Kristen Bell and Rosario Dawson Get in on the 'Smaug' Action

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Fans of The Hobbit can now battle against the evil Dragon Smaug in the palms of their hands with a new mobile game.  Watch the video to see what Kristen Bell and Rosario Dawson say about their gamer beginnings at the Hollywood launch party for The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug Expansion Pack.

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The battle for Middle-earth is on with the latest addition to the successful game by Kabam, The Hobbit: Kingdoms of Middle-earth, which has generated nearly $100 million since its launch last year.  Just in time for the big box office release of The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, this new and free strategy game update incorporates characters from the film, one of them being Smaug of course, and allows users to play against millions of others around the world with their smart phones and tablets.

Veronica Mars
actress Kristen Bell reminisces about when she first started gaming.

"We got an old video game system and my sisters and I played day and night. I remember when I went to college I was really into James Bond and Mario Kart and I feel like I’ve kind of graduated into every (game) system.  Now, it’s so easy to play on your phone, it’s something random to pass the time but it's fun when you have a game that involves a little strategy and doesn’t end up driving you nuts!"

Given how realistic video games have become, it’s no surprise they’re attracting more people who want to immerse themselves in another world, many of whom are women.  Rosario Dawson gives her take on the growing number of female gamers.

"More and more girls are participating in games, they’re buying comic books, showing up and watching these movies, there’s a thirst and desire for it there, so people are starting to cater to it more," says the Trance and Sin City star.  "There’s money behind it and there’s an audience behind it…so [game developers] are starting to create the content for that audience and I’m really excited about that."

You can download The Hobbit: Kingdoms of Middle-earth from iTunes here.  To download from Google Play, click here.