By Lorien Crow | Fri Jan 27, 2012 9:03 am |
"Angry Birds" is coming to Facebook on Valentine's Day, as the game's makers continue their quest for world domination and Facebook preps for its upcoming IPO with social gaming.
The Facebook version of the popular game, debuting in Jakarta on February 14, will feature full-screen capability, power-ups available for purchase, and the ability to compete with friends for top scores.The Angry Birds move is mutually beneficial. Game maker Rovio is continuing with its plan to put Angry Birds on "every screen," and Facebook's billion users should help get them closer to that goal. Social gaming exploded in recent years, with games like Zynga's Farmville and Mafia Wars bringing in billions of dollars. The more time users spend on social networking sites, the more likely they are to kill some time by playing a game, and game developers increasingly aspire to Facebook as their platform of choice. Facebook is preparing for its initial public offering, adding content to attract more users, and hundreds of millions of Angry Birds-lovers will flock to the social networking site if they aren't on it already. In addition, Facebook collects a percentage of the money people spend on power-ups people purchase for the games that are on its site, which will bring in more money and add to its value as the IPO nears. Rovio is rapidly expanding the reach of the game, offering stuffed animals, board games, books, Halloween costumes, and seasonal editions based on the characters to keep users playing. The Finnish developer also says it wants to create a fully synchronized gaming experience where users can begin and pause games across a range of device screens, and is in talks to create a possible movie or TV show based on the game. Rovio reports people around the globe spend an average of 200 million minutes a day playing the game on their mobile devices, due to its addictive nature. Now, the desktop may never be the same again, and the partnership between Angry Birds and Facebook is likely to inspire a whole new legion of social gaming fans. And for all those who say playing Angry Birds is a waste of time, Rovio chief executive Mikael Hed advises them to "think of all the other stuff they could be doing that's so much more boring."
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Wed Feb 22, 2012 1:29 pm | By
The incident rate for identity theft is rising, as customers choose smartphones for a growing number of activities and the fight against potential hackers gains momentum.
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Wed Feb 22, 2012 1:14 pm | By
Vice President Joe Biden revealed plans to expand wireless bandwidth, lifting a political barrier to spectrum allocation as the crunch intensifies in the wireless industry.
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Wed Feb 22, 2012 1:08 pm | By
Samsung will partner with Blockbuster for a new streaming video service, as manufacturers race to boost content for connected entertainment systems.
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Wed Feb 22, 2012 12:46 pm | By
T-Mobile plans to exclusively sell the Samsung Galaxy S Blaze 4G in March for $150 on a two-year contract, continuing the carrier's focus on high-end Android offerings.
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Wed Feb 22, 2012 12:35 pm | By
College basketball's March Madness is crazy fun for fans, but groups offering streaming of the 67 games are taking a new tack this year, debuting a rebranded service that will cost die-hard sports watchers who want to see every game.
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