Electronic Arts seems to be looking to expand their portfolio to include social games. Today we have confirmed reports that EA has bought Playfish for over $250m.

Playfish will operate within EA Interactive, the division that is focused on web and mobile.

“Social gaming, with its emphasis on friends and community, is seeing tremendous growth and this is the right time to invest to strengthen our participation in this space,” said Barry Cottle, Senior Vice President and General Manager of EA Interactive.

“EAi has been successfully leading the charge for EA, and with the addition of proven expertise from Playfish, their broad consumer base and strong game brands, we’re moving ahead aggressively in our plans to lead in the category of cross-platform social entertainment.”

Kristian Segerstrale, CEO and Co-founder of Playfish added: “The industry is undergoing dramatic transformation and joining EA is the ideal opportunity for us to push forward our goals to lead in the social entertainment evolution on a faster and much larger scale,” said

“EAi’s vision and entrepreneurial culture are consistent with our own, and together, we are in position to be the company that defines new and innovative connected experiences that will change the way people play games.”

Playfish has Facebook games like Pet Society, Bowling Buddies, Geo Challenge, Quiztastic, Word Challenge and more.

I’m always contemplating and trying to change my style. I love fashion, but what I love, I can’t afford. That’s the problem with fashion. Nintendo just released Style Savvy which puts players in the role of managing their own clothing boutique.

“Style Savvy inspires players to help customers express their style and creativity, all while managing a store, including budget and inventory,” said Cammie Dunaway, Nintendo of America’s executive vice president of Sales & Marketing. “The game includes more than 10,000 clothing items, shoes and accessories, which invite endless creative possibilities.”

To celebrate the launch of the game, Nintendo held a fashion challenge and runway show at JCPenny in Manhatten. Ten mother-daughter teams hit the runway to show their style. Virginia F and her daughter, Dontaya M of New York, walked away with $500 for JCPenny, gift bag from Sephora, two DSi systems, two copies of Style Savvy and clothing from the event. Not a bad haul.

Top designer Charlotte Ronson contributed items that players will be able to download and add to the game. It will be from her fall 2009 line.

NAMCO BANDAI have announced three new key executive appointments for their North American Headquarters. Catherine Fowler joins the team as Senior Vice President of Marketing. Robert Stevenson joins as Vice President of Online Development and Graeme Bayless is the studio’s general manager.

“We are very excited to have these three talented game industry veterans have joined our executive staff,” said Genichi Ito, president and chief executive officer of NAMCO BANDAI Games America Inc. “Each of these individuals brings with them a proven track record of success and leadership in publishing, business development, and studio management, respectively, and will augment NAMCO BANDAI Games’ effort to grow our North American operations.”

Fowler has 15 years of experience, previously working for Codemasters Inc and Mattel Inc. Stevenson will be responsible for growing their online MMOGs and has worked at Atari/Infogrames before. Bayless has two decades of video game development experience and comes from 2K Games.