Is Scrabulous Going Bye Bye?
Posted by Nick O'Neill on January 11th, 2008 4:39 PMAccording to Josh Quittner, Hasbro may actually be shutting down the insanely popular Facebook application, Scrabulous. They must be one of the dumbest companies to make such a horrible decision. I have a better idea: acquire Scrabulous. The developers of the application took the time to build the app and profited a minor amount. Eliminating Scrabulous from the applications will surely cause an overall decrease in the site’s traffic.
Yesterday alone there was a whopping 569,206 users on the application. That ranks it the ninth most popular application yesterday. I am willing to bet that the Scrabulous revolt will go far beyong the Beacon revolt that started in the blogosphere. I have to wonder why it took so long for Hasbro to take any action. The application has been accused of violating copywright law for months but now the developers have officially received a letter from Hasbro.
According to Techcrunch, the discussion is now taking place among the lawyers. Are you one of the many Scrabulous users? Do you think we will see a mass exodus from Facebook if the Scrabulous team can’t defeat Hasbro?
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January 11th, 2008 at 3:46 pm
I'm playing Scrabulous right now! It was the first game application I added. I spend at least half my time on Facebook playing Scrabulous games - with coworkers, friends from high school, my fiance, even my little brother.
Hasbro should absolutely acquire Scrabulous instead of shut it down. It would be much better for their reputation to acquire the popular app than to shut it down and make users angry. After all, these are probably people that play the board game Scrabble. I know I do.
January 11th, 2008 at 3:54 pm
RABBLE RABBLE RABBLE RABBLE!
Even the facebook staff loves scrabulous.
Maybe they can send some of their magic legal team over
January 11th, 2008 at 3:55 pm
this could destroy the company they don't realize what they're doing.
they're the metallica of facebook!
January 11th, 2008 at 4:41 pm
Of course Scrabulous is a clear copyright violation, but something lots of people would hate to see eliminated because it is so much fun.
I think Hasbro is faced with two bad choices - shutting Scrabulous down, or buying it. Both are likely to have negative impacts on their bottom line - they would have been much better off had Scrabulous never existed. But of the choices now available, buying it has to be the better one. Companies don't prosper by hurting the good will of their customers.
January 11th, 2008 at 4:46 pm
I’m playing Scrabulous right now! It was the first game application I added. I spend at least half my time on Facebook playing Scrabulous games - with coworkers, friends from high school, my fiance, even my little brother.
Hasbro should absolutely acquire Scrabulous instead of shut it down. It would be much better for their reputation to acquire the popular app than to shut it down and make users angry. After all, these are probably people that play the board game Scrabble. I know I do.
January 11th, 2008 at 4:54 pm
RABBLE RABBLE RABBLE RABBLE!
Even the facebook staff loves scrabulous.
Maybe they can send some of their magic legal team over
January 11th, 2008 at 4:55 pm
this could destroy the company they don’t realize what they’re doing.
they’re the metallica of facebook!
January 11th, 2008 at 5:14 pm
God, people are so STUPID…
Can't they ever leave a good thing alone?
January 11th, 2008 at 5:41 pm
Of course Scrabulous is a clear copyright violation, but something lots of people would hate to see eliminated because it is so much fun.
I think Hasbro is faced with two bad choices - shutting Scrabulous down, or buying it. Both are likely to have negative impacts on their bottom line - they would have been much better off had Scrabulous never existed. But of the choices now available, buying it has to be the better one. Companies don’t prosper by hurting the good will of their customers.
January 11th, 2008 at 5:42 pm
Maybe they still plan to buy it. Sending a letter just shows that they're “serious” and will shut it down otherwise. So they can offer far less than the application is really worth.
January 11th, 2008 at 5:43 pm
This will have zero impact on users member status with facebook. Its just another app. Move on people.
January 11th, 2008 at 6:09 pm
Oh dear I can see a Hasbro boycott coming…
January 11th, 2008 at 6:14 pm
God, people are so STUPID…
Can’t they ever leave a good thing alone?
January 11th, 2008 at 6:42 pm
Maybe they still plan to buy it. Sending a letter just shows that they’re “serious” and will shut it down otherwise. So they can offer far less than the application is really worth.
January 11th, 2008 at 6:43 pm
This will have zero impact on users member status with facebook. Its just another app. Move on people.
January 11th, 2008 at 6:56 pm
“I think Hasbro is faced with two bad choices - shutting Scrabulous down, or buying it. Both are likely to have negative impacts on their bottom line - they would have been much better off had Scrabulous never existed.”
I disagree on this point. An acquisition would not necessarily result in a hit to their bottom line - at least not in the long term. Scrabulous would definitely be a valuable asset.
From the response shown even here in this post, it's no secret it's popular. Hasbro could feed branding and propoganda to 569,206 users every single day (provided Scabulous' users use it everyday). These are hardcore loyal fans of the game. Why throw that away?
Money can always be moved around. They can justify a buyout as a marketing expense.
January 11th, 2008 at 7:09 pm
Oh dear I can see a Hasbro boycott coming…
January 11th, 2008 at 7:56 pm
“I think Hasbro is faced with two bad choices - shutting Scrabulous down, or buying it. Both are likely to have negative impacts on their bottom line - they would have been much better off had Scrabulous never existed.”
I disagree on this point. An acquisition would not necessarily result in a hit to their bottom line - at least not in the long term. Scrabulous would definitely be a valuable asset.
From the response shown even here in this post, it’s no secret it’s popular. Hasbro could feed branding and propoganda to 569,206 users every single day (provided Scabulous’ users use it everyday). These are hardcore loyal fans of the game. Why throw that away?
Money can always be moved around. They can justify a buyout as a marketing expense.
January 12th, 2008 at 1:30 am
Let's see. Identify someone famous. Build something successful entirely based on their fame. Then say “pay me off or lose your fans.” This is called extortion. It doesn't matter how much work you put into it, it is illegal.
January 12th, 2008 at 2:30 am
Let’s see. Identify someone famous. Build something successful entirely based on their fame. Then say “pay me off or lose your fans.” This is called extortion. It doesn’t matter how much work you put into it, it is illegal.
January 12th, 2008 at 4:03 am
[...] Yesterday alone there was a whopping 569,206 users on the application. That ranks it the ninth most … [...]
January 12th, 2008 at 6:23 pm
They don't need to buy it, you dopes. If this goes to court, they'll win and take from the developers as part of the judgment. (Or maybe even as part of a settlement before there's a judgment.)
On the other hand, if they buy it, they just encourage people to do this to them over and over and over, copying their games.
Seriously, Nick: You idea is stupid and naive.
January 12th, 2008 at 7:23 pm
They don’t need to buy it, you dopes. If this goes to court, they’ll win and take from the developers as part of the judgment. (Or maybe even as part of a settlement before there’s a judgment.)
On the other hand, if they buy it, they just encourage people to do this to them over and over and over, copying their games.
Seriously, Nick: You idea is stupid and naive.
January 13th, 2008 at 5:04 pm
scrabulous is facebook's killer app for me. if it was taken offline, i'd probably stop visiting facebook at all - certainly on a daily basis - if not hourly - basis.
Scrabulous has also resulted in me playing more real-world Scrabble, so Hasbro have a clear interest in preserving it. Equally, I can understand them wanting to challenge the makers of the app. It's a clear copyright infringement.
They should settle ahead of going to court and take over the operation of it. They might even find jobs for its developers, without advertising the fact.
January 13th, 2008 at 6:04 pm
scrabulous is facebook’s killer app for me. if it was taken offline, i’d probably stop visiting facebook at all - certainly on a daily basis - if not hourly - basis.
Scrabulous has also resulted in me playing more real-world Scrabble, so Hasbro have a clear interest in preserving it. Equally, I can understand them wanting to challenge the makers of the app. It’s a clear copyright infringement.
They should settle ahead of going to court and take over the operation of it. They might even find jobs for its developers, without advertising the fact.
January 14th, 2008 at 2:09 am
What they're doing is stealing, even if it is successful. It's like Napster… something's gotta give. In fact, if Hasbro doesn't enforce their copyrights, they could end up LOSING them across the board. You've got to enforce your rights if you want to keep your marks.
January 14th, 2008 at 3:09 am
What they’re doing is stealing, even if it is successful. It’s like Napster… something’s gotta give. In fact, if Hasbro doesn’t enforce their copyrights, they could end up LOSING them across the board. You’ve got to enforce your rights if you want to keep your marks.
January 16th, 2008 at 9:18 am
[...] of now the application is still up and running but as I reported last week, the game may be soon shut down. So far no actions have been made and as it currently appears, this [...]
July 29th, 2008 at 9:02 am
heh you blatantly violate copyright and you get shut down. That is the LAW. Hasbro should sue Scrabulous and Facebook into the ground.
July 29th, 2008 at 10:02 am
heh you blatantly violate copyright and you get shut down. That is the LAW. Hasbro should sue Scrabulous and Facebook into the ground.
October 14th, 2008 at 3:53 pm
I miss scrabulous so much!!! Hasboro please buy scrabulous it is my all time favorite game! I have been looking for it every where. Bring it back!!!!!!