angry birds

Report: Rovio funding talks suggest $1.2B valuation

Angry Birds has been a breakout success for Finnish developer Rovio, and a new report says the company is considering capitalizing on that by taking a strategic investment that would put its value at around $1.2 billion.

Citing two people with knowledge of private discussions, Bloomberg reported today that Rovio is in investment talks with "a company in the entertainment business," who's looking to get a piece of the action.

In early March, Rovio announced that it secured $42 million in funding as part of a Series A round led by venture capital firms Accel Partners … Read more

Angry Birds through the seasons

Angry Birds Seasons lets you play the popular birds vs. pigs game, but with themes that match every season. You can play among jack-o'-lanterns and white-sheet ghosts in the fall; snowmen and Santa-capped pigs during the winter; or brightly colored eggs and bunny hats when it gets close to Easter. You can play whichever season you want right away--you won't need to unlock every level in order to unlock new themed worlds. With that said, the gameplay is no different than you've come to expect with Angry Birds, but maybe that's a good thing--most people love … Read more

The 404 879: Where we remember, remember (podcast)

Today we're exploring the trend of digital vigilantes (aka digilantes) taking to the Internet for crowdsourced criminal identification and cyberjustice. The most recent example is the hacker collective known as Anonymous' YouTube video threatening to take down Facebook on November 5, otherwise known as Guy Fawkes Day.

We'll also fill you in on the London police toying with facial recognition technology on Facebook to identify looters caught on camera, yesterday's 5,000 percent spike in blunt weapons sales on Amazon.co.uk, and a woman who used an airplane to wag a giant finger at Wall Street.

The 404 Digest for Episode 879

Anonymous: Facebook's going down November 5. Will London's police officials turn to Facebook's facial recognition technology to fight crime? Sales of aluminum bats are up more than 5,000 percent on Amazon.co.uk. The USB toothbrush: Philips' device is the "iPod of toothbrushes." Angry Birds makes it onto the cover of Mad Magazine. Airplane banner circles Wall Street: "Thanks For The Downgrade. You Should All Be Fired"

Episode 879 Subscribe in iTunes (audio) | Subscribe in iTunes (video) | Subscribe in RSS Audio | Subscribe in RSS Video… Read more

Rovio to offer Angry Birds baby merchandise

The success of Rovio's Angry Birds franchise is pushing creator Rovio into new areas of business, soon to include game-themed gear for babies.

Reuters reports that developer Rovio is planning a lineup of baby blankets and clothes made by SwaddleDesigns that will feature Angry Birds art.

The new offering will join Rovio's existing lineup of wearable merchandise, which includes flip flops, shoulder bags, and backpacks. The company also sells plush toys, iPhone cases, and stationary kits aimed at those in school.

The sales of products like these has turned into a big business for Rovio, with Reuters reporting sales of some 7 million Angry Birds toys since the company began offering them late last year. In an interview with the news outlet, Ville Heijari, Rovio's vice president of franchise development, said merchandise is "one of the fastest growing parts of the company."

Related: The unofficial Angry Birds bra … Read more

Angry Birds get bodacious on bra

In the grand tradition of Crave stories about brassieres, we bring you the Angry Birds bra. There isn't much more to say about this one, except...it's an Angry Birds bra!

As you'll note from the picture, a red bird adorns one cup and a green pig covers the other--and hopefully they don't go at it too much or things could get a bit uncomfortable for the wearer. The bra comes in a range of levels sizes, and despite being handpainted, it's washable.

Crafts site Etsy lists the $35 garment as sold as of today, but the maker, Etsy member SceeneShoes, takes orders for custom-painted goods. So, all you Angry Birds fans in need of an uplift, you can get one too.

SceeneShoes' other creations include adorable Mario and Luigi and Sonic and Tails shoes, so we're betting she can finagle just about any manner of geek undergarment. WoW lingerie anyone? … Read more

S.F. bakery goes whole hog with Angry Birds tribute

I was out for a walk with my son this weekend when he stopped me, gobsmacked, in front of the bakery. "Dada! Look! An Angry Birds...cake."

So I called Michael Gassen, the owner of Noe Valley Bakery, and asked him why, and for whom, he had built the giant and clearly fragile construction in his store window. "I love Angry Birds," he said. "I'm kind of obsessed with it."

Thinking it'd be "awesome" to build a 3D Angry Birds, he gathered "a couple of people," and took about three days to build the cake out of rolled fondant and gum paste. There are a minimum number of structural aids (dowels and toothpicks), "to avoid surprises," should anyone actually want to eat it.

He says the cake would cost about $750 if anyone wanted to buy it, but that it wasn't created for a customer. It'll keep indefinitely, because the bakers added drying agents to the ingredients. It is edible "and actually tastes pretty good," he says, but less so with each passing day. … Read more

Angry Birds maker slingshots into China

Angry Birds maker Rovio is witnessing strong growth in China and is expanding operations there to capitalize on it.

The company announced today it has opened corporate and marketing operations in China that will aid its plans to develop titles for Chinese users. To kick things off, Rovio in September will be launching the "Moon Festival" episode of Angry Birds Seasons to coincide with the country's Mid-Autumn Festival. Moon Festival will also be available to Rovio's users outside of China.

To help embed itself in the Chinese market, Rovio is creating "Angry Birds-themed moon cakes,&… Read more

Angry Birds maker targeted in Lodsys suit

Lodsys, a group that's targeted companies big and small for infringing on its patents, has added five new defendants to a suit it filed back in May, including Electronic Arts and Rovio, the maker of the popular Angry Birds franchise.

In an amended complaint (PDF), filed today with the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas and picked up by patent-tracking blog Foss Patents, Lodsys has added a number of gaming heavyweights including Atari, Electronic Arts, Rovio, Square Enix, and Take-Two Interactive to the list of companies it says are violating patents it holds. That brings … Read more

Roku officially unveils new game-enabled video players

Roku is updating its lineup of streaming video boxes with a trio of new products for 2011. The new models add Wii-like casual gaming, controlled by a new Bluetooth motion remote. The ubiquitous Angry Birds is the debut Roku title, and it's included for free with the flagship $100 Roku box.

The news of fresh Rokus confirms weeks of rumors and FCC leaks that had surfaced earlier on Engadget and Zatz Not Funny.

The new game-enabled boxes are known as the Roku 2 line--a particularly curious name, since it's the third or fourth incarnation of the streaming-media box (depending on how you count) that first debuted in May 2008. Truth in numbering notwithstanding, the new models carry over the basic functions of the existing Roku line, with more than 250 streaming media channels (including Netflix, Hulu Plus, Amazon Instant, MLB, NHL, NBA, UFC, and dozens of others), HD video, and built-in Wi-Fi support. The tiny enclosures are smaller even than archrival Apple TV--just 3.3-inch square, and less than an inch high. … Read more