trying to indoctrinate and manipulate, perhaps you should leave your so-called Land of Freedom and settle somewhere safe. I can assure you, its not like that in every country.
All I can truly say is ….Wow!
Here we live in a world were a huge percentage of the world's population lives in poverty, HIV/AIDS is devastating Africa and the Indian sub-continent, A near-nuclear accident in Japan etc etc….
But still they about some boardgame…
I wonder, is there anything/anyone not evil? Perhaps Judy Garland?
Oh my god!!! I know I’m a little late to the convo but I had to comment because something stood way out when I saw the device. It instantly reminded me of the mind control device the Riddler used in the movie Batman Forever (1995). Go to IMDb, the storyline says, “as The Riddler he perfects a device for draining information from all the brains in Gotham” and it just so happens to look exactly like the Monopoly computer tower. Coincidence?
Here's a link to a picture of The Riddler wearing the device that I mentioned in the comment above.
http://batman.wikia.com/wiki/The_Riddler_(Jim_Car…
My children will play ol school monopoly. F**k this s**t they are talking about.
Analysis as a business-minded person:
I've noticed that Hasbro seems keen on pulling stunts to try and keep these old brands chugging
along (see also Battleship-branded movie, for example), likely due to their traditional-gaming niche being overcome by other forms of entertainment
me, I'll still use the regular set. I do sometimes use a notepad with each player's name and changing cash balance so as to avoid dealing with the paper money
ha. guys.. they are advancing a board game. its technology and we can't stop it. i wouldnt exactly break down over a monopoly game.. if it bothers you so much buy the classic version. there are much bigger things to worry about. dont be so melodramatic over a boardgame.
It's not about the boardgame.. it's about what it represents…
F**k the NWO
ok people, i know this is really bad and all, but I think you're forgetting you don't have to buy the game and monopoly is not ruined! it's not like they're going to discontinue the original monopoly along with the like 50 other versions and only sell this one. come on people, it's not worth this much time and energy fretting about it!
Good point.
This ish is eerie! The bottom half looks like the all seeing eye in the pyramid. Is that what we've come to??
Monopoly really helped me with my math, counting the money and even the dice, and yeah the made up rules were fun! And the cards! How stupid is this?
Well I always thought that trying to cheat so much as possible without getting caught was the point
LOL.
Could this game go along with your article about dumbing down society?
Couldn't be more obvious, huh?
Think im gonna stick with the oldskool set i have much more fun not to mention the tower looks s***e lol booo to hasbro
I actually lol'd at this lol… How blatant…
I'm only buying one if it comes with the Sauron eye on the top… 😉
I LOL'ed so hard at that. XDDD
They are aiming for the children and youth in order to acustom or condition them to the panoptic police state to come. Beware your sons and daughters. Teach them to think critically!!
Michel Foucault – Panopticism.. BOOM. Read that and that's all you need to know biatches.
ppl will slowly start to see their life has become the same as the game they r playing, especially when it comes time for our currency to be exchanged for atm cards and we wont be able to buy anything without the chip.
noooooooooooooooo? must "they"ruin absolutley everything. good job i still got an original version which we all play at home. I love our family version which includes an awful lot of IOU's hehehe. Main point though defo agree that we are being dumbed down. I feel as a parent that i am also the teacher as my kids school is not so good when it comes to basic english and maths. Apparently they are not important subjects till my child is around 9-10. Utter rubbish in my opinion, kids need the basics.
I cant imagine how boring this game has become. making up rules like free parking money pool or negotiating properties or having community chest and chance is all part of the fun. if the tower is telling you what to do wheres the fun in that???
Hope is in the proles.
I just watched an RSPCA advert in the UK about animal abuse (specifically dogs) and the sad thing about it was I could relate it all to human slaves… "Oh no he's back, better keep out of his way… where's my mummy… they can't tell anyone about the abuse they suffer… they can't accuse their tormenters or beg them to stop…" Only 3 pounds a month won't save the victims of programming 🙁
the best part of this game was cheating, stealing money, and treating everyone like s**t after you win because 1)they were lying and cheating too and 2) it just feels good to be rich even if its pretend. lol
These are the board games of today, they all have to use batteries and the game practically plays for you. Monopoly was a good game for kids to do basic math, accounting, and money management. Now, they do not have to do any math other a tower telling them to slide the card please and to tell them if they have insufficient funds or not. There is also no system of Trust to be built with the other players for bonding since the tower is the moderator and trust is into the tower.
What a dumb game for kids compared to the original.
meh
sooner or later, every popular board game will be revived with technology.
you cant stop technology.
now all we need are terminators monitoring us lol
thats sounds boring. the mini game idea is nice, but not worth the rest of it. the fun in monoply is communicating with the people your playing, not having a computer do it for you.
Obvious indoctrination for the Mark of the Beast is obvious. But if it isn't any fun, and it doesn't look fun at all, then it isn't going to work.
Mark of the beast? Surely not?
And anyways, I seriously doubt that kids these days will enjoy the 'ol monopoly as in our days. Life has changed, the digital age and all. Perhaps they are just trying to evolve the game or face extinction?
I can't wait to buy it :DDD
the sensor looks like its on top of a pyramid and all the little pieces in the pic are on pyramids too
FIFTY DOLLARS? What kind of madness is this? I can't afford that.
THey have monopolised Monopoly… can things get anymore tragic??? Guess its like a sample of how they plan life for us!!!! '' listen to the tower for instructions sheeple''….
Sad but not surprising…. very ugly too if u ask me….
omg i know what i want for christmas!!! </3
Has anyone noticed how many games being sold are all about spying and recording? I was at target recently and was shocked to see Barbie dolls that record your voice, spy toys that help you record and upload information and now seeing this game…. ugh!!! Hopefully people will find something better to spend their hard earned money on that promotes creativity and no police state
Next step: Games play themselves, you stand by and watch… -.-
This makes me puke.
Well technically, all you're doing with this new version of monopoly is standing by and watching.
The game predicts and tell you what moves to make next so the player isnt really doing much at all….
NOOOOO!
They can't do this to Monopoly! It's just not fair, goddamn it! I love lending money to my bankrupt buddies in exchange for their properties, it's what I do, it's how I win! I can't play Monopoly if the bloody Ministry of Love threatens my tactics. Oh wait, yeah I can, I got the real Monopoly boardgame on top of my wardrobe. Phew…
LUCKY!
I have to go spam buy the ORIGINAL, REAL, FUN monopoly before they dubbed that one as "boring and old fashioned" and stop selling it.
*Goes into paranoid frenzy*
looks bullshit to me. not worth a penny.
Hope they don't make the high-tech Ouija board next! But in all seriousness, this is quite brazen and disturbing.
LOL can the symbolism be any more obvious?
Well since our currency here in USA is decreasing dramatically, why not just make a Monopoly game with Fake Gold and Silver…(since thats on the rise) Obviously these items wouldn't be paper, they would be a bio chemical plastic shaped as Gold and Silver. SMH.
God Bless.
I weep for this generation.
gross
This is not the first game to incorporate ATM cards and a computer that tells you how many spaces to go. There was a game I had as a kid called Mall Madness and it did exactly that. You pressed the button on your turn and it told you where to go, where the "sales" were in the game so you could collect your items and such. The only items the players were given was their token and the ATM card. It was in the early 1990's, so this isn't a new idea. I think it's a GOOD idea.
However, the way the computer is incorporated is NOT good. It does give the feeling of a police state. The tower is dark and has a very negative look to it. The color, the design all make me uncomfortable.
Not worth $50 at all.
wtf
Monopoly will never be that same game we enjoyed playing when we were kids…sad
However, I can see why the 'ALL SEEING EYE' tower would appeal to children of today.
This isn't much of a surprise though, because very soon the day will come when we will no longer have physical cash in the form of coins and paper but everything will become digital….
we will only use our bank cards etc. and our money will just be a digital number.
Man, it slowly getting us to accept surveillant/surveillance and cashless society. Moreover, useless of our brains and upgrade ourselves becoming H+
I just read this on Yahoo and they actually said "All seeing eye" then scratched it out… Kinda funny!
Vc I happen to like Watson lol.
Wow, not only are they really trying to watch up but this just will make people more stupid. No you don't have to count any more, we will count for you. Sad.
Making America more lazy and stupid.. wow
Wow…talk about killing the family fun time…its as much fun as driving with a police officer in your back seat at all times…ticket book in hand