Critical.
Authoritative.
Strategic.
Subscribe to CIO Magazine »

First Angry Birds store slated to open in China

Downloads in China of the Angry Birds game have reached 50 million, according to Rovio

Angry Birds publisher Rovio plans to sell official merchandise around the iconic game by opening its own retail store in China, according to a company official.

Finland-based Rovio is hoping to cash in on the game's popularity as Angry Birds has become the most counterfeited brand in the country, said Peter Vesterbacka, chief marketing officer for the company.

Vesterbacka made the comments at the TechCrunch Disrupt conference in Beijing on Monday. Before speaking to the audience, Vesterbacka brought on stage counterfeit balloons that were manufactured in the shape of Angry Birds characters. He joked that Rovio would steal the idea and begin making its own official Angry Birds balloons.

"Clearly there's a lot of demand for Angry Birds, but also for the physical products," he said. "We want to sell officially licensed products, we are proving there is demand."

Counterfeit Angry Birds products in China have extended to theme parks as well. In September, a Chinese theme park created a real-life Angry Birds game without the company's permission.

Rovio, however, has said it is proud to be the most copied brand in the country and is seeking to tap opportunities in the country. On the gaming side, Rovio aims to get to 100 million downloads in China for its Angry Birds game. It has reached 50 million downloads so far, Vesterbacka said.

To help the company expand in China, Rovio has opened an office in Shanghai in order to localize its products for the country's market. The company has already developed a Chinese version of the Angry Birds game, and is creating merchandise products including a Chinese-language Angry Birds cook book.

"We really want to be more Chinese than a Chinese company," he said. In the past Rovio has said it wants Angry Birds to become the country's biggest entertainment franchise.

Join the CIO Australia group on LinkedIn. The group is open to CIOs, IT Directors, COOs, CTOs and senior IT managers.

References show all

Comments

Post new comment

The content of this field is kept private and will not be shown publicly.
Users posting comments agree to the CIO comments policy.
Login or register to link comments to your user profile, or you may also post a comment without being logged in.
Related Coverage
Related Whitepapers
Latest Stories
Community Comments
Tags: Rovio, games, Mobile games, distribution
Latest Blog Posts
Whitepapers
  • Rapid achievement of employee productivity gains in a modern workforce
    The last few years have seen explosive innovation in the ways that users interact with software applications, resulting in a huge surge in the adoption of tablet, smartphone, and web based social applications. Fortunately there are some simple incremental steps that any organisation can take to transition to a more people centric communications system, while lifting employee productivity. Read more.
    Learn more »
  • Enterprise Buyers Guide for Printers
    Every enterprise owns, and regularly replaces, printers, copiers, multifunctional products and fax machines. The problem most face is not too few choices, but too many. How do you even begin to select the right one? Here is the Computerworld guide to buying a printer for the enterprise.
    Learn more »
  • Advanced Malware Exposed - How advanced malware, zero-day and targeted APT attacks are evading today's network defences
    This handbook shines a light on the dark corners of advanced malware, both to educate as well as to spark renewed efforts against these stealthy and persistent threats. By understanding the tools being used by criminals, we can better defend our nations, our critical infrastructures and our citizens. It is certainly my hope that this book will provide readers with a new understanding of the rapidly developing cyber threat landscape and practical insights into how they can protect their data and computing infrastructures. - Robert F. Lentz, President and CEO, Cyber Security Strategies, LLC
    Learn more »
All whitepapers
rhs_login_lockGet exclusive access to Invitation only events CIO, reports & analysis.
Recent comments