As part of Atari’s economic turmoil last year, the publisher in July sold Hasbro back its rights to make console, handheld, and online games based on its extensive line of toys and board games. Quickly capitalizing on that move, EA moved in on Hasbro, announcing in August that it had picked up the rights to Hasbro products that Atari had just sold. In February, the first fruits of that union surfaced, with EA saying it would be making console and handheld casual games out of Littlest Pet Shop and Nerf N-Strike. At that time, the publisher also said that games based on Hasbro’s arguably most recognized brands, Scrabble and Monopoly, were also in the works. True to its word, EA said today that it would adapt Hasbro’s venerable capitalist-tycoon game for the Xbox 360, Wii, PlayStation 2, mobile devices, and its online casual portal Pogo.com, with a release slated for this fall. Hasbro’s Monopoly is hardly a stranger to the interactive medium, having appeared on various gaming platforms dating back to the NES and beyond. The latest take on the game will be modeled after Hasbro’s newest board game, Monopoly Here & Now: The World Edition, and promises a “party twist” and faster gameplay as well as local multiplayer action for up to four. Players will also be tasked with various challenges and minigames to unlock new boards. Looks boardingly fun!

EA Sports is constructing one heck of an elaborate trick play for the latest installment of NFL Head Coach. Benched after a modest performance following the 2006 season, EA said in February that it would be giving the coaching sim another go this year, with Super Bowl XLI-winning Colts chief Tony Dungy fronting the cover. Dungy cover duties were promptly called into question a month later, when EA said that NFL Head Coach 09 would only be available as part of the Madden NFL 09’s 20th-anniversary $90 collector’s edition bundle, available August 12. Aspiring virtual skippers were apparently none too happy about the compulsory purchase of Madden NFL to receive Head Coach 09, a fact EA Sports president Peter Moore noted yesterday in his company blog. “I have to admit, even I was surprised by how much feedback we’ve gotten the past few weeks since we announced it as a featured item of our Madden Collector’s edition,” said Moore. As such, EA has said that in addition to being packed in with the $90 Madden bundle, NFL Head Coach will also be offered as a stand-alone product on September 2. Available for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, the game will retail for $49.99. In related EA Sports football news, the publisher also took the wraps off of the NCAA Football 09 cover athlete for the PS3 edition of the game. With Arkansas tailback Darren McFadden named to the Xbox 360 game, EA said today that Boston College quarterback Matt Ryan will grace the PS3 edition of NCAA Football 09. Now awaiting the 2008 draft, Ryan finished his career at BC as the school’s all-time leader in pass completions, and was named the ACC’s offensive player of the year in 2007. The NCAA Football 09 season kicks off July 15 on and will be available for the Xbox 360, PS3, PS2, PSP, and Wii.

It’s fair to say that Grand Theft Auto IV’s April 29 release date is a big day on the gaming calendar. Janco Partners’ Mike Hickey said that the game could “conceivably” ship 9.5 million units in one week, while Variety said that GTAIV could make $400 million in revenue in the same period. Such performance is also sure to drive sales of consoles, and while the game will land on both the PlayStation 3 and the Xbox 360, Sony has made the first move to bundle hardware and software together at launch. A package of its 40GB PS3 console, a Sixaxis controller, and the standard edition of GTAIV will hit European stores on April 29, with a recommended retail price of £319.99 in the UK (approx $635) and €439 in Europe. Sony’s package represents a £30 savings ($59) on the recommended retail price of the game and the console when sold separately, as they retail for £49.99 ($99) and £299.99 ($595), respectively. The news follows a similar announcement in Australia, where the exact same bundle is being offered for A$749.95 ($713). David Reeves, president of Sony Computer Entertainment Europe, said, “We are delighted to offer the millions of PS3 and GTA fans the ultimate gaming package.” Microsoft has not said if it will offer a package like this for the 360.

Considering Devil May Cry 3 made the move to the PC 10 months after its PlayStation 2 counterpart, the keyboard-and-mouse friendly edition of Devil May Cry 4 ruffled far few feathers than the Xbox 360 version. With the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 editions having enjoyed ample success when they launched in February, Capcom today said that the PC version of the game will ship out this summer. The PC game will benefit from an extended stay in purgatory, as it comes equipped with two extra modes, some additional content, and a variety of graphical customization opens. In turbo mode, the game will be sped up to an even faster pace than the original, while Legendary Dark Knight Mode will up the difficulty by dramatically increasing the number of enemies thrown at the player. As for visual customizations, PC gamers will be able to increase the game’s resolution settings to allow cutscenes to run at 120 frames per second, up from 30 in the console versions, as well as manage various other graphical effects. DMC4 is compatible with both DirectX 9 and 10. In advance of the game’s release, Capcom also said today it plans to release a demo to give gamers a chance to test their rigs against an included benchmark mode. The PC edition of Koei’s Romance of the Three Kingdoms XI also received a date today. With the PS2 game out last February, Koei said today that its long-running ancient Chinese historical sim would arrive for the most venerable of gaming platforms on July 29. In the latest installment in the series, players will be transported back to China’s Han Dynasty circa 2nd century A.D. The game offers more than 40 base commands and in excess of 780 “uniquely individual personalities” that players can interact with.

Before his untimely suicide in 1935, author Robert E. Howard said the “Hyborian Era” that his stories featuring Conan the Barbarian was set in took place about 12,000 years ago. Ironically, the period following the 2005 announcement of Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures has also felt like an eon, thanks to several delays.In the end, though, PC gamers will end up only having to wait three years and 10 days for the massively multiplayer game. Developer Funcom has announced Age of Conan has gone gold and is already in production. The game will launch the US on May 20 for $59.99 with a $14.99 monthly subscription fee. In Europe, the game will cost €49.99 ($79.38) with a subscription fee of €12.99 ($20.62). Not a bad price, but It’s a little bit more than World of Warcraft.

Finally GreenScreen Interactive announced its presence today, saying GT Interactive founder Ron Chaimowitz will act as the company’s chief executive officer. While Ryan Brant’s (Take-Two founder) role in the company was not disclosed, Chaimowitz did discuss having the former Take-Two chief on the payroll with Newsweek. “Did I have concerns? Yes.” Chaimowitz told Newsweek. “Did I think it was a major obstacle? No. I think that what Ryan brings is a tremendous creative and strategic vision for product. The areas that will Ryan will focus on will be in those areas. He will not–and he’s not allowed to be–on the board. He’s not an officer of the company. We’ll deal with any particular issues that come up from an SEC perspective as we go forward, but we’re fairly confident that they will be non-issues given the role that he’ll play in the company.” Along with the announcement, GreenScreen said it had acquired casual game publishers Destination Software and Zoo Digital Publishing. The publishers will be merged under GreenScreen’s casual label Zoo Games and continue to focus on the “emerging mass-market sector,” creating new and licensed family-friendly games. In Newsweek’s interview with Chaimowitz, the exec hinted that the publisher may expand its reach beyond the casual market in the future. Terms of the deals were not disclosed, and no titles were revealed as part of the announcement.

Well that was today in the news!