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Today's most popular mobile app is a simple game in which players slingshot wingless birds at green pigs. Even if you've never played Angry Birds yourself, there's a good chance you've found yourself sitting next to someone ...
Today’s most popular mobile app is a simple game in which players slingshot wingless birds at green pigs. Even if you’ve never played Angry Birds yourself, there’s a good chance you’ve found yourself sitting next to someone playing it on their smart phone or tablet computer. The reason these funny-looking birds are so angry is that their eggs have been stolen by the hungry green pigs. It is the player’s job to destroy the pigs by launching a variety of different colored birds at them with a slingshot.
After 500 million downloads, it comes as no surprise that the developers of Angry Birds, Rovio Mobile of Finland, are branching out into other markets. In November of 2011, Rovio opened their first Angry Birds retail store in Helsinki, Finland, where you can buy plush toy versions of the ticked-off birds. Next up in the line of Angry Bird spin-offs are playgrounds based on the game.
The playgrounds, set to open in two Finnish cities so far, will be the first official Angry Birds playgrounds, but one unofficial playground has already opened in China. Last September, Window of the World amusement park in Changsha, Hunan, opened an Angry Birds-themed section as part of a stress-reducing festival. Park visitors relieve themselves of stress by catapulting basketball-sized birds with a giant slingshot at green pig balloons. This Angry Birds playground at Window of the World is just one instance among many in which a Chinese theme park has appropriated characters and images without permission (see our article of the World of Warcraft theme park in China). So far, Rovio doesn’t appear to be taking any legal action against Window of the World, and it has been reported that they may be negotiating with the Chinese theme park to authorize the Angry Birds playground.
Whether or not the Angry Birds playground in China was created legally, it was certainly a good idea and perhaps it inspired Rovio to create their own playgrounds. So far, Rovio has signed a contract with playground manufacturing company, Lappset. It’s not clear yet if the Finnish version of the Angry Birds playground will include the giant slingshots. Reuters reports that Lappset will be creating spring rides, swings, sand pits, and climbing towers, but no mention of the slingshot. There is, however, talk of an Angry Birds arcade game to accompany the playgrounds; but for now, if you need to relieve some stress via a giant slingshot, you’ll have to do it unofficially.
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