Just in case you weren't convinced, the cultural phenomenon that is Angry Birds has once again shown its stunning success. The game series which has branched out across all operating systems, into film and even the soft toy industry shows no signs of going away anytime soon, it seems as though firing birds at pigs with a catapult is as popular as ever. At one point it seemed Rovio had reached their peak with Angry Birds and the puzzler reported a whopping 100 million downloads in March but now a major surge in Angry Bird downloads worldwide has shunted the figure up to 140 million. With tablets getting more mainstream and smartphones more affordable, don't be surprised if this figure doubles by the end of the year. At this point in time, Angry Birds is an essential app for any portable device, up there with Facebook.
What many people don't know though is the long road to success Rovio had before they hit the big-time. Before Angry Birds they had built 51 other games over a seven-year. They put its success down to good marketing with merchandise and a Super Bowl ad playing a large role in the rise and rise of Rovio. So the question is, where next?
Like most tech based business with their heads screwed on, the attention is set towards China. The company aims to reach 100 million downloads of Angry Birds this year in China alone. At the moment Rovio claim they are already iconic in China.”We are now in the top three for the most copied brand in China,” he said. “We are up there with Disney and Hello Kitty.” With 889 million mobile phone users (and counting) China is a giant market for tech manufactures. Breaking China with a game is the equivalent of a UK band breaking America, except there’s probably a lot more money in it.