Everyone’s favourite mobile bird launching game seems to also be the most popular mobile game ever. The latest installment is a journey into space that adds the endless possibilities that a lack of gravity provides the birds. In what was an incredible 35 day period for Rovio, the creator of the wildly popular bird game watched with delight as the new addition of their game was downloaded an unbelievable 50 million times. The record breaking installment will be followed up later this year with another unique version of the game, as reported by Rovio Entertainment’s CMO Peter Vesterbacka in a recent TechCrunch interview.
The Finnish company did an incredible job marketing the game after announcing it on Twitter on March 22. Taking full advantage of the brand’s vast marketability, Rovio has gone as far as to allow for a major collaboration with Wal-Mart bringing forth more t-shirts, toys as well as a wide selection of books, candy and even Band-Aids.
The game justifies the hype that is powering it however, as it is a well-researched and thought out product. The company’s founder Peter Vesterbacka and his team reached out to NASA to pose some hypothetical questions regarding knocking pigs in outer space. The incredibly creative project then took on legs becoming a new twist on an incredibly fun concept. It is vastly different to previous versions of the series; however it provides all the elements we have come to expect.
With mobile gaming becoming an incredibly popular way for people of all ages to spend time on their Smartphones and tablets, it is important for Rovio to continue to strike while the iron is hot. The interview also went into details regarding the amount of copycat Angry Bird games available in China. The country presents an undeniable market that is currently as powerful as any. Vesterbacka was gracious enough to refer to the imitation as flattery, and is moving swiftly to establish at least 200 retail locations in mainland China in the coming year. He has also hired the more creative copycat programmers to join their ranks and leverage their creative and technical skills.
With further versions of the games in the pipeline and a voracious hiring spree that has seen the company quadruple in size to 200 employees (including a burgeoning workforce in China), the birds of old and the new ones introduced in the Space version of the game are clearly here for the long haul.