Hasbro Demands End To 'Ghettopoly' Game

Outsider points out this news story off the AP Newswire:

PHILADELPHIA (AP) - The maker of the board game Monopoly threatened to sue the creator of Ghettopoly, in which "playas" build crack houses on Cheap Trick Avenue instead of hotels on the Boardwalk.

"We want to make it clear that Hasbro has absolutely no connection to the reprehensible 'Ghettopoly' game," Frank Bifulco, president of Hasbro's U.S. Games, said Friday in a statement.

The game's creator, David Chang, from St. Marys, Pa., did not respond to an e-mail from The Associated Press on Friday and there was no answer at a number listed for him on a news release about the game.

Pawtucket, R.I.-based Hasbro claims that Ghettopoly violates its intellectual property rights. Hasbro has licensed many variations of Monopoly that substitute its theme of Atlantic City landmarks with everything from college campuses to NASCAR references, but it says Chang never sought the company's approval.

The company will sue unless Chang immediately stops selling it to stores, Bifulco said.

The game outraged black leaders with its "playas" acting like pimps and game cards reading, "You got yo whole neighborhood addicted to crack. Collect $50." Properties in the game include Westside Liquor, Harlem, The Bronx, and Long Beach City.

On his Web site, Chang is unapologetic, and promises that more games - Hoodopoly, Hiphopopoly, Thugopoly and Redneckopoly - are coming soon.

"It draws on stereotypes not as a means to degrade, but as a medium to bring together in laughter," Chang said. "If we can't laugh at ourselves ... we'll continue to live in blame and bitterness."

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On the Net:

Ghettopoly: www.ghettopoly.com