The Finnish developer of the hit game, Angry Birds will now launch a new version of that app.
Rovio, the mobile games developer behind Angry Birds, has now signed a deal with Lego that will allow it to create and release several new versions of the app that will be based on the popular building blocks toy.
This is the latest in the Finnish company’s strategy to boost its dwindling licensing business for that game.
The mobile games earnings that Rovio saw last year from its Angry Birds brand dropped by a tremendous 73 percent, as the demand for the app’s images and themes on clothing, toys, and even sweet treats has tumbled downward. The hope is that by teaming up with Lego toys, there will be a new explosion of popularity that will occur at the same time that the full length Angry Birds movie is released in the spring of next year.
It is evident that Rovio is working hard to breathe life into the hottest mobile games it has ever released.
The risk is that the fad for the game app has come and gone, and that the company will need to continue to scramble to release something else that will be equally appealing to consumers in an ever more flooded gaming marketplace.
The Angry Birds game involves the use of a slingshot through which the player launches various types of birds to attack the pigs who have stolen their eggs. While it remains the top paid mobile app of all time, its novelty is rapidly worn away and mobile device users are looking through the various app marketplaces for newer opportunities to play. Rovio has been struggling to create new hit games and has been relying heavily on the licensing of its top hit for its revenues.
The company is hopeful that the mobile games partnership with Lego and the release of next year’s 3D movie will help to boost its licensed toy business. Recently, it had been forced to slash about 14 percent of its workforce, which was around 110 jobs, as a result of the dwindling earnings that it has been seeing when compared to previous years.
The new Fusion series will not only feature the highly popular Lego kits, but they will be in digital form.
When the fall arrives, this year, a completely new Lego kits series will have been released and it will use augmented reality to move the designs and constructions of a creator – young or not so young – out of the physical world and into the digital one.
This new series will be called Lego Fusion and it is already generating massive hype.
Simply said, the augmented reality Lego looks extremely cool! While the actual use of AR technology for a game is nothing new, particularly for children, mobile app developers are always coming up with new and unique ways to produce an interesting and attractive experience. Another example of a game that combines the real and digital worlds for a children’s toy experience is with Hot Wheels. They use a tablet to be able to enhance their racetracks with some spectacular visual effects to go along with the racing experience of the toy vehicles.
It isn’t just toy companies releasing augmented reality apps for a new entertainment experience.
For example, McDonald’s – the fast food chain – has previously launched their own AR game, alongside their new mascot (often labeled as creepy or even terrifying). However, when it comes to the game experience as a whole, it looks as though Lego has seriously stepped things up from its predecessors.
The Lego Fusion series will be making its way to stores in August and in September. It is iPad compatible and gives the user the ability to create a three dimensional building out of a single wall, and to allow players to be able to bring their characters and their environments to life in massive battle scenes on their living room floors.
So far, there are four games that have been confirmed as a part of the upcoming Lego Fusion series. They are Create and Race, Battle Towers, Town Master, and Resort Designer. Though there hasn’t been a great deal of detail provided regarding each specific game, the names do make it clear what their themes will be.
These augmented reality games will rely on special cards for positioning the camera, and then the user can simply begin building and playing.
