News

Angry Birds crashing into retail shelves

March 21, 2012

Angry Birds will be flying to retail shelves nationwide, now that the game’s creator Rovio has partnered with a major U.S. retail chain to put its branded toys, books and T-shirts in dedicated areas of thousands of stores, according to the Chicago Tribune.

Although Rovio won’t name the U.S. retailer before the launch, it said it will be larger than its existing partnership with bookseller Barnes & Noble. The launch is set to coincide with the debut later this week of Angry Birds Space, the latest in the series of puzzle games being played for a total of 300 million minutes per day, according to Reuters.

Angry Birds has been downloaded more than 700 million times on tablets, smartphones and desktop computers and is also the fastest-growing game on Facebook. It sees itself as an entertainment brand, not just a games company, said Peter Vesterbacka, Rovio’s CMO.

"We want to make Angry Birds a permanent part of pop culture,"Peter Vesterbacka said in an interview in London, comparing the brand to Sanrio's Hello Kitty or Nintendo's Mario. "We're just getting started."

Rovio also plans to open branded retail stores in China soon.

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