Rovio Partners With NASA For Angry Birds Space

I just don't get it.

I bought Angry Birds a year ago. I played it. It was fun. It exactly what I'd expect from a $.99 game--nothing more, nothing less. The way it's captivated this country's attention is mind-boggling and the explosive growth of the Angry Birds universe is going to be used as case studies for coming generations of marketing students showing how to strike when the iron's hot. You can't walk through the store without seeing Angry Birds plush toys, gummi candies, stickers, shirts, physical games, etc... My kid got an Angry Birds band-aid at the Dr.'s office today after his shots.

Check out every press release for every tablet or phone released in the last 12 months or so. Every single one plasters the Angry Birds logo on the home screen. "Look! We're legit!! We've got Angry Birds!" It's as if that's a more important litmus test then any specifications, or the OS, or the price. Can it run Angry Birds?

Hell, it's even partnered with a Hollywood blockbuster.

I do have to wonder what the long-term shelf-life will be for the franchise or if they've expanded too quickly and will implode. Not that Rovio will be upset. They've thrown gasoline on the fire and I'm sure they're laughing all the way to the bank. Better to make $500 million for one year (note: I just made that number up--I have no idea what kind of money it makes) than $1 million a year for 5 years.

Will MacRumors be covering the live launch? :rolleyes:

Angry birds best game ever made. Right up there with FarmVille.

Love Birds. But Farmville? I'd rather stab myself in the head with a fork.

Rumor has it that in this version, you have to shoot your birds over a shark.
:rolleyes:

I personally have never really liked Angry Birds, I've tried it a few times on my iPad, iPod Touch 4G and it's just boring to me imo :P

Cut the Rope & Where's My Water are both a lot more fun..

Rovio sure is milking this game like there is no tomorrow. The milk supply isn't unlimited though.

I've played Angry Bird a few times, and it's ok for a few minutes. I honestly don't understand why people are so addicted to it. Hubby loves it. My nieces and nephews play it as much as their parents will let them. I just don't get the fascination with it. I thought it would have worn off a long time ago, but they just keep making more. Guess it's just not my thing.

Losing faith in humanity...

even though I will for sure play this game myself ;)

I checked a few months ago and they said they'd made $1 million from purchases + $1 million from ads in the free version. I have no idea what they make from IAP, plushies, or anything thing else with the brand.

They make over $1 million a month just from the ads in the Android version ;) I'd guess they make around $2-3 million a month in total when you take paid versions , the iOS free version and merchandise into consideration.

I like Angry Birds! I like it even though I don’t like the “Flash-like” art style. I like it even though enough is enough already! I like it even though I picture all those cubic miles of needless spinoff toys rotting in a dump in 5 years.

I played it today :)

It’s the best of its genre (and I have tried many promising contenders which are fun in their own right). The level design—especially the sheer difficulty at times—is a magic formula that’s harder than it looks to get right. And they did—for many, many, levels! Great fun, great value, and I like that the same formula has managed to gain a bit more variety over time. No game is for everyone, but I know why so many love this one.

That said... some credit must go to Armor Games’ Crush the Castle (http://appshopper.com/search/?search=crush+the+castle). It was the first of the genre as far as I can tell, several months before Angry Birds. So games that are Angry Birds “clones” or “derivatives” are really, properly speaking, Crush the Castle clones. And I like CtC too! It’s not as good as Angry Birds (often too easy since you can freely choose ammo, and the presentation lacks polish). But the muted color scheme appeals to me more, and something cracks me up about the little enemies (not pigs) and their goofy screams. Also, I like trebuchets, and CtC uses a trebuchet launching mechanism... tricky to master, but pretty fun when you nail the perfect shot! Definitely a different feel, and I’m glad I own both CtC and AB. Also CtC has some pretty neat ammo types (firebombs, acid, some kind of black hole) although you only unlock some of them near the end, sadly. Underused.)

To be clear, I don’t feel that Angry Birds ripped off CtC: AB is very close to CtC in many details (small/large/3-split ammo, enemies to kill in their stacked forts in much the same ways, 3 levels of victory award per level) but it did add a simpler, more precise launching mechanism and lots of worthy evolution of the concept. And after all, CtC itself harks back to the physical game Crossbows and Catapults. So I like AB (and even some other “clones”) but CtC deserves praise for starting the whole phenomenon.