Rowena Lam's Blog

Blog #8 – I love Angry Birds

June 11th, 2011 · No Comments

Although I haven’t owned a Smartphone, I have already acknowledged that Angry Birds is an addictive but light-hearted puzzle video game way before the class discussion.

I am a PC-gamer, who particularly fond of playing FPS (First-Person shooter), ranging from Portal to Left for Dead. However, I am attracted to Angry Birds even though I dislike playing simple and dull flash games.

Why do I like Angry Birds so much? Low priced? – No, price doesn’t matter to me because I always borrow my friends’ Smartphone to play with. I think the main reason is the graphic designs of the game. The characters are adorable. How can a creature look so angry but cute at the same time? Also, the entertaining music and sound effects perfectly prepares the atmosphere for the game.

I believe the marketing team for Angry Birds has done an excellent job so far, as proven by its popularity among people over the globe and in developing other side products such as plush toys, t-shirts, cell phone cases, etc. Besides, recently they have introduced Angry Birds on Google Chrome. This distribution strategy works because it expands its target market from mobile users to PC gamers. It creates value to me who does not own a Smartphone. However, I think this is a good strategy only to the extent of generating more exposure. It might not really work in terms of competing time and attention away from the mainstream PC games such as those I have introduced. This is because PC is considered as a platform to support complex and more “entertainment-demanding” games. In this context, Angry Birds might lose its “competitive advantage” of its light-hearted nature which is designed for playing on the bus or during break time – situations that require less attention.

TUAW (the unofficial apple weblog) has recently posted a video features playing Angry Birds in real life!

YouTube Preview Image

This is an awesome promotional strategy because it communicates the value of Angry Birds in a new perspective. Normally, we would think of Angry Birds for self-entertainment. No matter it is on mobile devices or PC, you are still playing the game yourself. However, this video shows how people are enjoying the theme of Angry Birds together, in a crowd, cheers and boos, excitement all over the place. It is no longer a self-activity (one-to-one); it is a community event (one-to-all) – everybody talks about it, enjoys together, and shares feelings – “you can join in the fun wherever you are”!

With this “community” concept, I have an idea for Angry Birds to expand its product line in terms of its game design. They might want to develop an Co-Op (or 2-players to start with) version – where multiple players cooperate for going through each stage. However, this might cause a direct competition with Gunbound– a multiplayer online game that have similar game design of Angry Birds – both apply the concept of projectile motion for killing enemies.

Nonetheless, I can’t express my passion for Angry Birds any simpler: I love Angry Birds!

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