Case Study #1: Angry Birds

 “The largest mobile app success the world has seen so far.”  “One of the great runaway hits of 2010.”  “One of the most mainstream games out right now.”

 The story goes that a designer working for the Rovio company saw the Pixar animation For the Birds and doodled some ideas on the back of an envelope during a lunch-time meeting.  At the time Rovio were close to bankruptcy, but they decided to take a chance on this iPhone app idea and developed Angry Birds.

 First released December 2009  Original version downloaded over 12 million times  All versions downloaded over 2 billion times  Feature film due 2016, (but has been delayed several times)  Originally designed as an iPhone app, but since rewritten in Android and Symbian versions – now available for consoles and PCs  The highest downloaded “freemium” game of all time

 A pricing strategy by which a product or service (typically a digital offering such as software, media, games or web services) is provided free of charge, but money (a premium) is charged for advanced features, functionality or virtual goods.

 Easy to learn and pick up – quick play  Addictive gameplay – engagement / endless interesting levels / achievement  Comical style of design yet high production values  Quality sound and music design  Low price of initial app.  Regular updates / versions to keep concept fresh

 Players use a slingshot to fire birds at pigs who are stationed on or within various structures.  The idea is to destroy all of the pigs and buildings on the playing field within a limited number of attempts.  As players advance through the game levels, new types of bird become available, some with special abilities which can be activated by the player.

 Seasons – originally Hallowe’en and then “holiday” versions  Rio – tie-in for animated film  Space  Star Wars and Star Wars II  Friends  Go! – kart racing  Bad Piggies – spin-off, but so far not hugely successful.

 What makes for user engagement, is adding more detail at just the right time.  Angry Birds’ simple interaction model is easy to learn because it allows the user to quickly develop knowledge about how to play the game, strategy and scoring processes.

The Company

Finland!

Here’s the money!