Angry Birds Space downloaded 10m times in under 72 hours
Angry Birds Space has hit 10 million downloads in three days, making it more popular than the new iPad.
The Angry Birds Space official Twitter account says the spacefaring-sequel has been downloaded an astronomical 10 million times, in less than three days.
As well as demonstrating that enthusiasm for the raging avians and their bacon-flavoured baddies is definitely not on the wane, those figures make Angry Birds Space more than three times as popular as the new iPad, which Apple was only too chuffed to announce had been purchased three million times during its own first three days on sale.
The Angry Birds Space app sees the Angry Birds leaving orbit, battling the egg-thieving pigs in gravity-bending circumstances. Reviews of the game have been positive, with the Guardian awarding four stars out of five, while our sister site GameSpot gifted Rovio's latest effort with an 8 out of 10, calling it a "fresh take on a familiar formula." I've embedded the video review below for your viewing pleasure.
High praise indeed, though GameSpot's review does note that it's a shame you have to pay an extra 69p to unlock an extra set of hardcore levels. That's annoying when you've already forked over 69p for the game, and it's something some customer reviews on the app's iTunes page have complained about.
Paying twice doesn't seem to have hampered downloads however. It certainly won't hurt that Angry Birds Space is available on PC and Mac as well as the more standard iOS and Android platforms. It's headed to Windows Phone too.
In November last year Rovio boasted that the original Angry Birds had been downloaded half a billion times. The game's last big expansion, movie tie-in Angry Birds Rio, hit 10 million downloads 10 days after it was released.
With Angry Birds themed playgrounds expected to arrive in the UK before long, the frighteningly popular app has become inextricably bound up in popular culture, and has spearheaded a wave of popular mobile games that are making life tough for gadgets like the Nintendo 3DS and PlayStation Vita.
What do you think of Angry Birds Space? Are you a massive fan of the fowl-flinging franchise, or is it stealing cash and attention away from 'proper' games? Tell me in the comments below, or over on our Facebook wall.