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Tag: Rovio

  • Rovio-published RETRY Is More Flappy Bird than Angry Birds
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    • iOS
    Rovio-published RETRY Is More Flappy Bird than Angry Birds

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    When Flappy Bird took the world by storm earlier this year and the App Store was flooded with clones ranging from Flappy Bee to Flappy Miley Cyrus, it wasn't hard to see this as a fad that would eventually reach its breaking point.  But still - even through that fog of copycats, I couldn't help but think that there was something ingenious about Flappy Bird's simple gameplay mechanic. Nolan Bushnell compared it to grunge rock; gaming stripped down to its most basic.It was only a matter of time until we saw that mechanic employed in more polished ways.Flappy Golf was really the first instance of "hey, you can do something neat with this!", but the Rovio-published RETRY - now live in Canada, Finland and Poland - is the best we've seen so far. 
  • Rovio’s profits dropped 50% in 2013
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    • Android
    • iOS
    Rovio’s profits dropped 50% in 2013

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    You know what isn't making the kind of money that it used to? Angry Birds. As hard as it might be to believe, the Mario of mobile gaming isn't quite pulling in the number that it once did. According to the latest financials released by the company this morning, Rovio's net earnings fell by €28.6 million; a more than 50% drop from 2012.Before you sound the panic alarms, it's important to stress that despite poor earnings, the company's overall revenue actually went up a few million euros - from €152.2 million to €156 million. So while earnings might be down, Rovio's financial security is not.Still - it's hard to not look at the situation and ask what went wrong. There was a time when seeing Angry Birds on the top 10 paid apps list was as certain as the rising sun. Today it sits at #61. And it's free-to-play kart racer that hoped to make a big splash back in December? It's not even in the top 200 free apps (though, yes, it manages to crack in at #73 for free games).
  • Big trouble in Tiny Thief: Rovio charging consumers for content they already bought
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    • Android
    • iOS
    Big trouble in Tiny Thief: Rovio charging consumers for content they already bought

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    Late last week, Rovio Stars and 5 Ants announced that their game, Tiny Thief, would shed its $2.99 price tag and become a free-to-play game with in-app purchases. The new, free version of Tiny Thief features three levels (fifteen stages total) for free, with the option for players to purchase the fourth and fifth levels for $1.99 each. To the dismay of Android gamers who already owned the entire game, this update locks previous owners out of the final two levels, forcing everyone to pay to access the content.That's right, Rovio took content away from buyers who already owned the access to it. As far as we can tell, there is nothing different from the original game beyond a new sixth level which is, not surprisingly, behind a paywall. Former Tiny Thief owners are upset at the sudden loss of access to the game."This game gave me hope for mobile gaming," one person posted as a review on the Tiny Thief Google Play page, "[it was] an awesome game you paid for up front without this "free to play" money extortion stuff going on. Now however it seems corporate cash grubbing got the better of even that tiny dream."
  • There’s a Mario piggy in Angry Birds Epic
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    • Android
    • iOS
    There’s a Mario piggy in Angry Birds Epic

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    If your head is still spinning from the realization that there's an Angry Birds RPG on the horizon, you'll want to sit down for this one. The game soft-launched in Canada and Australia last night, and after 30 minutes or so, we bumped into a pig that looked pretty darned familiar.Red hat. Moustache. Pipe. Mushrooms. I'll let you be the judge:It's-a-him! Mario!
  • An Angry Birds RPG? That should be EPIC
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    • Android
    • iOS
    An Angry Birds RPG? That should be EPIC

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    Having already tackled the worlds of physics-based puzzle games, kart racing, animation, plush toys and more, you'd think there were few frontiers left for Rovio left to conquer with the Angry Birds brand. And apparently, you'd be wrong.The next game in the seemingly unstoppable franchise is on the way, and in a move sure to make people everywhere do double takes, it's a turn-based RPG with a crafting system. Angry Birds Epic is its name, and the always fortunate folks in Canada and Australia will be able to play it this week before it invades iOS, Android and Windows Phone 8 devices worldwide later this year."It sounds like the crafting will tie in with the game's monetization, as TechCrunch's Darrell Etherington says players will be able to use in-app purchases to help make weapons and armor. A bigger question might be what birds would even use to make gear. Can you grab an old hubcap to use as a shield or fashion really pointy sticks into arrows?
  • Introducing Rovio Jr: a new program for educational games
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    • Android
    • iOS
    • PC
    Introducing Rovio Jr: a new program for educational games

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    You might be able to indirectly learn something about physics by playing Angry Birds, but it's not exactly a learning game. That doesn't mean the company behind the unstoppable franchise can't try something a little more high-minded, which is exactly what Rovio is gearing up to do - with the help of some third-party developers.Rovio told PocketGamer that it is seeking educational games from other developers to publish as part of its new Rovio Jr line. The intended audience of these games would be kids from pre-school to middle school."Educational games can be a tricky field, but there's definite truth in the idea that Rovio can aid developers by promoting their products through its already successful brands. Teaming up would certainly help solve the discovery problem facing smaller studios, particularly since educational titles need to catch the eyes of both children and parents.In any case, we may not have to wait long to see an announcement about the first fruits of this new program. Rovio and PocketGamer are going to be holding Big Indie Pitch Jr at GDC next month, allowing developers to pitch games they think would be suited for the publishing initiative in person in San Francisco.
  • Rovio announces the female-focused Angry Birds Stella
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    • Android
    • iOS
    Rovio announces the female-focused Angry Birds Stella

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    Rovio has officially unveiled their next Angry Birds game today, to follow after the success of last year's Angry Birds Star Wars II. The latest spin-off will be called Angry Birds Stella, and looks to be a female-centric iteration of the popular physics-puzzle series. Stella the pink bird was first introduced in the "Back to School" update to Angry Birds Seasons, where her special power allowed players to encase certain objects in floating pink bubbles and lift them out of the playing field.The official tagline of the game is "Best friends forever… most of the time," and will see the titular Stella be joined by five other female birds throughout her adventures. And as it turns out, these adventures will seemingly have a more emotional impact this time around, with the official Rovio blog stating: "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.""As you might expect, Angry Birds Stella will also coincide with a number of new cartoons and tie-in toys, which we've been seeing more and more of lately with each new release. We can look forward to seeing more details leading up to the game's release at some point in 2014, but for now, you can take a look at the debut poster of the game as revealed on the official Angry Birds Stella blog.
  • PSA: Angry Birds Go! races onto mobile today
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    • Android
    • iOS
    PSA: Angry Birds Go! races onto mobile today

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    Racers, start your engines, and load up your eggs: Angry Birds Go! has finally been released on mobile devices today! It seems like we've been speculating about the nature of this game for a while now, ever since Rovio began teasing the ambitious Angry-Birds-meets-Mario-Kart project earlier this year. Well now at last we have the chance to hop into the driver's seat for ourselves.Not only is Angry Birds Go! the very first 3D Angry Birds game to grace the gaming world, but it also expands upon a number of great features that have been established in previous installments: from letting players race as either the birds or the pigs, and even bringing back the Telepod technology first introduced in Angry Birds Star Wars II."Angry Birds Go! can be downloaded for free right now on the iOS App Store and the Google Play Marketplace, and you can expect to see our official review of the game in the upcoming days. And after you've finished a few races yourself, be sure to steer your karts on over to the comments section and let us know what you think of Rovio's first exciting foray into the racing genre!