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Daily iPhone App: Icebreaker: A Viking Voyage is a tasty cold cut from Rovio Stars
Icebreaker: A Viking Voyage is the very first title from the Rovio Stars program, a publishing initiative from the makers of Angry Birds. The company has a whole lot of infrastructure and expertise, but not a lot of good new ideas flowing, so it's decided to publish other developers' titles, and if Icebreaker is any indication, they're going to make some good choices. Icebreaker is a really excellent puzzle game that has clearly been polished to a Rovio-level shine, and it's a perfect start for the publisher partnerships. Just like Angry Birds, Icebreaker is a casual, physics-based puzzle game, where you can cut various items in the environment by dragging your finger across them. Cut the Rope obviously used the idea of cutting in this way previously, but Icebreaker adds the ability to cut ice chunks, which then slide over each other in physics-based ways. Each level has a number of Vikings that you need to get sliding aboard a ship, and then your little hero on the ship can break up the ice (as long as it's cut small enough), free the Vikings and set sail in triumph. Icebreaker's super cute -- the little Vikings have some hilarious chatter, and sliding them around in the physics engine is tons of fun. The puzzles are clever, too: A few levels in, you'll be using the ice to create bridges, and going after optional coins to collect and treasure chests that also slide around. Despite being US$0.99 to download (or $2.99 for an HD version on the iPad), the game does have ads included in the pause screen, and there are powerups you can purchase via IAP, so Rovio isn't letting any opportunity to make money pass them by. Still, the game is great, and this is likely the start of a whole new industry for a company that's so far been propelled by what's essentially just one property. If all of the Rovio Stars title are of this quality, we'll look forward to playing all of them.
Rovio Stars says publishing was a 'logical step' for Angry Birds maker to take
The good folks at 148Apps have an interview up with Kalle Kaivola, Senior VP of Product and Publishing at Rovio, about the company's new Rovio Stars program, a publishing initiative putting out third-party titles under the Rovio banner. Kaivola says publishing was "was a pretty logical step" -- the company has extensive experience, of course, putting things out on the App Store, and sees creative titles being pitched all the time. And in a more practical sense, the company of course has a stable of successful games on the App Store already, set to be used as a platform for launching other titles as needed. Rovio Stars has already announced a few titles, two games called Icebreaker and Tiny Thief, which are set to hit the App Store soon. Kaivola says that the games Rovio Stars chooses to publish will fit the Angry Birds mold, so we won't see "FPS or survival horror titles" coming from them in the future. The Rovio Stars mark, in other words, is meant to serve as "the stamp of quality that tells the gamer that the game they are about to buy has the same level of polish, engaging gameplay and quality fun as Rovio's titles," says Kaivola.
Rovio teases Angry Birds Go! racing game
Are you ready for another Angry Birds title? Rovio thinks you are, and it's teasing "Angry Birds, but not as you know it." And we believe it: from the short teaser animation and associated imagery, it appears that this particular game will involve racing of some sort. We haven't been given any details on when to expect it, but Rovio promises more updates over the summer, suggesting either a late summer or early fall launch. Head here to check out the teaser.
A new thing to get hooked on: Angry Birds fishing gear
We always love talking about Rovio's Angry Birds franchise here at TUAW, because it was one of the first blockbuster hit games in the App Store. The franchise has grown into a worldwide phenomenon, and products ranging from Angry Birds bed sheets to soft drinks are being snapped up in stores. The latest tie-in comes from Finnish fishing gear manufacturer Rapala, with their line of Angry Birds lures and fishing rods for the budding fisherman in your family. The lures are quite cool, ranging from the "Rattlin' Red Bird" and "DT Fat Bomb Bird" to the "Skitter Pop Bad Pig." These aren't just wacky names given to standard lures -- they're actually designed to look and act like their Angry Birds counterparts, while making those fishies want to go nuts for the fish hooks. Rapala has also developed beginner fishing poles and float sets for the younger anglers in your family. Who knows? This may be just the product to get your kid out of the house away from the iPad and into the great outdoors this summer. The Angry Birds line is currently for sale in Finland and Denmark, and will hopefully make it to the rest of the world soon.
Angry Birds soda release makes for huge sales jump
Yes indeed: Angry Birds soda. A Nordic beverage company named Olvi got the rights from Rovio to make some Angry Birds-branded sugar water, and apparently it's a huge hit for them, raising the company's sales by 85 percent. Exports were especially huge, going from 3 percent of Olvi's market to a whole 20 percent, with exports focusing primarily on Spain, Norway and the UK. There's no indication that any of this drink has made it over to the United States for sale just yet, so if you have a chance to try some, you'll have to let us know how it tastes. Hopefully "eggy" isn't a word included in the description. This is far from the last we'll hear about Angry Birds merch, especially with that movie set to arrive in the next few years. You can bet that even bigger companies are looking at sales figures like this, and then lining up to make a deal with Rovio as fast as they can.
Simpsons, Alvin and the Chipmunks writer penning Angry Birds movie
The screenplay for Rovio's in-house Angry Birds film is being written by Jon Vitti, the Finnish developer has announced. A writer and producer, Vitti has worked on the screenplay for The Simpsons Movie and both 3D Alvin and the Chipmunks films, as well as two episodes of The Office, 25 episodes of The Simpsons and 20 episodes of late-80s Saturday Night Live. Vitti's tenue on The Simpsons spanned 1990 through 2004, with his creative mark left on landmark episodes such as "When Flanders Failed," "Cape Feare" and "Mr. Plow," among others. As we learned last week, Angry Birds will be distributed by Sony Pictures and will arrive in theaters on July 1, 2016.
MMObility: What needs to happen to make the mobile market shine
I've recently written about what the MMO future might look like, but in case you haven't read that piece yet, I can sum it up for you. Essentially I see the new generation being so used to gaming and communicating on portable yet powerful devices that the sit-down keyboard and mouse setup might very well be doomed. Even major PC manufacturers and sellers are noticing the trend. Take a visit to your local Gamestop or equivalent game shop and you will notice that the chains have started to sell tablets as well. All of this tablet gaming might wound the current style of MMOs. I suspect that within the next decade or two it will all come full circle back to massive three-dimensional worlds on tech that becomes even more powerful and common, so we have to look at what the mobile market can do currently to keep MMOs in the lineup.
Angry Birds flick flies to cinemas July 1, 2016
A release for the upcoming Angry Birds flick has been narrowed to July 1, 2016, with Sony distributing the movie worldwide, Rovio announced on its website today. Rovio's intent on creating a feature film was made public late last year, when the studio tapped producers John Cohen and David Maisel from Despicable Me and Iron Man to lead the project. The Angry Birds movie is unique in that it's being completely done in-house – Rovio is funding and producing the film entirely on its own.
Rovio teams up with Sony for the Angry Birds movie, coming July 2016
Rovio has announced, via tweet and then by news release, that it has lined up a deal and a date with Sony Pictures to distribute the upcoming Angry Birds movie. Rovio's been working on putting the frustrated fowl into a motion picture for a while, but this announcement makes it more or less a done deal -- all that needs to happen is that it gets made. Rovio says the movie will be out in theaters on July 1, 2016. The film will be in 3D (and animated, of course). It'll be produced by Despicable Me producer John Cohen, along with David Maisel. There's no director or writer yet announced, but this isn't exactly rocket science: Odds are that there will be green pigs stealing the birds' eggs, and the birds will have to team up together in a heartwarming way to get revenge. In fact, Rovio, if you need a hand, I could punch out a treatment for you. Just let me know.
Rovio introduces accounts to sync game progress across platforms
Rovio is building up its Angry Birds empire even further with the introduction of Rovio accounts. This new account feature lets users sync their progress across devices, allowing them to start a game on one device and resume playing it on another. The service is available for The Croods game globally and for the original Angry Birds on iOS in Finland and Poland. It will roll out to other titles and other locations in the future. Rovio did not say when this expansion would occur.
Angry Birds Friends recruits your Facebook friends in fight against the pigs
Charge your phone, hide your family and mourn the loss of your free time. Angry Birds has returned with the latest expansion of their fowl-flinging empire, Angry Birds Friends. The new version looks a lot like the old one at first glance. You still fling super-powered birds at structures in your quest to destroy the pig army. What's new is the social interaction of judging your scores against your friends, across every platform Angry Birds on which is available. Thats right; Facebook, iOS and Android friends can all play against each other in a seemingly never-ending quest to cook the pigs' bacon. If you've already purchased Angry Birds in the past and don't want to shell out for another new version, don't worry. Angry Birds Friends, like friendship, is free. The app is available now in the iTunes and Google Play stores.
Free Angry Birds Friends app lands on iOS, Android
Angry Birds Friends – essentially Angry Birds with Facebook integration – is now available on Android and iOS. The free mobile download is compatible with the established Facebook app, letting you invite Facebook friends to play, gift power-ups to your besties, take part in weekly challenges and resume progress between platforms. The first weekly tournament will go live this Monday, May 6. After that, new weekly tournaments will be initiated every Monday, with new levels also being added every week. So until then, consider this practice time for the real thing – because friendship is all about proving you're better than the other person.%Gallery-187390%
Angry Birds Friends coming to the App Store this week
Rovio has announced today that a new game called Angry Birds Friends will be out on the App Store this week, offering up yet another iteration on the extremely popular series about frustrated avians. As you can tell from the name of the game, Angry Birds Friends will be a social take on bird-throwing, combining elements of the popular Facebook version and the iOS version's touchscreen gameplay. I think Rovio might be a little behind on this one, as asychronous Words With Friends-style multiplayer has fallen out of favor a bit on the App Store lately. But Angry Birds is one of the strongest brands out there, so if anyone can get people playing with their friends, it could be Rovio. We'll have a full look at Angry Birds Friends after it releases later on this week. [via AppAdvice]
Rovio revenue in 2012 doubles to $195 million, toys contribute 45%
Angry Birds developer Rovio reported $71.3 million in net profit in 2012, up $25 million from the previous year, and its revenue doubled to $195.6 million. Rovio attributes the growth to its new gaming franchises, such as Bad Piggies and Amazing Alex, and its consumer products, including all of those Angry Birds plushies, backpacks and clothes lining Target shelves. Consumer products in 2012 brought in three times the revenue as in 2011, accounting for 45 percent of Rovio's total.Rovio games have been downloaded more than 1.7 billion times, and monthly active users across all platforms hit 263 million in December. Rovio notes that its main sources of revenue within gaming are paid titles, virtual goods and advertising.Angry Birds Toons premiered in March and Rovio is working on an Angry Birds movie, using its own funds to make that thing happen outside of the standard studio system. Despicable Me producer John Cohen and Iron Man executive producer David Maisel are both on board for the film, which is set to launch in 2016.
Angry Birds Hand Sanitizer (hands-on)
Listen, when you work hard (and play hard) the way we do, your hands are going to get dirty from time to time. In fact, if we've got one piece of advice for frequent trade show attendees, it would be: wash your hands. A lot. Of course, a clean water source isn't always waiting for you between booths -- when that happens, there's no beating a well-placed bottle of hand sanitizer. But while the likes of Purell and its ilk have traditionally done the trick, we've always longed for a solution that could combine our sanitization obsessions with our passion for casual gaming. That wait, mercifully, is now over, thanks to a groundbreaking partnership between the fowl flingers at Rovio and those Ph.D.s in oral care products (the Firefly Hello Kitty toothbrush, anyone?): Dr. Fresh. Part of the industry-leading Infectiguard Kids line, Angry Birds Hand Sanitizer offers a slim and slick profile, perfect for tiny hands. The twist-off lid is located at the bottom of the bottle, pointing in a downward orientation when positioned as intended. The whole thing is supported by a carabiner laced through a loop in the top of the skinny bottle, so the sanitizer can be suspended from a backpack, messenger bag or other carrying case for easy access to its cleansing contents. And at 1.8 fluid ounces, the whole thing comes in well under the TSA's carry-on liquid restrictions.
Daily Update for March 15, 2013
It's the TUAW Daily Update, your source for Apple news in a convenient audio format. You'll get all 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 inline player (requires Flash) or the non-Flash link below. To subscribe to the podcast for daily listening through iTunes, click here. No Flash? Click here to listen. Subscribe via RSS
Angry Birds Toons premiering this weekend in Angry Birds apps
Rovio has long been threatening to bring Angry Birds into other media, and this weekend they're finally doing it -- kind of. Angry Birds Toons is a brand new cartoon series featuring none other than the frustrated fowl that iOS gamers have known and loved for so long. But you won't find it on a TV station or in a movie theater: Instead, the cartoon is premiering inside the Angry Birds apps, so if you have any of them installed, you can jump in and you'll be able to watch the series starting this weekend. Why are the birds so angry? Why do the pigs love the eggs so much? Rovio promises this series will answer all of those pressing questions fans of this game may or may not have. We have one of our own, however: Will iOS players ever get tired of tossing birds into badly-built structures? We may need more than a cartoon series to get an answer to that one.
Knights of Pen and Paper and Angry Birds go free
Two really great apps are free this week. First up, Knights of Pen and Paper is an (in my opinion) underrated and very charming turn-based RPG, with the unique premise that you're actually playing an old pen-and-paper role-playing game, complete with a dungeonmaster describing every environment you enter and NPC you come across. Or you can play DM yourself, and design an adventure for your gamers. The game is on iPhone and iPad, so more users than ever have a chance to download and enjoy it. And on the complete other end of the spectrum from underrated, the original Angry Birds app (and its HD counterpart) have gone free on iOS. It's hard to believe that you haven't played Angry Birds yet, as there have been lite versions, lots of sales and a number of various spinoffs and ways to play the game on all of its various platforms. But just in case you haven't gone back and played the original iOS hit, now's your chance. Do try Knights of Pen and Paper, though. It's really good.
Rovio adds TV channel to its games, launches Angry Birds Toons on March 17th
If Rovio wants to rival Disney, it's going to need to broaden its distribution network, right? It turns out that the company is going the opposite way, bundling a video channel inside its apps to showcase its first TV show; Angry Birds Toons -- a 52-episode series chronicling the never-ending fight against those egg-thieving pigs. In addition to phones and tablets, the show will be available on Xfinity and Samsung Smart TVs, with Roku and TV stations outside of the US to follow in short order. Of course, we're not too sure Disney's worried -- after all, it's spent $4.05 billion to get the real Mark Hamill, not Red Bird in a blonde wig.
Latest Angry Birds Trilogy DLC is 'Fowl Tempered'
The next volley of downloadable content for the Angry Birds Trilogy – the retail released and priced Xbox 360 and PS3 version of the mobile best-seller – have been revealed. The 'Fowl Tempered' DLC pack includes 135 new levels culled from classic franchise episodes, such as Back to School and Haunted Hogs from Angry Birds Seasons, for $5 (400MS Points). The farm fresh content is available now for both platforms.Fowl Tempered also features the pink bird Stella, whose special ability captures objects and enemies before floating floating to the sky and dropping them onto the ground below violently.The first DLC released for Angry Birds Trilogy was the Anger Management pack, a collection of 130 levels also taken from original Angry Birds games that didn't make it into the retail Trilogy. As of last month, Angry Birds Trilogy sold over one million copies and plans were announced for ports to the Wii and Wii U.%Gallery-181143%
