EA announces three Android games

EA will release three games, Tetris, Bejeweled, and Monopoly, for Google's Android platform. Here, a user shows off Pac-Man on an Android-powered phone.

(Credit: James Martin/CNET News.com)

Electronic Arts announced Wednesday three games for Google's Android mobile phone platform.

The publisher said that Tetris will be available immediately and that two other games, the monster hit Bejeweled and Monopoly Here & Now, will be launched in November.

EA has already released at least five games for Apple's iPhone, including Tetris, Spore Origins, and Scrabble.

The move to bring games to Android is sure to be a boost for the platform, given EA's size and influence and the fact that on the iPhone, games have become some of the most popular apps of all. However, there's no way yet to tell how many people will download the games on Android. In addition, EA didn't say whether it was planning to charge for the titles.

The three games are being provided by EA Mobile.

[joetesta70]

Seriously, folks. Playing PacMan or Tetris as a demo is laughable. Why can't anyone create compelling games for phones?

[dirty55409]

because phones don't have room for fancy graphics cards, loads of ram, etc. brickbreaker is all a phone needs.

[bigsaucybob]

brickbreaker ftw

[DarkHawke]

Does anyone really want to sit down and play "compelling" games on their phone? "Casual" games (or just plain ol' "video games" if you're old enough to remember them) are practically made for phone use. You don't want to blow your batteries and not be able to use your phone because you just had to get your paladin (or whatever) to the next level in WoW, do you?

[Someone-else]

Games for cellphones aren't to be played at home, they are meant to be played when you're somewhere else, waiting for something, and games like Pacman, Tetris, Bejeweled and Sudoku are perfect for this.

[frungy2]

Tetris is not "immediately available." I just checked.

Compelling doesn't have to mean complicated with crazy graphics. Didn't anyone else get addicted to playing drugwars on their ti-85? I probably would have got a lot more out of pre-calculus if I'd been paying attention.

I'm just waiting for someone to write an NES emulator for android. It'll be just like the good old days of playing Zelda on my Dell Axim x50v.

[Composer_1777]

There are plenty of awesome games for cell phones, sims and strategy games etc. That statement about brick breaker is naive. Nokia even runs N gage platforms on their phones and i got some cool Rpg's on my phone. Of course ur phone probably has to be unlocked because the U S market is screwed up. i got Orcs and elves 2, Castlevania, Sim city societies on my phone all have some 3d aspects. gamemobile.co.uk

[xperia_x1]

Well, I think if you want a engaging game, you simply buy a phone made serious gaming capabilities, like Sony Ericcson's xperia x1. Personally, I like Pacman and Monopoly. Before I read everyone's comments, i was thinking about how I should look to see if there are dls for them on the xperia, as they can keep simple old me occupied for hours.

[ABKmoo]

Hey. Ease up on Ms. PacMan. What did she ever do to you? I love the lady. Better than all the shoot 'em up games.

[acrosser]

"In addition, EA didn't say whether it was planning to charge for the titles."

They didn't have to. EA charges for EVERYTHING, or plasters it with ads (someone please correct me if I am wrong). They are selling Scrabble for $7.99 on iPhone. I doubt they will give it away for free or significantly cheaper than that on Android. I'm developing a game for Android that is similar to Scrabble (but different enough in several respects that it will avoid copyright infringement) and will offer a free version, and a paid version with extra features like submitting high scores, seeing what the highest-scoring move for your last turn would've been, etc. The paid version will be $2.99, unless EA charges less than that for their Android Scrabble (doubtful), in which case I will undercut them... down to $0.99 if necessary.