Rovio "betting everything" on Angry Birds
Wants to be first brand with a billion fans.
Angry Birds developer Rovio is betting all its chips on its phenomenally successful smartphone series, according to CEO Peter Vesterbacka.
Speaking at the Casual Connect conference in Seattle, as reported by Gamasutra, Vesterbacka explained that the Finnish developer was unlikely to replicate the game's success with a future title so intended to put all its weight behind Angry Birds.
"Game makers buy into their own bulls***," he said. "You think you can make hit after hit. We know how hard it is to do that, so we are betting everything on Angry Birds."
Elsewhere in the talk, Vesterbacka announced that Rovio's aim was for Angry Birds to become "the first entertainment brand with a billion fans," estimating that goal could be reached in "two or three years." AS of last month, the game has been downloaded 250 million times.
VP of franchise development Ville Heijari told Eurogamer earlier this week that Rovio hoped to spin the franchise off into multiple movies.
The merchandising empire is also expanding beyond plush toys and T-shirts, with a cookbook titled Bad Piggies Secret Egg Recipes also in the works.