angry birds

FarmVille, virtual guns, and Angry Birds helped drive a slight increase in total video game spending in the first quarter, according to NPD Group.

The market researcher said today that gamers poured $5.9 billion into hardware, content, and accessories in the period, a 1.5 percent increase from a year ago. The main catalysts include digital game downloads, mobile games, downloadable content, and social network games.

The new forms of content accounted for $1.85 billion in the period, underscoring the growing importance of games on smartphones and social networks.

The increase comes as Wedbush Securities analyst Michael Pachter … Read more

Cut the Rope is an inventive, addictive, and extremely polished arcade puzzler, in which you interact with increasingly complex, physics-based puzzles to get a piece of candy into the mouth of a cute monster named Om Nom.

Cut the Rope's interface starts out simple: you just swipe your finger to cut a rope, which drops an attached piece of candy into Om Nom's mouth. Soon, you're cutting multiple ropes (occasionally more than one at a time), trying to maneuver the plummeting piece of candy to pass over stars on its way to Om Nom (between one and … Read more

When you're not busy playing Angry Birds, you can check out the new GMC Showroom Mobile App from GM.

With the GMC app you can see the latest models in a virtual showroom and explore vehicle photos or videos to configure a GMC vehicle to your specifications.

The app is currently available for free for the iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch through the Apple App Store. It will also be available for the Android through the Android Market by the end of July, GM said in a press release.

With the app, customers will be able to check do … Read more

If you haven't updated your apps lately, there's a nice surprise awaiting you in the App Store: Angry Birds Seasons 1.5.1. (Note: That link is for iTunes. Android users can find the game in Android Market.)

Instead of a holiday-themed update, this one actually involves a season: Rovio has added 30 new levels (twice as many as in most previous updates) under the banner "Summer Pignic."

If you're even the least bit familiar with the game (and who on the planet isn't?), you know that these seasonal updates have been arriving steadily.… Read more

After a long wait, Windows Phone 7 owners can now get their hands on Angry Birds.

The phenomenally popular game, which lets users slingshot angry birds through obstacles to attack pigs, is available for $2.99 to U.S. Windows Phone 7 owners. It's also available internationally. To let users get a feel for the game before buying, developer Rovio is offering a free trial.

The Windows Phone 7 price on Angry Birds might surprise iPhone and Android handset owners. The game is currently available in Apple's App Store for just 99 cents. In the Android Market, users can download a free, ad-supported version of Angry Birds.

Angry Birds has taken a long road to get to Windows Phone 7. Last fall, Microsoft posted a Web site for its Windows Phone 7 platform that included an Angry Birds icon, indicating the game was coming to handsets at launch. However, Rovio quickly responded on its Twitter feed, saying that it had "not committed to doing a Windows Phone 7 version" of Angry Birds. It went on to say that "Microsoft put the Angry Birds icon on their site without our permission."

Microsoft responded, saying the Angry Birds icon was mistakenly added to the site, and took it down.

Following the spat, Microsoft announced in February that Angry Birds would arrive on its mobile platform in "late spring." However, last month, WinRumors reported that the game was delayed from its original May 25 launch date to June 29.

Earlier this month, Rovio partnered with Roku in a deal that will see Angry Birds, Angry Birds Seasons, and Angry Birds Rio come to Roku's Channel Store. The games will be available in new Roku hardware launching this summer.… Read more

Angry Birds Rio is the surprisingly good game tie-in to the animated movie "Rio." While many co-branded marketing vehicles show signs of slipshod shoehorning, Angry Birds Rio expands on the core Angry Birds mechanic while adding some twists and improvements we hope will, ahem, migrate their way into the main game.

Fans of the titanically popular Angry Birds series will find the same basic interface and gameplay--but instead of crushing pigs, your avian assault team is freeing other birds imprisoned by smugglers, taking out menacing monkeys, and presumably doing other things as more chapters are added. (The game … Read more

CNET's Declan McCullagh reports that Google's access point sniffing ways may also be slurping up Mac address information on mobile phones and laptops ... and can be used to track your information. This is sewious. Also, Pandora's IPO is bubblicious, we go deep inside the psychology of Apple's retail experience, and smell-o-vision coming to a TV near you. Geez, Tong, what are you eating!?

You can play Angry Birds on your tablet, phone, or Web browser. You can cover your mobile device with an Angry Birds case. There is a board game. T-Mobile created a life-size version. There may even be an Angry Birds movie on the horizon.

In case you haven't reached Angry Birds saturation, you will soon be able to pick up some officially licensed Angry Birds speakers from Gear4. The speakers come in the shapes of Red Bird ($89.99), Helmet Pig ($119.99), and Black Bird ($129.99) and should hit stores in September.

Red Bird works with a 3.5mm cable and includes a stand for a music player or tablet. Helmet Pigs comes equipped with an iPod/iPhone dock on the top of its head. Black Bird's stand includes a dock that will also charge your iPad.

The obvious use for these speakers is to amplify your Angry Birds gaming experience. Just resist the temptation to pick up your Red Bird speaker and fling it at the Helmet Pig speaker. … Read more

If you're wondering what the possible Angry Birds movie might look like, T-Mobile has put together a life-size version of the hit game with projectile birdies, explosions, and all.

In the T-Mobile promo below, players walk up to a booth, pick up a smartphone, and play the game while a real-life replica recreates the action.

The ad is carefully scripted and incorporates computer effects, but it gives you an idea of what Angry Birds might be like in the real world. It's easier than playing with the board game and plush toys.

The shooting apparently took place in Terrassa near Barcelona; you can see how they did it in a behind-the-scenes video here.

I would have liked to see real catapults, but I'm glad they didn't use real birds and pigs. … Read more