Electronic Arts first grabbed its monopoly on Monopoly-based games in 2007 and has been making frequent use of it ever since, producing faithful adaptations of the Hasbro board game for all manner of game systems and mobile devices. Now the publisher is thinking a bit outside the box it came in, as EA today announced a spin-off titled Monopoly Streets for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and Wii.

　　Monopoly Streets is watching. Set for release this fall, Monopoly Streets will reimagine the board game in "a fully dynamic, living, 3D world that continuously evolves." While EA hasn't detailed what changes to the gameplay that will entail (if any), it has said that players will be able to "experience the game at street level," with properties that reflect their neighborhoods, be they posh or impoverished. Player headquarters will likewise reflect their performance in the game.

　　Acknowledging that not everybody plays the same way, EA will allow players to tweak and save their own "house rules" in Monopoly Streets. Other features include the ability to play as Miis on the Wii or avatars in the Xbox 360 version of the game, as well as online multiplayer with local, national, and global leaderboards. EA is also promising to support the game with downloadable content in the form of extra characters, tokens, and themed boards.

　　Those who enjoy the board game's original formula just fine will also be able to play classic Monopoly modes in the game. Along the same lines, EA is planning a vanilla version of Monopoly on the DS to be released alongside Monopoly Streets.

　　EA isn't the only one thinking "out of the box" when it comes to Monopoly. Acclaimed director Ridley Scott (Alien, Blade Runner, Robin Hood) has been tied to a big-screen adaptation of the game in which greedy property managers engage in cutthroat competition.