Of course Chinese players are already infatuated with the infamous homicidal avian creatures, also known as Angry Birds with 40 million downloads of the game and counting!(plus a thriving business in plush animals and toys, an unauthorized park, and Angry Birds moon cakes). But Rovio has announced that the company is launching a new animations studio in China. The idea behind this is to not only provide jobs and a new center, but also to expand into the millions of people who do not use iPhones, but instead use a feature phone like the Nokia S-40.
The new animation center will focus not only on creating Angry Birds games and chapters, but also on expanding the game to suit other feature phones. The target for now is a new feature phone from VODone which is expected to produce about 30 million handsets a year, each with a copy of Angry Birds on it for consumers to enjoy.
Rovio and VODone hope that by combining their forces in this way, they will be able to hit a much broader and very enthusiastic market for the Angry Birds game and for the VODone handsets. And of course the new animation studio will provide work for some of the best animators in the country. So, for all those living in the east who haven’t been able to play Angry Birds as easily on their phone, the waiting is nearly over; the Angry Birds have landed!
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VODone is a telemedia company in China which focuses on video and gaming, as well as handset telephones. Its most recent venture is to launch a gaming application whereby users can purchase lottery tickets over their handset.