Angry Birds maker sees India as a big market

Rovio Entertainment, the Finnish company behind the iconic Angry Birds mobile game franchise, is intent on expanding its presence in India with new licensing and partners. Released in December 2009, the game, which is based on the simple but addictive idea of shooting a variety of colourful birds at their enemies, the green pigs, was a runaway success, spawning a game franchise that has racked up over 4.2 billion downloads. Its titular characters have become unlikely cultural icons, appearing in comedy sketches by Jon Stewart and Conan O'Brien, and counting Salman Rushdie and former UK PM David Cameron among their fans. Rovio hopes that the popularity will help it be successful in the Indian market. Simo Hamalainen, Rovio's head of brand licensing, said: “India is already one of our top markets in licensing and it also does very well in content. “So, we're putting in more effort into localisation and licensing deals.” Hamalainen added, “Expanding into different entertainment channels has allowed us to expand our audience from the core gaming audience to a much wider one.”