EA Expands European Pogo Presence

Electronic Arts has announced that its casual game portal subsidiary Pogo is moving rapidly to expand across Europe, with a new German language service, new reward services for UK users, and a French language version expected in the coming months. As of today, European casual gamers can log on to www.pogo.co.uk and www.pogo.de to play the developer's selection of single and multiplayer puzzle, word, casino, card, and board games for their respective regions. UK players also now have the option to participate in reward programs to win real world prizes including MP3 players and vouchers from the online games. A French language version of Pogo has been slated to appear in a matter of months, according to EA's press release. One of the largest casual game portals in the West, EA notes that the U.S. version sees more than 11 million visitors a month, each playing on average 53 minutes a day. Since the service's launch in the UK, EA says the site has grown to 3.2 visitors a month, with an average 11 minutes a day of play. In recent months, the Pogo brand has also widened its scope with the Xbox Live Arcade release of Boom Boom Rocket, the casual rhythm/music title co-developed with Geometry Wars creators Bizarre Creations, and Pogo Island, a new DS release making a number of Pogo's most popular games playable on the go. Pogo VP and general manager Karen Schulman said, “We are ecstatic to bring the Pogo experience and community to Europe. Whether you speak French, German or English, enjoying and relaxing with games is something that we universally share. Pogo players have created an incredibly tight knit community. We are excited to see Pogo grow past the borders of North America.”