The Angry Birds is to Rovio much like the Mario Brothers are to Nintendo. Without a flagship product, neither company can be widely successful. Nintendo can survive because it has a huge product line which is not limited to Mario, Zelda or Donkey Kong. They have many other video games and products to carry this company forward but what about Rovio?
With no surprise, Rovio is copying Nintendo. They are taking these flightless birds and making them mobile with Angry Birds Go! (due out on December 11). Last month had this company release a new iteration of Angry Birds Star Wars II which hardly looked all that exciting.
In what looks like a Mario Cart clone, the next iteration will get these pigs and birds racing. In this case, it’s a downhill racing game and a few unique features will keep this concept fresh. Hasbro’s Telepods toys will allow players to “teleport” new karts into the game. But not everyone will be waving the flag in the end.
Some fans want to see Rovio develop new ideas than to see rehashes of old ideas. They should let the birds take flight and develop a brand new idea.
This company does have other properties that they created games for, but those titles may be one hit wonders. The Croods and Amazing Alex are the only two licensed items featured on Rovio’s website, and there is no sign of any other ideas being offered or listed as in development. To have a company bank on only one property to continue its success is dangerous. Eventually there will come to be a time where the Angry Birds will no longer be popular.
Now this is something entirely out of left field, Al Pacino as Han Solo. Who would’ve thought that instead of Harrison Ford, who made famous the role of the likeable rogue in the 1977 film