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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.
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 lets loose Stars publishing program for third-party games
Rovio is entering the mobile publishing arena through its Rovio Stars initiative, which will cover the whole spectrum of publishing duties such as marketing and PR. Rovio will even consult with developers to help them optimize their games prior to launch. Budding developers can already submit their mobile works to Rovio Stars through a handy application page, though all applicants must have a playable build to present. Screens, videos and other supplementary materials are also encouraged, as it provides Rovio with a better sense of the overall game. As of now, Rovio Stars has recruited two games: Icebreaker: A Viking Voyage from Longdon-based Nitrome (based on the Flash version) and Tiny Thief from Barcelona indie outfit 5 Ants. The latter is due sometime this summer, while Icebreaker's mobile release is tentatively scheduled for "soon" on the official site.
Rovio launches Stars publishing program, names initial third-party games (video)
While Rovio still leans very heavily on one game franchise for its success, there's no question that it's a big company these days -- big enough, in fact, that it's venturing into publishing for the first time. Its new Rovio Stars division will look for a handful of promising third-party games to support, giving them both the resources and exposure needed to shine. The first titles to make the cut are Nitrome's upcoming puzzler Icebreaker: A Viking Voyage and 5 Ants' Tiny Thief. We don't know if Rovio's guiding hand will be enough to give these games a major boost, but we can get a taste of what's to come through the Icebreaker trailer after the break.
Bad Piggies adds recording, sharing to iOS, more levels for everyone
The Rise and Swine update for Rovio's Bad Piggies adds 15 new levels and two fresh items, suction-cup tires and spring-loaded boxing gloves. The big, bad news in this update is the addition of a recording and sharing feature for iOS devices, allowing users to record moments on a whim and share to Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. The recording feature will come to Android later, Rovio says. The Rise and Swine update also adds a new sandbox and the Road Hog Challenge. Rise and Swine is a free update, so get up and grab it now on your download service of choice. You know what they say – the early Bird gets Angry. We don't know what that has to do with Bad Piggies, but it's true regardless.
Rovio introduces Rovio accounts: resume progress across devices
Angry Birds fans will soon be able to have their progress migrate across multiple devices. Enter: Rovio accounts, only available in The Croods game and the original Angry Birds (Poland and Finland) right now, but Rovio expects to roll out the functionality to all of its games eventually. Rovio's latest financial report shows the company had a strong 2012, earning $195 million in revenue, with almost half of that coming from toy sales alone. The most recent Angry Birds game from Rovio is Angry Birds Friends, a free app on iOS and Android that integrates with Facebook.
Daily Update for May 7, 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
Rovio launches syncable accounts for Angry Birds Classic and others, stores your progress across devices
No more repeating those first stages. Again. No more attempts to glean three stars on Level 4-14. Again. Rovio is finally offering sync functions for its new Croods game, globally, and its original hit, Angry Birds -- although that's only for Poland and Finland. Frustratingly, it's also only on iOS for now, although Rovio promises more areas (both device-wise and geographically, we assume) are coming soon. You'll need an email account to get yourself set up, but once that's sorted, all scores and stars can be transferred over, unified in a single account.
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 for Windows Phone gains 100 levels, respect for 256MB handsets
Rovio has given Windows Phone users a fresh reason to fire up Angry Birds -- something to the tune of 100 vexing new levels. Also unique this time around, the game introduces support for Xbox Live achievements and leaderboards on Windows Phone 8. Rather than an update, however, this is a re-release of Angry Birds; you'll need to download the new version separately, which is free until May 15th. In other good news, if you own an entry-level Windows Phone such as the Lumia 610, you'll be glad to know that you can finally join in on the fun, since Angry Birds now supports devices with just 256MB of RAM. All in all, there's plenty to like about this one. Most of all, the price.
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 now available on iOS and Android, is totally free
It's hard to believe, but there is seriously another Angry Birds game headed to mobile today, dubbed Angry Birds Friends. Like its Facebook counterpart, the game is focused on social versions of standard Angry Birds mechanics -- flinging various bird types at various structures protecting pigs, with the ultimate goal of destroying said pigs. The twist in this iteration is that your score is tracked and stacked up against friends via Facebook, meaning that people on all platforms (Facebook, iOS and Android) can play against each other. Should you be wary of shelling out more cash for fowl, worry not, as Angry Birds Friends is free (supported by ads, as you might imagine). It's available now on both iTunes and the Google Play store.
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]
Angry Birds Friends flying home 'soon' to iOS, Android
Facebook app Angry Birds Friends is coming back to where it all started with an imminent iOS and Android release. Angry Birds Friends is the flustered, feathered experience you've come to know and love/hate/become numb to, but with a dollop of Facebook integration on top; you can invite Facebook friends to play, gift each other power-ups, take part in weekly tournaments, and so on.The mobile version is based around these features too, although creator Rovio didn't say how exactly the port is different from the Facebook app. The Finnish studio did say we can expect the iOS and Android migration "soon."
Angry Birds Friends coming to Android and iOS, brings the franchise full circle
You may not have realized it if you were heads-down with your smartphone, but one of the most popular Angry Birds games is on Facebook: its social network adaptation, Angry Birds Friends, has racked up about 15 million active users. It's only appropriate, then, that Rovio complete the cycle with new plans to bring Angry Birds Friends to mobile. While details are slim, the company vows that the upcoming Android and iOS ports will maintain Facebook integration for rewards and tournaments, and they'll support both phones and tablets. We'll already have an inkling of what gameplay to expect courtesy of the web game, although we're not so fortunate with the release date -- Rovio will only say that the mobile Friends port is coming "soon."
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.
