Monopoly Live? Really?

I have to begin by saying my ire is up a little, at least as much as it can be for me, because I'm truly an easy-going person. Therefore, if anything I write rubs you wrong, I apologize, but I have to address this since it relates so well to nostalgia. There's an article in the Yahoo Games "Plugged In" section today about a new version of Monopoly introduced at the New York Toy Fair. Apparently Hasbro is trying to renew interest in board games by combining tradition with the video game age.

Here's the link to the article: Monopoly Live. You can read it and judge for yourself, but I couldn't quite absorb it as  I was reading. There are virtual dice; there's no paper money, no Chance or Community Chest cards. A computer tower, decals and ATM cards track board moves, property purchases and money exchanges. Nearly everything I like about Monopoly, gone.

I use technology as much as the next person; I pay bills online, and as someone with a physical disability who can't drive, internet shopping has been a God send. I also use email and have a cell phone, but I really only use it to call my taxis or for emergencies. I still and will always have a home phone line.

I'm obviously blogging, and I've even tried Facebook, although I think I'll be closing my account soon. I can't quite appreciate it's appeal or the necessity to tell your friends even the most inconsequential things you are doing at any moment. I know there's more to it than that for many people, but we got along without it before. Same goes for texting; I actually like speaking directly to people, go figure.

All of this said, I do recognize the attraction of and fascination with these things. It is interesting to see who can come up with what technological advance, and that certainly goes for video games. You're dealing with a girl who loved her Atari games in the 80's after all, but I digress. Dwindling board game sales aside, it seems such a shame to be messing with classics like Monopoly, even if they are going to keep the original version on the market, which the article does not address.

I can't help but think that the things that came before, things that got us where we are today, are soon going to be pushed aside, almost as though they never existed, destined to be admired in a perfunctory, cursory fashion in museum exhibits, behind velvet ropes.  I'm not saying we should use washboards when we have automatic washing machines, but isn't there a way the old and the new can coexist without the disdain for the old I'm sensing more and more? Thoughts?