Less angry?
Rovio's ‘mighty eagle' Peter Vesterbacka reckons console games are ‘dying' and seemed desperate to bury the term ‘casual gamers' when speaking at South by South West Interactive.
Vesterbacka, one of the blokes behind Angry Birds, predicted doom and gloom for console video games according to Venture Beat in a somewhat unsurprising move, given that the console camp and social gaming businesses now seem to be pitted against one another.
Vesterbacka reportedly ridiculed the $40 price tag for console titles and noted that he did not understand how firms could charge so much as the games are ‘difficult to upgrade'.
Interestingly Nokia's Tero Ojanpera came to the defence of console games as he apparently said gamers will not be plugging tablets into their TVs very soon so the appeal of the console will continue to thrive.
Commentators have also reported that Vesterbacka seemed keen to bury the ‘casual gamer' tag reserved for those that play gaming apps on their phones or via social networks. He apparently believes that people can be as passionate about social games they play on their mobiles as they are by big console releases.
While Vesterbacka reportedly admitted that there is no long-term roadmap and business model for social gaming, of which Angry Birds is a part, he did say that he believes there is still a business opportunity using Rovio's model.
Indeed, it would appear that the moneymen agree as Rovio has scooped $42m in venture capital to build on its Angry empire, CNN reported.
Angry Birds has apparently been downloaded over 100 million times and Rovio has recently confirmed the game is set to come to Facebook in April with a film due out soon too.
Vesterbacka echoed previous talk that spin-offs are in the pipeline and reportedly said: "We're going to expand the franchise in a lot if directions, so we're working on the movie side, broadcast, TV. We're of course looking at the whole online social experience. We are working on a game that will involve Facebook...really the plan is to make Angry Birds playable everywhere."
Richard Wong of Accel Partners, who led the firm's investment in Rovio, told the news service: "I think it's pretty clear that this is an unbelievable consumer phenomenon. We believe it can be an incredible consumer franchise beyond just being a mobile game."
Rovio has apparently sold 2 million birdy plush toys before the film is even out and its clothing line isn't doing badly either.
Vesterbacka said part of the game's success was down to timing.
He reportedly said: "Timing-wise, we sort of planned it. We saw it coming. We were looking at the market and we saw this is now the sweet spot to get in."
He also attributed the game's success to its contageous nature. "It's easy to pick up and very addictive...very hard to put down," he reportedly added.
