The 
Angry Birds are back – and this time, they’re in orbit.
Tag Archives: rovio
Angry Birds Space tops 10 million downloads in three days
The 
Angry Birds have a pretty good reason to be happy this week.
Rovio’s juggernaut game franchise is showing absolutely no signs of waning popularity, with the developer tweeting that the most recent release, Angry Birds Space, has racked up 10 million downloads in less than three days.
Critics: ‘Angry Birds Space’ is a blast
Today’s 
launch of Angry Birds Space isn’t just the rollout of the fourth game in the wildly popular pig-smashing series. It’s a multimedia event.
NASA is celebrating alongside Angry Birds creator Rovio. Wal-Mart is selling a bazillion bits of Angry Birds merchandise. MTV is using the game to help fight online bullying. And in Seattle, they’re turning the Space Needle into a 300-foot tall slingshot. Seriously.
But all that sizzle means nothing without the steak. Is Angry Birds Space worth buying? Or is it just more of the same from a franchise that has, at this point, been emulated (or downright copied) by dozens of other app makers?
Angry Birds hit the playground
A word of 
warning to pig farmers in Finland: Keep away from playgrounds.
After invading the worlds of apparel, stuffed animals and board games, Angry Birds are now adding playground equipment to their repertoire. Two Finnish towns — Rovaniemi and Espoo — will get the first products next year, with worldwide distribution planned at a later date.
Zynga, Rovio And The IPO Issue
You don’t have 
to be a wizard of Wall Street to know the market sucks these days. While the Dow Jones Industrial average is slightly higher than it was at the start of the year, persistent fears of a double-dip recession – or worse – are preventing both individual and institutional investors from jumping into the market with any gusto.
That’s starting to affect the valuations of companies with looming public offerings, including a high profile one in the gaming world. And it should be a lesson to other game companies thinking about an IPO.
Opinion: Rovio $1.2B Valuation Push Ruffles Some Feathers
[Is Rovio’s Angry Birds 
really more valuable than Grand Theft Auto? Gamasutra editor-at-large Chris Morris argues that Rovio’s recent push for a $1.2 billion valuation is “somewhat ridiculous.”]
The absurdities of today’s venture capital market – and of investors hoping to ride those coattails to wealth – are multiplying at a staggering rate.
And the reported recent push by Angry Birds developer Rovio to seek funds that would value the company at $1.2 billion could indicate the bubble that has been building for some time in the tech space is reaching a dangerous size.
Angry Birds maker snags Marvel movie producer
David Maisel, the former chairman and 
executive vice president of Marvel Comic’s entertainment arm, is joining the Angry Birds.
Maisel is the latest hire at Rovio, which is looking to expand its hit iPhone game into several new fields, including television and film. And given Maisel’s executive producer credits on “Iron Man” (and its sequel), “Thor,” “Captain America” and “The Incredible Hulk,” it seems to be getting more serious about film.
Rovio has expansion plans
The Angry Birds are getting ready 
to fling themselves at Hollywood in an even more aggressive fashion.
Rovio Mobile has acquired Finish animation studio Kombo and plans to use the group to expand its push into new areas of the entertainment biz far beyond the company’s gaming roots.
10 days, 10 million downloads for Angry Birds Rio
Maybe this will make those cranky 
canaries happy.
Rovio, developer of the hit “Angry Birds” series, has revealed via Twitter that its latest title – “Angry Birds Rio” – has hit the 10 million download mark in just 10 days.
Interview: PopCap’s Roberts Talks IPO Reports, Why ‘Good Games Are Good Games’
[Gamasutra editor-at-large Chris Morris talks to PopCap CEO 
David Roberts about the rise of casual gaming, the possibility of an initial public offering for the company later this year, and why Bejeweled’s popularity rises from the fact that “good games are good games.”]
PopCap Games, to borrow (and slightly mangle) a phrase from Barbara Mandrell, was casual when casual wasn’t cool.
Long before companies like Rovio and Zynga were dominating headlines, the Seattle-based development house was building a loyal following with titles like Bejeweled and Bookworm. And that gives it some perspective in this fast-growing market.
Chris Morris: Journalist 