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Ascend to bird heaven in Frinkle
Frinkle takes players on a challenging journey from bird hell, climbing higher and higher, to bird heaven. Players control the adventurous bird's vertical migration by tapping to make it jump and control it's flapping while trying to land on moving platforms. Frinkle is compatible with iOS devices running iOS 4.3 or later. Think Doodle Jump meets Flappy Bird with a little Angry Birds thrown in for good measure. If players hit the bottom of the platform, the bird explodes in a flourish of feathers. Players can tap the bird character up to five times before it plummets toward the ground which increases the difficulty of progressing higher and higher. This means that players have to be deliberate in their movements and cautious about trying to jump two or more platforms above where they are. Getting high enough to get out of bird hell takes quite a bit of patience. Having to retry from the beginning is very frustrating and it is hard for players to get far easily. It takes a lot of dedication and a good competitive spirt to reach the earth level. There is a a competitive aspect to Frinkle and it does have an addictive feel to it. The character design and some of the background art in Frinkle also echos the art styles in games such as Flappy Bird and Angry Birds. There is a playful feel to the art style and the transition from bird hell to earth and then to bird heaven takes advantage of transitional shades of colors. In bird hell, the colors are much darker than they are in bird heaven and earth is a blend of the two. These color choices add up to a delightful journey from darkness to bright light. The further players get in Frinkle, the harder the levels become. For instance, in the earth level, the platforms will break if players land on them too many times which adds more for players to be cautious and strategic about. The competitive nature of Frinkle, with each level challenging players to push through and try to get a high score welcomes competitions with friends through Game Center. There is a banner ad at the top of the screen that pops up shortly after starting to play Frinkle, which detracts from the gameplay and is annoying to see in a game that already causes frustration for players by the sheer difficulty of the levels alone. The font size of the "score" and "high score" text on the game over screen could be bigger as currently it is hard to read. It looks weird that those words are really small compared to the game over text which is appropriately sized. Frinkle is free on the App Store and recommended for players who enjoy challenging and addictive games.
Rovio head climbs into slingshot, launching from CEO roost this year
After establishing the effectiveness of poultry as winged demolition teams, Angry Birds series creator Rovio Entertainment has announced its CEO, Mikael Hed, will leave his perch on January 1, 2015. Former Senior Vice President of Nokia Pekka Rantala will fill Hed's position, but until the switch is official, Rantala will work closely with Hed to prevent everything from toppling over like a blocky, pig-filled tower. Though Hed is leaving Rovio's top roost, he has been appointed as Chairman of Rovio Animation Studios and been nominated for a Board of Directors position by Kaj Hed. Rovio's CEO swap is part of what it describes as a "foundation-building year," which follows a steep drop in profits in 2013. [Image: Rovio]
Rovio CEO flies the coop
With over half a decade leading Rovio's flock, CEO Mikael Hed announced today that he will be stepping down as the company's head man starting January 1st of next year. The co-founder will hand over the keys to the Angry Birds developer to Pekka Rantala, who is currently serving as the company's Chief Commercial Officer, a position he took in June of this year. Rovio's profits have taken a bit of a dive recently, as companies like King (Candy Crush Saga) and Supercell (Clash of Clans) have overtaken the throne that Angry Birds once easily claimed. In fact, 2013's profits were less than half of what they were in 2012 for Rovio, as the company's key franchise has failed to translate -- in a profitable way -- to new genres like racing and role-playing.
'Angry Birds' maker crowns a new CEO as it reaches a crossroads
Today Mikael Hed announced he would be stepping down as CEO of Rovio and that former Nokia exec Pekka Rantala would be taking his place in 2015. The developer has quickly gone from being a company that no one had ever heard of to one of the biggest names in mobile gaming. How? Almost entirely on the strength of its flagship franchise: Angry Birds. The problem is, nearly five years on, the Angry Birds name just isn't enough any more. The developer continues to churn out new titles at a fairly regular clip, but many are simple rehashes of the standard formula it debuted in 2009 (see Angry Birds Star Wars, Transformers, Rio, Space, Friends and Seasons). And with profits dropping off at an alarming rate the company is at something of a crossroads. In 2013 the company made less than half of what it raked in during 2012. If the company wants to avoid the fate of Zynga, which quickly fell apart after going public, it needs to change now before its problems become unfixable. Whether or not Rantala, who most recently was CEO at Finnish beverage company Hartwall, can save Rovio from the dustbin of history remains to be seen. But one thing is for sure, if he can stop just one more licensed Angry Birds game from being made, the world will be a better place.
Artist sues pet toy company over Angry Birds licensing profits
Seattle artist Juli Adams has filed suit against pet product manufacturer Hartz, alleging that the company denied her profits when it ditched her trademarked "Angry Birds" toy line in favor of licensed products based on Rovio's mobile hit Angry Birds. Adams' own "Angry Birds" lineup of catnip-filled toys predates Rovio's franchise, originally launching in partnership with Hartz in November 2006. As part of the agreement, Hartz received limited licensing rights, allowing it to sell the toys in pet stores while forbidding the licensing of Adams' intellectual property to third parties. Adams retained full intellectual property rights in the partnership. After the Angry Birds mobile game debuted in 2009, Hartz began distributing Rovio-licensed toys while its partnership with Adams was still in effect. Adams' representing attorney Anthony Shapiro claims that Hartz subsequently earned "tens, if not hundreds of millions of dollars from sales of the Angry Birds pet toys," without legal property rights to the trademark. The suit alleges that Hartz later informed Adams that she could no longer use the "Angry Birds" name due to a licensing conflict. While Rovio had trademarked the Angry Birds name for licensed children's toys, clothing and other products, it specifically excluded pet toys from its attempted trademarks, deferring to Hartz' trademark that it established in partnership with Adams. Hartz is the sole named defendant in Adams' case; Rovio is not targeted in the suit. Adams' complaint seeks "disgorgement of all of Hartz's ill-gotten gains, a reasonable royalty as owed to her under the Agreement, and an accounting, as well as a return of her Intellectual Property, including all associated trademarks and copyright registrations for 'Angry Birds' pet toys." [Image: Hartz / Adams / Rovio]
Bad App Reviews: Angry Birds
There are some fantastic games on the App Store, but not everyone loves every best-selling title. When some customers decide to use their eloquent writing skills to pen disparaging reviews, hilarity ensues. Bad App Reviews brings you actual App Store critiques written by living breathing humans. Have a suggestion for a game? Hit me up on Twitter at @MikeWehner. Angry Birds is the most popular franchise in the history of the App Store, but there are still plenty of people who aren't mesmerized by the bright colors and flighty antics of Rovio's biggest cash cow. Here are some of the best 1-star Angry Birds reviews in the App Store.
The TUAW Daily Update Podcast for June 16, 2014
It's the TUAW Daily Update, your source for Apple news in a convenient audio format. You'll get some the top Apple stories of the day in three to five minutes for a quick review of what's happening in the Apple world. You can listen to today's Apple stories by clicking the player at the top of the page. The Daily Update has been moved to a new podcast host in the past few days. Current listeners should delete the old podcast subscription and subscribe to the new feed in the iTunes Store here.
Angry Birds Transformers is coming, and hopefully Michael Bay isn't involved
Angry Birds has never taken itself too seriously, which is probably why so many people absolutely adore the franchise. From the original physics puzzler to crossovers with Star Wars and Rio, and even a cart racing game, you can't really fault Rovio for giving players what they want -- which happens to be more Angry Birds. But today, the company revealed the next big evolution of the Angry Birds brand with Angry Birds Transformers. I think it needs to stop now. Literally nothing is known about the new Transformers crossover aside from what can be gleaned from the goofy artwork on the teaser site, but the fact that this title exists at all is proof that our addiction to Angry Birds has gone too far. From the iconic red bird gussied up in Optimus Prime gear to the speedy yellow bird zipping along as Bumblebee, the series has now jumped the shark. Actually, it jumped the shark a while ago, now it's just doing laps around the shark on a bedazzled jet ski. The teaser site simply states that the new game is "coming soon to app stores," though I'm sure it'll also be coming soon to toy shelves, t-shirt racks, and every other corner of your local department store. Brace yourselves.
Angry Birds Transformers announced, less than meets the eye
Angry Birds studio Rovio announced more Angry Birds this morning with Angry Birds Transformers. No Angry Birds information was provided about this latest installment in the Angry Birds franchise, but it is sure to Angry Birds and roll out more details soon.
Is the Angry Birds era over?
From movies and gummy bears to toys and clothing, the folks at Rovio have successfully put the Angry Birds stamp on every type of product imaginable. Of course, the heart of the Angry Birds franchise was found in Rovio's ever growing selection of Angry Birds gaming titles that appeared on a multitude of different platforms. Indeed, the Angry Birds phenomenon at one point was so prevalent that there was sound speculation that Rovio itself might choose to go public. I myself fell prey to what can only be called an Angry Bird addiction many years ago. With new levels for existing games and entirely new themes to explore and conquer (i.e Angry Birds Space, Angry Birds Star Wars), there were no shortage of avenues for fans to get their Angry Bird fix in. Flash forward to 2014 and the landscape looks markedly different as Rovio's revenues have fallen drastically. Earlier this week, Rovio announced that its net profit in 2013 was more than 50% lower than its profit in 2012. Specifically, profits for the Finnish-based gaming company fell from $77 million down to $37 million. Which isn't to say that Rovio isn't trying to turn things around. The New York Times reported earlier this week: Late last year, Rovio launched its first effort at a freemium game, and has diversified its efforts in recent years into movies, animation and theme parks to reduce its reliance on online gaming. The company's business of licensing the Angry Birds brand for consumer products like candy dispensers and lunch boxes now generates almost 50 percent of Rovio's yearly revenue, according to the company's annual financial report. Indeed, Angry Birds, once a mainstay anywhere you might look on the App Store, is now nowhere to be found. With respect to the iPad, there are just two Angry Bird titles in the top 50 list of paid apps while no Angry Birds titles crack the top 50 for free apps. With respect to the iPhone, there are just two Angry Birds titles in the top 100 list of paid apps while no Angry Birds titles even make the top 150 for top grossing iPhone apps. So has the Angry Birds phenomenon peaked? In terms of actual iOS gameplay, it seems that the answer is a resounding yes. Fortune adds: So if the Angry Birds game is a laggard when it comes to making money, that leaves little for Rovio to do but develop compelling all-new game experiences, and as any game studio can attest, that's easier said than done. The company seems aware of the challenge it faces: "After three years of very strong growth, 2013 was a foundation-building year," chief financial officer Herkkop Soininen offered in a company statement this Monday. Rovio has released a number of non-Angry Birds titles (Amazing Alex, Tiny Thief), but again, none of these titles have come anywhere close to matching the phenomenon that was Angry Birds.
Angry Bird publisher profits halved as company plans for future
As Rovio plans for (or fights, depending on perspective) the future, the company's profits took a hit for the 2013 calendar year. The Angry Bird house's net profits were slashed in half to €26.9 million ($37.2M), but important to note here is that the company's sales remained stable at €156 million ($216M), a slight increase from the €152.2 million in 2012. Rovio CFO Herkko Soininen explained the profit reduction as part of the company's "foundation-building year," as it invested in new business areas like animation, video distribution, spinoffs... more spinoffs, and other things outside of selling Angry Bird games at $1 a pop. "Building on top of our games business, where we moved into free-to-play, Rovio set its foot strongly into the entertainment business. In 2013 we formed a world-class movie animation production team in Los Angeles that is already working on the first Angry Birds feature film, to be globally premiered in July 2016," said CEO Mikael Hed. Once upon a time the great and powerful Yogurt taught us that merchandising is "where the real money from the movie is made." Change movie to video game and you've got the Rovio business strategy pretty much figured out.
Angry Birds: Warcraft?
Tweeted from Dave Kosak, one of WoW's Game Designers, last night was an eye-raising possibility: Dinner with a dude from Rovio. I'm trying to make "Angry Birds: Warcraft" happen. #GDC - Dave Kosak (@DaveKosak) March 19, 2014 Now I have no idea if this is Dave just joking around our not -- he very well could be. But the idea of an Angry Birds WoW edition? Yes, please and thank you. I can only imagine how much fun it would be to shoot little birds at Thrall and knock him down a bit (literally). Joke or no joke, the idea has a lot of merit and isn't far fetched, in my opinion. A few reasons why this would work: WoW has a deep story that would make a large number of levels and interesting progression possible. You could start your birds out in Elwynn Forest and finish off the final level in Orgrimmar. Maybe stop and say hello to Deathwing along the way. Both WoW and Angry Birds have a gigantic fan-base that tend to instantly buy anything with such names on it. This edition could make both companies a lot of money. Rovio is clearly open to cross-overs. Just look at their Star Wars edition of Angry Birds. Furthermore, Rovio has proven they know how to work with multinational giants like Blizzard. I really hope Dave is serious about this tweet. I admit I'll be a tad disappointed if he was just joking. But if he was -- maybe we can all encourage him to really pursue this.
Angry Birds' epic tease hints at upcoming mobile RPG (no, really)
Last week's Angry Birds-related teaser video hints at an upcoming turn-based mobile role-playing game from series creator Rovio, Kotaku reports. Angry Birds Epic will feature an in-depth item-crafting component and a story-driven campaign when it hits the iOS App Store, Google Play, and the Windows Phone 8 storefront this year. An early version of Angry Birds Epic will arrive in the Canadian and Australian App Stores later this week, giving Rovio the opportunity to test game balance and online functionality prior to its worldwide release. [Image: Rovio]
Angry Birds goes medieval in mysterious 'epic' tease
The above video comes courtesy of Angry Birds creator Rovio, who unveiled the brief footage alongside the following description: "Perhaps the most Epic soft launch ever - whatever that means!?" It's unclear what exactly Rovio is teasing here, though fan site Angry Birds Nest offers a convincing argument in favor of a fantasy-themed Angry Birds entry based on clues found in a separate Rovio video from late last year. Among a handful of screenshots pulled from the earlier clip are depictions of birds new to the series, potential vehicles for racer Angry Birds Go, and, most notably given today's teaser, a silhouette that depicts familiar Angry Birds characters in stereotypical fantasy gear. There's a wizard with a pointy hat and robe, a fighter with sword and horned helmet and an archer who appears to prefer deformed marshmallows to deadly arrowheads. While all of this is circumstantial speculation, until Rovio decides to explain this new teaser we don't have much else to go on. Our attempts to pry more information from the publisher were unsuccessful, and in place of a useful explanation we have been instructed to "wait and see." [Image: Rovio]
Another Xbox Live sale: Ryse, Persona 4 Arena and more for cheap
We think Microsoft may have an addiction. On top of the Ultimate discounts on offer this week, Microsoft has announced an entirely different crop of cheap games, available through February 24. Two sales at the same time? Madness! If you want to take advantage of Microsoft's lapse in judgment, you can grab Ryse: Son of Rome for $40. We may even see more of this in the future, as Microsoft toys around with discount digital pricing on Xbox One. Ridge Racer Unbounded is on sale for $5 and all of its DLC can be acquired for pennies on the dollar. Persona 4 Arena, Angry Birds: Star Wars and more on Xbox 360 are cheap too so, if you're interested, pop on over to Major Nelson's website for the full list of markdowns. [Image: Microsoft Studios]
Rovio announces Angry Birds Stella, starring a new leading lady-bird
Rovio's next spin-off for the Angry Birds franchise centers around a new heroine called Stella, who along with her pals leads a new wave of games, cartoons, and merchandise. The first entry in Stella's adventures is due in the fall, but what it'll comprise isn't clear. For its part, Rovio didn't offer many clues beyond a debut image starring the pink bird and her friends. The company's announcement blurb says, "Angry Birds Stella will open a door to a part of the Angry Birds universe you've never seen before! There will be plenty of fun and adventure, but the bunch of passionate pals will also have to deal with some serious issues in order to protect their friendship and the environment they live in. Luckily, Stella and her friends are good at finding creative solutions!" While Flappy Bird has been its own phenomenon in 2014, it's light as a feather compared to the 2 billion downloads racked up by Angry Birds games, or the 200 million people that play Angry Birds each month. It'll be interesting to see how many of those millions will flock to Stella's new adventures, whatever they prove to be. [Image: Rovio]
Angry Birds series pecks up 2 billion downloads
Rovio has let loose 2 billion copies of Angry Birds games since the series' launch in 2009 – that equals 28 percent of the world's population, for comparison's sake. Rovio CMO Peter Vesterbacka announced the number during London's Pocket Gamer Connects: "If you look at Rovio and what we've done over four years, there are now 2 billion copies of Angry Birds out there. I thought I was super-ambitious in 2010 when I said we'll make $100 million and everyone else thought I was crazy, but it's very important people thought I was insane for saying $100 million back then." Two hundred million people play Angry Birds each month, "the size of the Twitter audience," Vesterbacka said. Rovio reported 1.7 billion downloads in April 2013, and revenue of $195.6 million for the year. Vesterbacka noted that Rovio created 51 games before making Angry Birds, and now nine out of 10 people in both the US and China know the brand. An Angry Birds movie is due out in July 2016, produced and funded by Rovio alone. "We're not building Angry Birds for a hundred days but for a hundred years," he said. "Mario is a great role model for anyone in games, it's been built for almost 30 years now. Hello Kitty is 40 this year and Mickey Mouse was launched in 1928 as a black-and-white cartoon, and that company is now building theme parks based on the character on every continent. We launched an iPhone game in 2009 and now 45 percent of our business comes from physical products, including drinks." As for the competition: "Candy Crush's half a billion installs is a good start," Vesterbacka said.
Angry Birds Rio getting free Rio 2 movie content updates
To celebrate the impending release of Rio 2, the animated feature about a bunch of tropical birds from Rio de Janeiro migrating to the Amazon rainforest, the free Angry Birds Rio video game tie-in will receive several content updates. Four different episodes, each comprised of numerous levels, will be doled out over the next few months; however, the first of these planned content updates, "Rocket Rumble," is available right now on both Android and iOS. Angry Birds Rio launched in March of 2011 and secured 10 million downloads in under a month. The Angry Birds franchise alone earned creator Rovio $100 million in sales throughout 2011.
Rovio releases the conclusion to Angry Bird Star Wars with 30 new levels and Death Star showdown
Just in time for the holidays, Rovio has dropped a new update of Angry Birds Star Wars into the App Store that features the epic conclusion of pigs versus birds. Angry Birds Star Wars version 1.5 adds a whopping 30 new levels to the first Angry Birds/Star Wars mashup. Players can now fight their way through 15 space battles featuring an Imperial Star Destroyer and another 15 levels that take place on the rebuilt Death Star. At the end of the game, players will finally face the Emperor and "Lard Vader" and find out who's behind Vader's mask in the finale. Upon its release a little over a year ago Angry Birds Star Wars received both user and critical acclaim, with many noting the care Rovio took to remain faithful to the source material. Angry Birds Star Wars was one of the most popular Angry Birds games ever, which led to a sequel, Angry Birds Star Wars II, released earlier this year. Angry Birds Star Wars is US$0.99 for iPhone and Angry Bird Star Wars HD is $2.99 for iPad.
Angry Birds Go! kart racer now in the App Store
There's a new dimension to the Angry Birds gaming ecosystem today, a wild kart racer title for iOS called Angry Birds Go! (free, with in-app purchases). The famous birds and pigs are now involved in a 3D downhill race in karts that range from soapbox racers to flying supercars... provided you're willing to spend a few dollars on upgrades (anywhere from US$1.99 to $49.99) or play until you're able to upgrade on sheer talent. Tired of racing as the birds? You can switch sides and be a pig, getting your revenge on for all the times you've been blown up by the flock. There are multiple racetracks, including off-road races and stunt roads, and, as in the original classic game, each character has special powers that can be invoked. Angry Birds Go! also adds Hasbro Telepods to the gaming fun. To switch characters in a race, you just place a Telepod figure on your iPhone, iPad or iPod touch (5G) camera. Guess what? Telepods are sold separately in sets ranging from $5 to $30. All in all, Angry Birds Go! looks like a lot of fun, and also looks like a potential way to spend an astonishing amount of money on upgrades and add-ons. Check out the fun in the trailer below. Oh, and by the way -- the soundtrack is available in the iTunes Store as well...
