Angry Birds Rio coming soon

Rovio, the makers of Angry Birds, released a trailer this week showing off a new, upcoming version of their insanely popular Android and iPhone game. The new version is called Angry Birds Rio and is a promotional tie-in with 20th Century Fox's animated movie which will hit theaters in April. The movie (trailer here), is about a blue macaw who travels to Rio de Janeiro to find more of his species.



As for the game, Rovio didn't release any information aside from what's in the trailer, but it's likely to be similar style gameplay as previous versions, but set in Brazil and featuring characters from the movie. Check out the trailer:



Between this version, the upcoming Valentines Day episodes, the board game, and animated TV series, it's clear that Rovio has one of the biggest hits the history of gaming on their hands. The game is promised to arrive in March on "app stores worldwide" which likely means both iPhone and Android versions will be available.

I give Rovio major props for the way they've marketed their game. They've milked it for every dollar they can, while still maintaining customer interest and not damaging the brand. Sure, there are people who have grown tired of the game, but it's still just as popular as it was, both with new gamers, and old. This version should be no different, and the fact that it's tied to a major movie will likely propel it to be another smash hit.

And the movie looks good, too. I admit that I had never even heard of it until I read about the Angry Birds tie-in, so there you go: cross-genre marketing clearly works.

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They're definitely getting their mileage out of this silly little game, that's for sure! I have to admit that the game is crazy addicting, though I haven't played in awhile. The movie looks reasonably cute, and I'm not sure what a TV series would be like, but it'll probably be decent as well. I definitely don't think the angry birds are going anywhere soon!