rovio

Angry Birds creator Rovio says sales doubled last year

Who says the Angry Birds phenomenon is slowing down?

Gamers may be tiring out from the many iterations of the flying birds, but they continue to rake in the big bucks for Rovio.

The Finnish company said today that for calendar year 2012 it posted sales of 152 million euros ($194.8 million), or a little more than double its revenue from the preceding year. Its earnings before interest and taxes were 76.8 million euros ($98.4 million), up 64 percent from 2011.

The company was helped by the launch of four titles in the year: Angry Birds Space, … Read more

Angry Birds cartoon to fly onto games and TV this weekend

Angry Birds fans soon will be able to watch their favorite birds and piggies duke it out in a series of weekly cartoons.

"Angry Birds Toons" will take flight on broadcast TV this Saturday, as well as on all Angry Birds apps and certain video-on-demand services this Sunday, game maker Rovio said today. The series will feature 52 episodes, with a new one launched each week.

Comcast subscribers can catch "Angry Birds Toons" through Xfinity on Demand, the Xfinity Web site, or the Xfinity TV Player app. The animated adventures also will appear on TV networks … Read more

'Angry Birds Toons' cartoon series to launch March 16

First it was stuffed animals, then T-shirts, and now it's a cartoon Web series -- the Angry Birds franchise just continues to grow.

Rovio announced today that the first episode of the weekly Angry Birds cartoon show, "Angry Birds Toons," is set to air on March 16. Viewers will be able to watch what is happening "deep in the heart of Piggy Island" and find out whether those merciless piggies ever get hold of the birds' eggs.

The game maker hinted at turning the wildly popular game into an animated series last April. In addition … Read more

Angry Birds and Rovio's plans for world domination

ESPOO, Finland -- The executive offices of Angry Birds creator Rovio were exactly how I imagined them.

There were stuffed Angry Birds plush toys everywhere. Flanking the reception desk were Angry Birds versions of Luke Skywalker, Darth Vader, and his Storm Trooper, created for the recent Angry Birds-Star Wars mashup game.

To the left was a short wooden crate blanketed by tiny Angry Birds figurines. To the right was an upright showcase chiller stocked with Angry Birds-themed soda, which recently launched in Finland and now outsells Coke and Pepsi. On the opposite end of the office was a cabinet with … Read more

Hide the pigs, Angry Birds movie is really happening

Rumors of an Angry Birds movie have been flying about like Red Birds in the digital sky. Now we finally have some more concrete details on the film, which is expected to come out in the middle of 2016.

No surprise, the film will be a 3D CG-animated production. There goes my dream of seeing Robert DeNiro playing a live-action Mighty Eagle with Lily Tomlin as Pink Bird.… Read more

Angry Birds Star Wars tops App Store chart in 2.5 hours

The Force is strong with Rovio.

The Finnish company behind the Angry Birds franchise said today in a blog post that its latest offering, Angry Birds Star Wars, rose to the top of Apple's U.S. app store in two and a half hours -- breaking its own records.

The game launched yesterday to positive critical reviews and remains the top paid app in Apple's App Store today.

Angry Birds Star Wars represents the latest in an increasingly large franchise of similar games that continue to be popular with consumers. Rovio has done a good job extending the … Read more

Luke and Leia battle the Empire in Angry Birds Star Wars trailer

Angry Birds fans anxiously awaiting the new Star Wars version can grab a quick look at the action in a new 57-second trailer.

The first half of the trailer teases you with scenes of Angry Bird Luke trying to impress Angry Bird Leia with his light saber skills. But after Leia yawns in boredom, the galactic action finally revs up.

We're first taken to Luke's home world of Tatooine where he attacks the Empire's evil pigges with his light sabre. Next we travel to the ice world of Hoth where Leia takes down one of the giant … Read more

At last! Angry Birds and CERN to create board game

I think I have found a solution for Zynga.

The company needs to get together with the United Nations peacekeeping forces around the world and create a board game in which people get killed, but not really.

How is it that I have had this quite brilliant notion?

Well, I have been stimulated by the news that Rovio, they who have enriched so many lives with Angry Birds, have got together with CERN (the European Organization for Nuclear Research, landlord for the Large Hadron Collider) to create new and amusing experiences to exercise young minds.

These will be under a … Read more

Angry Birds Star Wars to reach our galaxy on November 8

Those Angry Birds will soon be facing the dark side of the Force in the next installment of the popular game series.

Scheduled for download on November 8, the new game for iOS, Android, and computers will see the birds square off against the pigs but in the familiar "Star Wars" galaxy.

In Angry Birds Star Wars, the birds will take on the personalities of the intrepid heroes, with the red bird assuming the lead role as Luke Skywalker. The evil piggies will be playing for the dark side of the force, taking on the roles of Darth … Read more