Rovio has teamed up with Lappset, a manufacturer of park and playground equipment, to build officially licensed Angry Birds activity parks for children. The first activity parks will pop up early next year in Finland, but it comes as no suprise that Rovio’s plan is to introduce these ”Angry Birds Magic Places” in every corner of the world.
CMO Peter Vesterbacka says that Rovio will not build large amusement parks in style of the previously seen Chinese knock-offs. The company wants to engage kids in activity rather than force them to wait in line for 15 minutes in order to enjoy a two minute ride. The new Angry Birds parks will also include in-game features that will bring the game and the physical world together.
Rovio celebrated the two year anniversary of Angry Birds yesterday. The game recently surpassed 600 million downloads, 100 million of which have come during the past month.
Are these playgrounds a good idea though? Children have spent hundreds of hours training how to destroy these structures. I picture a “Lord Of The Flies” anarchy situation with kids screaming “Kill the pig!” once confronted with Angry Birds in real life. At least they’ll be spending time outside.
