Monopoly Takes A Chance On Plastic
Monopoly board game players can now pay for properties with debit cards.
Game makers Parker have phased out the standard multi-coloured cash in a new version.
Players will instead use a Visa mock debit card to keep track of how much they win or lose.
It is inserted into an electronic machine where the banker taps in cardholders’ earnings and payments.
Parker said replacing of cash with plastic showed the game was moving with the times.
Spokesman Chris Weatherhead said: “The new electronic Monopoly reflects the changing nature of society and the advancement of technology.”The new version follows a YouGov survey of 2,056 adults which showed 70% used cash less often than they did a decade ago.
It is part of an international deal between Parker and finance giant Visa, which designed the mock debit card and its electronic machine.
Monopoly Here and Now Electronic Banking costs around £24.99, compared to £12.99 (British Pounds… figure roughly double for US Dollars) for the standard “cash” version.
OK… I knew they where updating Monopoly… but this is different then I expected. They also show instead of Broadway the most expensive square on the board to be Mayfair.
Sorta a cool idea, but kids are bad enough in getting the idea that plastic is good… and debit is soaring. But that aside, I wonder how long before the reader is hacked to do something “fun.”
Tags: Gaming, Interesting, News
