‘Angry Birds’ Developer: We Have Not Sold To EA | Hacker News Reader

‘Angry Birds’ Developer: We Have Not Sold To EA

techcrunch.com

56 pointsbjonathan11 comments

I'm confused...Why is a publisher necessary for Angry Birds? Can't Rovio just code -> publish straight to App Store?

Chillingo had connections and credibility they didn't. It was worth the 10% commission (it's around that for a friend of mine that is published by Chillingo) for the potential of making much, much, more.

For what? Selling games for Symbian / J2ME / WinMo phones through the carriers five years ago?

Perhaps they needed help with promotion? Anyway according to Rovio's press contact Ville Heijari, they used Chillingo to reach the US market. Rovio and Chillingo had a deal for two versions of Angry Birds for iOS.

Angry Birds for Android and upcoming Angry Birds Halloween (for iOS) are published by Rovio. They own the brand and develop for other platforms by themselves.

Also in case you haven't heard, the Angry Birds brand is expanding quickly. Soft toys, movie etc. All of these require contacts and expertise, which Rovio did not possess at the beginning of the journey.

The game itself wasn't as cheap as you might think. I've heard that they poured a few hundred thou into developing it.

What is the purpose of a game publishing company on the app store? Feels to me like a remnant of the software-in-a-box distribution model.

They can take the role of a VC for a startup - providing capital. EA can absorb a $10 million budget for a new game, where Rovio might have difficulty convincing a bank to loan them that much.

They probably didn't get an advance as Rovio still own the product and the brand. You also would lose more than the 10% revenue share figure quoted elsewhere in this thread if you got an advance. Though I also doubt Angry Birds cost $10 million to develop.

I'm not saying Antry Birds cost $10 million, I'm making a general statement on why iPhone developers might still want a publisher. Rovio didn't sell to EA at all.

The angry birds are angry and the pigs better watch out.

I wonder If EA knows the independent developer owns the Angry Birds part, If not they have a couple angry EA managers pulling out hair and asking themselves now "How did we missed that?" :)

I'm pretty sure they are not that stupid. And EA is mostly a distributor anyway, so it makes sense to take that role in the mobile market as well.

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