WebProNews

Tag: Angry Birds

  • New ‘Angry Birds’ Cartoons to Star Pigs, Pink Bird

    Rovio, the developer behind the Angry Birds franchise, today announced that it will produce new cartoon series for its ToonsTV channel. The new content will show up sometime during 2014. The ToonsTV channel, which appears in Angry Birds games and some streaming platforms, will also air what Rovio is calling “a range of high-quality 3rd party content.

    The news comes as Rovio also announced one billion views for ToonsTV, which has only been around for just over six months. The channel is yet another way the Rovio has expanded its Angry Birds franchise into new media and merchandising areas. The developer is bankrolling the video content through advertising partners such as Sony, which got one million views in one week for a Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2 preview posted to ToonsTV.

    The new planned cartoons from Rovio will include a series focused on the “Bad Piggies” and another focused on the pink angry bird (named Stella). A second season of Angry Birds Toons is also planned. In addition, in 2014 ToonsTV will premiere a new cartoon from Stan Lee called Chakra the Invincible, as well as “shorts, specials, and series” from Hasbro Studios (perhaps some Transformers content?). Shows also coming to ToonsTV include National Geographic Kids’ Amazing Animals, Fraggle Rock, and series such as Space Goofs from Xilam Animation.

    “We are extremely excited about the positive reception from our fans with the original Angry Birds Toons series,” said Mikael Hed, CEO of Rovio. “Given the size of our reach and our massively engaged audience, it seemed only natural to extend beyond our own storytelling and partner with the best content creators to bring our fans even more fun entertainment. Bringing delightful, long-lasting and memorable stories to the world in a meaningful way is at the heart of what we do at Rovio, and ToonsTV is a perfect example of our core promise to our fans.”

  • ‘Angry Birds Star Wars 2’ Released One Day Early

    Though Angry Birds Star Wars 2 had an official release date of September 19 (tomorrow), Rovio this morning began teasing fans with the prospect of an early release for the game. The developer used its social media channels in an almost taunting way to string fans along.

    Now, Rovio has made good on its implicit promise and released Angry Birds Star Wars 2 one day early. The game, oddly, showed up in the Windows Phone app store hours ago, and has now become available for iOS through Apple’s App Store and Android through the Google Play store. The app costs $0.99 on every platform.

    Post by Angry Birds.

    As the sequel to last year’s hit Angry Birds Star Wars, the game brings more than 30 Star Wars characters into the Angry Birds universe, represented as either birds or (in the case of “bad guys”) pigs. The game also allows players to step into the shoes of Star Wars’ dark pork-sided characters, such as Darth Vader, Emperor Palpatine, and Darth Maul.

    Also, the sequel has brought plenty of branding opportunities for Rovio. In addition to the new t-shirt and plushies that will undoubtedly be released in the coming months, Angry Birds Star Wars 2 includes a Skylanders-like “telepods” system that enables players to transfer plastic figurine toys into digital in-game characters.

  • Early ‘Angry Birds Star Wars 2’ Release Teased by Rovio

    For over two months now, Angry Birds Star Wars 2 has been set to release on September 19. Today, just one day away from the official release date, developer Rovio is now teasing Angry Birds fans with the prospect of an early release of the game. The cruelty began with the Angry Birds Twitter account implying that using the hashtag #JoinThePorkSide could unlock the game early:

    That was followed quickly by the announcement that two Twitter fans had actually won codes to unlock the game early, though exactly how early they get to play wasn’t revealed.

    The taunting even showed up on the Angry Birds Facebook page, where Rovio challenged its over 25 million Facebook fans to keep a post’s “likes” to only 2 for an early release. Of course, the post now has tens of thousands of likes, and hundreds of comments from angry Angry Birds fans who can actually read:

    Post by Angry Birds.

    Finally, after already teasing today’s new character trailers (Darth Vader and Sith apprentice Anakin), Rovio uploaded yet another video to its YouTube account. Titled “Angry Birds Star Wars 2 – out sooner than you think…,” it features the porcine version of Darth Vader beat-boxing:

    None of this proves that Rovio is actually going to release Angry Birds Star Wars 2 early. It would be awfully cruel, however, for the developer to lead its millions of fans on in such a fashion.

  • Darth Vader, Sith Anakin Revealed For ‘Angry Birds Star Wars 2’

    Darth Vader, Sith Anakin Revealed For ‘Angry Birds Star Wars 2’

    Only one more day until the official release of Angry Birds Star Wars 2. Developer Rovio has spent the last two weeks teasing both well-known and bit-part Star Wars characters from the original movies and the prequels. Today Rovio release what are, presumably, the last two character teaser videos for the Angry Birds Star Wars sequel.

    The first is yet another version of Anakin Skywalker, who has already had Jedi padawan and podracer versions announced. Sith apprentice Anakin, complete with scar, will use dark-side force powers to cause havoc among blocks and birds:

    While the second tease of the day is also technically another Anakin version, the character is better known by another name. Darth Vader will, of course, be a part of Angry Birds Star Wars 2, using the same dark force powers that the Sith apprentice version of Anakin does:

  • Darth Maul Will be in ‘Angry Birds Star Wars 2’

    There are only two more days until the release of Angry Birds Star Wars 2, and developer Rovio is still teasing new characters for the game. For the past two weeks, Star Wars characters ranging from General Grievous to Jar Jar Binks have been previewed.

    Today Rovio introduced Darth Maul to the Angry Birds Star Wars franchise. The Sith apprentice will, of course, use his double-bladed lightsaber to slice through just about anything in his way. Darth Maul actually got two separate teaser trailers today, one with gameplay and the other a silly animated introduction:

    The only other character announcement today is a generic Battle Droid, like the ones seen in the Star Wars prequels. It uses a simple blaster to cause havoc and also has a short float maneuver:

  • General Grievous Teased For ‘Angry Birds Star Wars 2’

    For weeks now, developer Rovio has been teasing dozens of new and old characters for its upcoming Angry Birds Star Wars sequel. Even Jar Jar Binks has been included in Angry Birds Star War 2. The latest characters to be unveiled should please fans of the original Star Wars and the prequels alike.

    General Grievous, one of the villains from Star Wars Episode 3: Revenge of the Sith, will be included in the new game. Grievous will, of course, use his multiple lightsabers to cause havoc against the birds:

    Hairy Wookie Chewbacca will also be back for the Angry Birds Star Wars sequel. He appears to have changed little from the first title, using his bulk as a stand-in for the regular Angry Birds series’ “Big Brother” bird:

  • New Angry Birds Space Levels Released

    New Angry Birds Space Levels Released

    For the past few weeks, Angry Birds developer Rovio has been touting its upcoming Angry Birds Star Wars 2. New features, settings, and dozens of new and updated characters have been teased. While promoting the sequel Rovio even found time to introduce some all-new levels to the original Angry Birds Star Wars. Now, Rovio is proving that it doesn’t abandon its old games by releasing new levels for Angry Birds Space.

    The new “Cosmic Crystals” update is now out for Angry Birds Space. The content includes entire “crystal” planets that can break into pieces, destroying their gravity wells in the process. There are 35 new levels in total, including a Space Eagle and Eggsteroids level. Rovio even teased a climactic boss battle against a “crazy mutant Space Pig.”

    A short trailer for the new levels has also been released. It shows how the crystalline planets can be broken apart to cause havoc and take on the pigs that sometime hide in them:

  • New Angry Birds Star Wars Endor Levels Released

    We’re only one week away now from the launch of Angry Birds Star Wars 2. Developer Rovio has teased new Star Wars locations for the game and dozens of characters from both the original movie and the prequels. However, Rovio also made it clear today that it will not be abandoning the original Angry Birds Star Wars.

    Thirty new levels were released today for Angry Birds Star Wars. The new content takes place on the moon Endor, where the final battle in Return of the Jedi takes place. The content will feature storm troopers, AT-ST walker, and, of course, Ewoks. In addition, players will be able to use Ewok drums to bounce their birds around the new stages, and wooden Ewok traps will pay homage to Return of the Jedi.

    The new Endor levels are available to download starting today. A trailer for the stages put out by Rovio provides a look at the new content and also gives a few hints:

  • ‘Angry Birds Star Wars 2’: More Villains Join The Roster

    In the past two weeks, developer Rovio has revealed more than 20 playable characters for Angry Birds Star Wars 2. Everyone from Emperor Palpatine himself to Jar Jar Binks will be flinging themselves toward both birds and pigs starting next week. But Rovio still isn’t done announcing playable characters.

    Today’s lineup reveals bring us back to the dark side, with a few more Star Wars villains for players to use. First up is Count Dooku, former Jedi Master and Sith apprentice to Emperor Palpatine. His pig character uses a boomerang lightsaber throw:

    Another prequel villain featured in Angry Birds Star Wars 2 will be Jango Fett. The bounty hunter is the genetic model for the clone army and the father of more popular bounty hunter Boba Fett. His in-game incarnation uses missiles to wreak havoc:

    The last of today’s announced characters are two storm trooper varieties. One is a classic stormtrooper in pig form that uses a flurry of inaccurate blaster shots to take down avian jawas. The other is a biker scout stormtrooper, as featured on the moon Endor in Return of the Jedi. He uses a speeder bike in a way similar to the podracing Anakin character:

  • Podracing Anakin Joins ‘Angry Birds Star Wars 2’ Cast

    For the past two weeks, Rovio has announced over a dozen characters that will appear in the upcoming Angry Birds Star Wars 2. Some have been classic, returning characters, while others have been controversial characters from the prequels. Some have even been dark-side characters, which are also playable in the game.

    Today Rovio is back at it with another four teaser videos for new characters. The most notable is Anakin Skywalker, who will get at least two different versions in the game. The Jedi padawan version is much the same as Luke, using his lightsaber to cut through obstacles. The “podracer” version of Anakin will actually ride in a podracer, using the vehicle to steer around obstacles:

    Everyone’s favorite protocol droid, C3P0, makes his return in the Angry Birds Star Wars sequel. His appearance hasn’t changed much since the first game, and he still breaks apart to inflict torment on the pigs:

    Captain Panaka joins Zam Wesell and other bit-part prequel characters in Angry Birds Star War 2. Panaka was the head of the Royal Security Forces on the planet Naboo in Episode 1. He fires a triple-laser blaster at the pigs:

  • Yoda, Qui-Gon Coming to ‘Angry Birds Star Wars 2’

    Angry Birds developer Rovio today announced yet another set of characters for the upcoming Angry Birds Star Wars 2. Last week, everyone from Mace Windu to Jar Jar Binks was announced as a playable character for the game. This week’s first announcement involves several returning Star Wars characters and one memorable Jedi from the prequels.

    Qui-Gon Jinn, a young Obi-Wan Kenobi’s mentor in Star Wars Episode II: The Phantom Menace, will be included in the next Angry Birds game. The Jedi master will once again be second-guessing the Jedi Council’s wishes, bringing his green lightsaber to bear against the pig Empire:

    Jedi master Yoda will also be a playable character for the first time. His teaser video shows that he will use his force powers to bounce around stages, destroying everything in sight with his lightsaber:

    Princess Leia and R2-D2 will be returning for the Angry Birds Star Wars sequel. Similar to her mother, Leia will fire pink tractor beams to disrupt pig-built structures. R2-D2 has gotten upgraded shock powers:

    (Image courtesy Rovio)

  • Mace Windu, Amidala Teased For ‘Angry Birds Star Wars 2’

    Throughout the week, Angry Birds developer Rovio has been teasing the new cast of the upcoming Angry Birds Star War 2. A lineup of villains led by Emperor Palpatine were announced on Monday, and Jar Jar Binks led the second reveal on Wednesday.

    Today, Rovio has revealed another four characters that will appear in Angry Birds Star Wars 2. Yet another version of Luke Skywalker will join the already-announced Jedi Luke and Endor Luke for the sequel. Pilot Luke will wield his father’s lightsaber to take out the menacing pigs:

    Obi-Wan Kenobi will be returning with his force push powers, but this time as the younger version of the character from the Star Wars prequel movies:

    Two other characters from the prequels will be joining Obi-Wan. Princess (Padme) Amidala will kill enemy pigs using a pink multi-beam blaster, and Jedi Master Mace Windu will fling his purple lightsaber across the screen to destroy pig-build structures:

    (Image courtesy Rovio)

  • ‘Angry Birds Star Wars 2’ Will Have Jar Jar Binks

    Having burned through the main cast of Star Wars heroes in Angry Birds Star Wars, Rovio is now digging deep for new characters for the upcoming Angry Birds Star Wars 2. The developer earlier this week announced a few of the dark-side playable characters that will show up in the sequel, including the Emperor, a generic TIE fighter pilot, and bounty hunter Zam Wesell (from Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones).

    Today, Rovio revealed several new light-side characters for the game, including the infamous Jar Jar Binks and two different versions of Luke Skywalker. That’s right. Jar Jar Binks will be a playable character in Angry Birds Star Wars 2. The new teaser trailer for the awkward Naboo native shows that he will use his tongue to pick up and fling objects:

    In addition to the potentially-offensive Binks, two new versions of Luke Skywalker were revealed. One is Luke dressed for his jaunt on the surface of Endor in Return of the Jedi, and the other features luke in Jedi robes with extra lightsaber talents. Han Solo’s return appearance in the sequel has been teased in a new video as well:

    In perhaps the oddest announcement about Angry Birds Star Wars 2 yet, Rovio has put an unnamed Jedi Younglings into their game:

    (Image courtesy Rovio)

  • New ‘Angry Birds Star Wars 2’ Characters Revealed

    Last week, Rovio finally got around to revealing a bit about the upcoming Angry Birds Star Wars 2. The Angry Birds developer got Star Wars actor Ian McDiarmid to help tease the game in a rather silly spoof of Emperor Palpatine.

    Now, three new playable characters for Angry Birds Star Wars 2 have been revealed. All of the characters are a part of the dark “pork” side of the force in this version of Star Wars. The first is a TIE fighter pilot that has the ability to shoot double laser blasts:

    The next two reveals are pulls from the prequel movies. One is Zam Wesell, a bounty hunter/would-be assassin featured in Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones. She uses a grappling hook to fling items around and cause destruction in-game. The other is the Droideka, one of those rolling battle droids featured near the beginning of Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace. It can bounce around Angry Birds levels to cause mayhem.

    One more video was released, previewing the already-announced Emperor Palpatine. The Emperor, of course, uses force lightning to subdue rebel scum:

    (Image courtesy Rovio)

  • Angry Birds Star Wars 2 Preview Teases Porcine Palpatine

    The release of Angry Birds Star Wars 2 is now less than a month away. Despite the game’s obvious appeal and merchandising opportunities, Rovio has not heavily promoted the game since its announcement one month ago.

    Today, though, Angry Birds developer Rovio has finally begun to preview what is probably the most anticipated mobile game of this year. A new trailer for Angry Birds Star War 2 has been released, featuring the emperor himself, in pig form:

    For those who couldn’t tell, Rovio and LucasArts actually went out and got Ian McDiarmid (Emperor Palpatine from the Star Wars movies) to voice the pig Emperor. The actor signed a few special “Join the Pork Side” posters that will be given away to followers of the Angry Birds Twitter account. A new behind-the-scenes video featuring McDiarmid has also been released:

    Rovio has announced that the Emperor teaser is one of many videos on the way featuring the “over 30” Star Wars characters that will be depicted in Angry Birds Star Wars 2. The next will come on Monday, and the rest will lead up to the game’s September 19 release date. The game will cost $1 and will be coming to iOS, Android, and Windows Phone mobile devices.

    (Image courtesy Rovio)

  • Rovio’s ‘Bad Piggies’ Gets an Update and Grappling Hook

    Though Rovio’s core business is promoting and merchandising its Angry Birds franchise, the spinoff mobile game Bad Piggies is also getting some support this week. Bad Piggies was released last fall and became an instant hit, though the app hasn’t had the staying power of the Angry Birds games. Instead of mindlessly launching birds, Bad Piggies tasks players with constructing simple machines to transport the green pigs through maze-like levels. Previous updates to the game include the “Flight in the Night” and “Road Hogs” updates.

    The new update is called “Rise & Swine,” and features 30 new levels, a new time-challenge level, and a new sandbox level. Also included are new power-ups such as super glue, magnets, and turbo charges. The power-ups can be earned by feeing the King Pig various foods that can be found within the levels. A new “Super Mechanic” item will also debut in the update, providing players with a “perfect” machine for a given level.

    A new tool has also been included in the update. As seen in the update teasers below, the grappling hook can connect to any surface to swing the pigs around:

  • Angry Birds Star Wars Coming to Consoles This Fall

    While mobile devices will be getting the new Angry Birds Star Wars II this fall, consoles will finally be getting the original Angry Birds Star Wars as well.

    Rovio, the developer behind the Angry Birds series, today announced that Angry Birds Star Wars will be coming to consoles on October 29 (November 1 for Europe). The game will be released on all current consoles, including Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PlayStation Vita, Wii, Nintendo 3DS, and Wii U. Retail boxed copies will be available in stores.

    “Downloaded more than 100 million times since its release last year, Angry Birds Star Wars melds together two of the biggest names in pop-culture entertainment for an out of this galaxy gaming experience,” said Jami Laes, EVP of Games at Rovio Entertainment. “Angry Birds and Star Wars are franchises with millions of fans around the world and we’re excited to partner with Activision to bring the marriage of these beloved properties to gamers everywhere this holiday season.”

    Rovio stated that Angry Birds Star Wars has been “remastered” for consoles. It now includes a 2-player cooperative multiplayer mode and a 2- to 4-player competitive multiplayer mode. The console version will also have 20 new exclusive levels and some unnamed “bonus content.”

  • Angry Birds Star Wars II Launches September 19

    Are you one of the millions of players that enjoyed Angry Birds Star Wars? Do you have an affinity for the Star Wars prequels? If so, you’re in for a treat this September.

    Rovio and Lucasfilm announced today that Angry Birds Star Wars II is real, and that it’s coming September 19 to a mobile device near you. The sequel to last year’s mobile hit will take the Star Wars-themed avians back in time to relive the events of the Star Wars prequels.

    The temptation for a lazy sequel is great, but Rovio will instead be trying out some new things in the sequel. For starters, they will be partnering with Hasbro for what it calls “telepods.” In short, they’re physical toys that players will scan into the game to unlock extra characters. Rovio says that there will be over 30 toys to collect.

    The other change is that Angry Birds Star Wars II will allow you to play as the bad guys. Rovio is inviting players to “Join the Pork Side.” It looks like the gameplay will remain largely the same with the trailer below showing the bird version of Darth Maul tossing his lightsaber at a bunch of bird Jawas. I would have liked them to create a Star Wars version of Bad Piggies instead, but that can perhaps wait for another time.

    You can check out some gameplay below alongside a look at the new telepod system:

    Angry Birds Star Wars II launches September 19. As we draw closer to launch, Rovio promises to reveal more details regarding the game, including the “Pork Side” gameplay. It also says it will be launching Return of the Jedi themed levels in the original Angry Birds Star Wars soon.

  • A World Without Smartphones Apparently Means The Return Of Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em Robots

    I absolutely adore my smartphone. It seems that many of you do too. In fact, I find it hard to imagine a world without smartphones despite having lived most of my life without one. That’s how powerful of an impression the technology leaves on you. So, what would happen then if smartphones were never invented?

    Qualcomm, the company that makes most of the CPUs powering your smartphones, released a video Thursday that reveals an alternate reality where smartphones never existed. It’s a somewhat bleak future, but hey, at least it means we get Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em Robots back.

    Does anybody want to live in this mobile-less world for at least a day? I mean, it looks like it would be kind of fun for at least a little bit. I’m especially a fan of Tweets just being tiny blue birds falling from the heavens.

    In the end, however, we can be thankful that smartphones have made our lives a lot less interesting, and therefore safer as a result.

    [h/t: DroidLife]

  • Next Angry Birds Update is Russian-Themed

    Next Angry Birds Update is Russian-Themed

    Though the Angry Birds brand has embraced new seasons, movie tie-ins, and even Star Wars, all of the game series’ success can be traced back to the original Angry Birds game. Released in 2009, the game dominated Apple’s App Store games and has spawned a multi-million dollar brand with cartoons, plush toys, and even a movie. What’s remarkable is that after over four years, Rovio is still supporting that original game with updates.

    Rovio, the developer of Angry Birds, this week announced that the next “episode” of the original Angry Birds game will have a Russian theme. Titled “Red’s Mighty Feathers,” the episode will feature 15 new levels that highlight the original Angry Bird – the Red Bird. The update will be pushed out to Angry Birds apps sometime in July.

    To celebrate the announcement, Rovio held a concert in the Red Square in Moscow, Russia. The video below shows some of the festivities. Also, Rovio has put all of its Red Bird merchandise (including t-shirts, backpacks, hats, golf club covers, towels, headphones, umbrellas, lunch boxes, and flip flops) in its online store on sale.

  • Angry Birds Trilogy Out on Wii U August 13

    Back in February, Rovio announced that Angry Birds Trilogy, which had already sold over one Million copies for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and Nintendo 3DS, would be coming to Wii U sometime this year. Today, Rovio announced that the game will be coming out for Wii and Wii U on August 13, 2013.

    A release date for a game that is already on several other platforms normally wouldn’t be news. However, the Wii U console is currently struggling, with some third party developers abandoning the platform for the time being. Even Nintendo itself has had trouble putting out first party titles in a timely manner, and those Mario, Zelda, and Metroid games have been the main draw for recent Nintendo home consoles.

    Angry Birds Trilogy combines Rovio’s first three Angry Birds games into one retail package. The bundle includes Angry Birds, Angry Birds Seasons, and Angry Birds Rio. Rovio is also offering episode updates for these games as DLC for Angry Birds Trilogy.