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Signs of the Times
Installment 2
Angry Birds is feathering its nest with merchandise, heralding a
possible trend among app developers to raise new revenues in oldschool ways.
The Finnish company behind the blockbuster mobile video game
announced a $19.99 (U.S.) cookbook spinoff featuring the evil,
egg-stealing pigs that spurred the wrath of the game’s avians.
The full-colour, hardcover Bad Piggies’ Egg Recipes, set to be
published on Thursday, looks like it flew off the kiddie menu at an
all-day breakfast joint.
Each recipe is illustrated with a villainously green porker. There’s
even a list of “pointless activities” at the back — presumably no
more useful than playing the online game in the first place.
As the original No. 1 game app in the world, Angry Birds has inspired
a huge merchandise catalogue that includes flip flops ($19.99), plush
toys, shoulder bags, phone cases, socks, silk ties ($49.99), a backpack
($79.99) and Halloween costumes sized for the whole family.
Peter Vesterbacka, head of marketing and business development at
Angry Birds’ parent, Rovio Mobile, announced in July that the
Finnish firm would open at least 100 bricks-and-mortar retail outlets
in China, catering exclusively to merchandise.
In the first half of 2011, 300 million people downloaded an Angry
Birds app to their mobile device. Vesterbacka told Shanghai Daily
that he expects 100 million more downloads this year in mainland
China alone.
Merchandise spinoffs have been part of movie and television
marketing campaigns for decades. Branded tchotchkes and costumes
are visible everywhere at hardcore gamers’ fan expos.
So far, however, app developers have been slow to cash in on the
potential to reach out to fans’ wallets with merchandise. Game
app Mignore offers illustrated coffee mugs online. Pocket God
sells a 3-D plastic figurine of its anguished deity. Other arrivals
are pending.
Websites for the Tiny Wings and Cut the Rope game apps point
to the launch of plush toys, but neither has posted any dates.
On Friday, analysts at Berg Insight in Sweden forecast there
would be 98 billion app downloads worldwide by 2015. This
would represent $12 billion in sales directly from app stores that
year.
Angry Birds Merchandise