Angry Birds coming to retail

Swooping to a store near you: "Angry Birds," one of the hottest video games, is coming to PCs via the "traditional" boxed retail, a video game website said. The Market for Computer and Video Games (MCV) said Rovio Entertainment signed up Focus Multimedia as exclusive distributor of its "Angry Birds" game series. “Boxed retail is another way to reach more audience. Digital and mobile are still at the core of our business, but boxed retail is a good addition for taking the brand forward," Rovio spokesperson Ville Heijari told MCV. “Angry Birds is everywhere, successfully penetrating ever deeper into the mainstream on a daily basis. We’re thrilled to be Rovio’s distributor," added Focus Multimedia’s MD Craig Johnson. Focus Multimedia will start selling the original "Angry Birds" on November 25, with a suggested retail price of £10.20 (P705.67). It will then release the movie tie-in "Angry Birds Rio" before Christmas; and "Angry Birds Seasons" in 2012. Rovio and Focus' deal will cover PC versions of all three games in the United Kingdom, Ireland, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand. MCV said the first "Angry Birds" game has been downloaded more than 500 million times. The "Angry Birds" franchise has also branched out into merchandise over the past year, with 10 million "Angry Birds" toys shipped worldwide. Until now these plushes and T-shirts were the only way retailers could tap into the Angry Birds craze. A separate article on The Next Web said that before the deal, the original desktop PC version of the game can be acquired via download and can be played on most desktop browsers. — TJD, GMA News