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Angry Birds passes 30 million downloads on Android
Turns out people like Angry Birds -- and free things. The freemium Android release of Rovio Mobile's wing-slinging hit has been downloaded over 30 million times, according to Rovio's Peter Vesterbacka, who is speaking at GDC as part of a Google-run Android monetization panel. He also provided evidence that people continue playing Angry Birds after that initial download. 80 percent of Android users, Vesterbacka said, downloaded subsequent updates, indicating that they've retained interest in the game. This is good news for Rovio, but bad news for those birds -- sustained anger isn't good for you.
Super Bowl ad to contain hidden Angry Birds level code
If you're just hanging out playing Angry Birds in the living room while the Super Bowl is on, be sure to look up while the commercial for the animated film Rio is playing. Hidden in the ad will be a code for a downloadable Angry Birds levels (though it's not been specified if it will be compatible with all versions of the game.) Users who find the code in the ad (which will be available on YouTube later), and then complete the level will be entered to win a trip to the March 22 premiere of Rio -- the same day the Angry Birds Rio promotional game is released. No details about the level itself have been released, but we can confirm it involves slingshotted spheroid birds launched at rickety structures.
Angry Birds doing a movie tie-in as well
Hot on the heels of the announcement that Doodle Jump will be working with Universal to promote the upcoming Hop movie, Angry Birds developer Rovio Mobile confirmed it will be producing a new version of Angry Birds set in Rio. This new version will be used to promote the upcoming movie Rio, which is being produced by 20th Century Fox and developed by the folks behind the popular Ice Age series of animated children's movies. The movie will follow the adventures of two blue macaws, Blu and Jewel, who will also star in the new Angry Birds game. The amusing trailer for the game is included after the break and is worth a look for Angry Birds fans. The game will debut in March and will feature 45 new levels with additional levels available via app updates. This move by Rovio is yet another example of Hollywood eyeing the iOS platform for promotion and profits. This trend was kicked off in a big way when Disney acquired Tapulous, the developer of the popular Tap Tap series of games, and this is probably far from the last we'll see of it. You can check out the movie trailer after the jump. [Via touchArcade]
DeNA and Rovio Mobile chat from LeWeb '10 in Paris
Stuart Dredge over at MobileEntertainment is reporting live this week from Paris' LeWeb 2010 conference, and quite a few iPhone publishers and developers are in attendance and talking about Apple's platform and beyond. Of the most interest to us are probably the statements by Japanese publishers DeNA (who recently bought Ngmoco) and Angry Birds developer Rovio Mobile. First up, DeNA says it's still got acquisition money to spend, and while most of the company's business is currently running on feature phones in Japan, it's very much seeking out smartphone developers in North America and Europe to run social games on its platform. And DeNA's representative, Tomoko Namba, even says that Zynga would be welcome to join them. DeNA is trying to build a platform, not necessarily specific games. It'll be very interesting to see what happens with DeNA in the future -- it's clear that they don't know a lot about how to run mobile games in the US, but joining up with Ngmoco (and whoever else they pull on board) is a good way to learn how to do that. Rovio Mobile is at LeWeb as well, sharing that Angry Birds has reached 12 million paid downloads and 30 million free downloads on other platforms. The company says that ads have worked out very well on platforms besides iOS, but on iOS, with a trusted store in place, paid still seems to be their system of choice. Rovio also confirms that the game is probably headed to consoles next year and even teases some new, non-Angry Birds related titles coming in the near future. There's no question that 2010 was a landmark year for mobile gaming, so it'll be interesting to see what happens next year.
Angry Birds Christmas to be free upgrade to Halloween edition
Rovio has a free gift on the way for everyone that ponied up the $0.99 for the Halloween edition of Angry Birds. The promised Christmas edition of the super-addictive mobile game will be a free update for iPhone, iPod touch and iPad users. @RovioMobile responded to a query on Twitter confirming that the next edition of the game will come gratis. Rovio has not yet indicated whether it will start incorporating iAds into the iOS version of the game and giving it away as they have done with the AdMob-supported Android edition. Fortunately, the 7 million Android users helping the birds recover their eggs will be glad to know that the Christmas add-on will not be an iOS-exclusive like the Halloween edition. [via MobileBurn]
Rovio Mobile passing on Chillingo in the future
Chillingo closed a huge deal with EA yesterday (becoming the second big iPhone publisher in as many weeks to be picked up), but the company's work with its biggest title apparently left a bad taste in the mouth of the developers, Rovio Mobile. That company tells TechCrunch that they'll never work with Chillingo, or any publisher, again. That's not so much a reflection on Chillingo, though, as it is on Rovio's success -- Peter Vesterbacka says that with the way the App Store is set up, you just "don't need publishers" any more. For a lot of iPhone developers, I would disagree -- Chillingo has put together a nice set of iPhone titles over the past few years, and seeing their name on an iPhone game can give a nice boost in profile to a developer just starting out. Obviously EA agrees -- while this doesn't mean we'll see EA start taking advantage of the Angry Birds license (necessarily -- I'm sure Rovio is poking around in as many places as possible to recreate the Angry Birds game on other platforms), it does mean that EA is getting access to a significant amount of experience in creating, publishing, and marketing iPhone games. Chillingo seems to have a talent for finding titles of solid quality that are willing to experiment a little bit, so this should bring us some more EA games that are outside of the standard Madden/Need for Speed/Tiger Woods ilk. As an iPhone user, I'm excited about both the Chillingo and the Ngmoco deals recently -- both will create more options for two iPhone publishers who have made a solid name for themselves, as well as bring a little more standing to the platform at large as a great place to publish and release great games. Rovio's done with iPhone publishers, but the rest of us are just getting started.
EA gets Chillingo, but not Angry Birds
Electronic Arts' purchase of publisher Chillingo doesn't include the IP rights to Angry Birds. Speaking with TechCrunch, developer Rovio Mobile's Peter Vesterbacka said that its relationship with Chillingo never went past the iOS versions of the game. Vesterbacka explained, "We will not use Chillingo again." It would seem the company's need for a publisher has diminished since striking gold with Angry Birds, which has sold 6.5 million copies on the App Store. Rovio has self-published Android and Nokia versions of Angry Birds, as well as its latest iOS title: Angry Birds Halloween. Chillingo's rights to each of its published games would be on a per contract basis, but what EA definitely got for its ducats was the company's Crystal gaming network platform and all its data gathering potential.
Android users download Angry Birds two million times in three days
Android users must really, really hate those green pigs -- Rovio Mobile, developer of the iOS über-hit Angry Birds, has tweeted that two million Android users have downloaded the app on that platform since it was released just three short days ago. The app has reached 6.5 million sales on the iPhone's App Store, but the Android version is a free download, supported with in-app advertising. The free "lite" version on iPhone has seen 11 million downloads so far. Rovio has reiterated that a paid version of the app (with advertising removed) is still on the way, and its Twitter account also states they're working on QVGA support and support for other Android devices as well. No matter what they add in the future, two million downloads is a great way to start off on any platform.
Angry Birds officially lands on Android, made free for all
This game needs no introduction -- if you're using iOS, webOS or Symbian, chances are you would've already come across the endless hours of puzzle entertainment that is Angry Birds. Where's the Android version, you ask? Well, today's the day: not only has it now come out of beta, but it's also made free for all! The only small catch is that it's ad-supported, although we're pretty sure this isn't gonna stop you from grabbing it -- at the time of writing this, GetJar's website's taking a serious hit from avian fanatics around the world, so we suggest you go put on the kettle and try later. Enjoy! [Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
Angry Birds developer claims Microsoft jumped the gun, Rovio 'not committed' to Windows Phone 7
Software developers make or break a platform, as Microsoft's Steve Ballmer once famously stressed, but that shiny new Windows Phone 7 site has angered a mildly important one. Rovio Mobile, developer of the wildly popular Angry Birds game, tweets that it's presently 'not committed' to bring the game to Windows Phone, and that the above icon is being used in Microsoft marketing completely without permission. While it's possible this is just some sort of mix-up and Rovio just wanted to make its own announcement ("nothing to do with if we do or don't, it's just that we decide that ourselves," the company added in a later tweet), it wouldn't be the first time Microsoft's engaged in shady business to inflate its new app store. Update: Microsoft sent TechFlash the following statement: "It appears information was mistakenly posted to Microsoft's website, and has been removed." Sure enough, the offending logo is gone now. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
App Review: Angry Birds (Android)
What does it take to make an addictive game? Not much -- just throw in some super simple controls, cute graphics, and basic physics. Rovio Mobile's Angry Birds is one such game that includes all these elements, and today the studio's just released a public Android beta to cater those without an iOS, webOS or Maemo 5 device. In case you're not already familiar with the popular title, the backstory is that a gang of hungry pigs snatched away some eggs from the birds, forcing the feathered creatures to embark on a rescue mission for the sake of their survival. The gameplay on the Android version is just as simple as before: in each level you use a fixed slingshot to fling the birds -- one at a time -- into the forts, in order to kill all the pigs inside. As a secondary challenge, you must also attempt to get a three-star rating depending on the amount of structural material you destroy, so the key is to perfect your shooting angle. At the beginning you're only given one type of bird that does nothing more than just headbutting, but throughout the game you'll come across six more birds, each possessing one special power: multiply, explode, accelerate, dropping egg bombs, boomerang, and extra strength. Don't worry, the instructions are pretty clear when you first meet these enhanced kamikaze birds -- most involve just a single tap anywhere to trigger their special abilities mid-flight. Once you get the hang of it, you'll soon be wanting to try out all sorts of trajectories to take vengeance on those cheeky green hogs. Seriously, the pigs really do laugh at you when your birds miss them. While we're not familiar with the Maemo 5 and webOS versions of Angry Birds, we've definitely spent a fair amount of time on the iOS flavor. Sadly, since the latter's still running on a low 480 x 320 resolution, the blurred graphics on the notoriously sharp retina display does no justice to the game. On the other hand, the Android version looks a lot prettier on our Nexus One, Dell Streak and HTC Desire, as it runs on their native resolution of 800 x 480. That said, overall the Android beta didn't feel as well-oiled as its iOS counterpart -- we've noticed the occasional light hiccups while panning across the scene, so here's hoping that this will be fixed in the final release. Regardless of this minor flaw, we'd still highly recommend Android users to check out this free Angry Birds beta in the market -- go grab it while it's hot!
