The Amazon Appstore will offer exclusive downloads for the upcoming Angry Birds Rio game for Android phones.
The new game from Rovio will be released in conjunction with the animated film Rio from Twentieth Century Fox. The deal with Amazon is another extension for Rovio to make money from the world&'s hottest mobile game.
The original Angry Birds mobile game has been a smash hit on the iPhone and Android platforms, with users playing the games for more than 200 million minutes a day. Peter Vesterbacka, head of business development at Rovio, said over the weekend that Angry Birds has been downloaded more than 100 million times and that 30 million of those are on the Android platform.
On the Amazon Appstore, users will also be able to buy ad-free Android versions of Angry Birds and Angry Birds Seasons.
As we noted with the iPhone version of the game, the deal with Twentieth Century Fox means the Angry Birds game will be promoted along with the movie in TV commercials and other marketing. And the bird character Rio will also appear in the new version of the Angry Birds game. The movie releases on April 15.
The Angry Birds Rio game will be released around the world in March. In the game, the original Angry Birds are kidnapped and taken to the magical city of Rio, where they escape their captors and set out to save their friends, Blu and Jewel, two rare macaws who are the stars of the Rio film. There will be hours of game play, physics-based demolition challenges, and twists related to the film. It will have 60 dedicated levels, more than a usual update to the Angry Birds game. It will be available on smartphones and tablets.
Rio itself is a comedy about a rare birda4a4s search for another of his kind in the rainforests of Brazil. He finds one, but they&'re beset by would-be animal smugglers and have to escape. Vesterbacka said that his company is doing other deals as well. It has created Angry Birds plush toys and clothing. A board game is coming out in May.
And Rovio is still talking about doing television shows and movies based on Angry Birds. But he said it takes four years to make a movie. With the Rio deal, Rovio gets the benefit of movie promotion without having to wait a long time.
a4AThe Android platform has seen phenomenal growth, and ita4a4s great that new avenues for app distribution are opening up,a4 said Mikael Hed, chief executive of Rovio. Previously, Rovio gave a 24-hour exclusive to mobile app store GetJar for the launch of the ad-based version of Angry Birds on Android. But the traffic crashed the GetJar store.
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Companies: Amazon, Rovio, Twentieth Century Fox
People: Mikael Hed
Companies: Amazon, Rovio, Twentieth Century Fox
People: Mikael Hed
Dean is lead writer for GamesBeat at VentureBeat. He covers video games, security, chips and a variety of other subjects. Dean previously worked at the San Jose Mercury News, the Wall Street Journal, the Red Herring, the Los Angeles Times, the Orange County Register and the Dallas Times Herald. He is the author of two books, Opening the Xbox and the Xbox 360 Uncloaked. Follow him on Twitter at @deantak, and follow VentureBeat on Twitter at @venturebeat.
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