My apologies if you're joking or being sarcastic and I didn't detect it.

I suppose if that's "all they did" - any of us who could do that could've been sitting on that 3 billion, right? Heck, even the Box2D guys could've done it.

There's a small difference in saying "they should've employed the Box2D guys" or "generously funded the project" and "they should funnel all profits" - perhaps Rovio deserves some credit here for turning a little casual iPhone game into a household name.

Heh. It is a lovely example of a game that's almost entirely about the polish, with relatively little substance.

Why was Crush The Castle not as successful? Marketing and polish. If your aim is commercial success, it's obvious what your focus has to be.

Yep, and they did it brilliantly and then promoted and sold it brilliantly. Technical stuff isn't worth that much money on its own.

You should talk to the author of GORILLAS.BAS

Why are they not funneling all the profits into the creator of iOS, Android, Windows Phone, Webkit, and all number of other frameworks. The app wouldn't run with out them. Rovio made the effort to market and capture the imaginations of people so that they want to spend money on the games, toys and t-shirts. This reminds me of pac-man from when I was a kid. I had a Pac-man birthday cake, Pac-Man clothes, Pac-Man Underroos, etc. I know my 5 year old son is obsessed with the angry birds as characters, and wants to know their back story. This is what drives him, not the framework used.