Mathew Forstater - Trailblazers in Economics

Published in 2015 by The Rosen Publishing Group, Inc. 29 East 21st Street, New York, NY 10010

Copyright 2015 by The Rosen Publishing Group, Inc.

First Edition

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without permission in writing from the publisher, except by a reviewer.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Porterfield, Jason.

Angry Birds and Rovio Entertainment/Jason Porterfield.First Edition.

pages cm.(Internet biographies)

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 978-1-4777-7919-4 (library bound)

1. Angry Birds (Game)Juvenile literature. 2. Rovio EntertainmentJuvenile literature. I. Title.

GV1469.35.A64P67 2015

338.7617948dc23

2014008168

Manufactured in the United States of America

Contents

M obile games are everywhere. People use their cell phones, smartphones, and tablets to play games in many situations. They may spend their commute playing games or use the applications as a way to pass the time while waiting in line. Players may devote just a few minutes at a time to their games, or they may immerse themselves for hours as they try to beat a high score or make it past a tricky level.

These games have come a long way since they first appeared in the late 1990s. Early mobile games were fairly primitive by todays standards. They lacked the sophisticated sounds and graphics that are now typical on most games. Many were developed by established video game companies or hardware manufacturers that were looking to improve their reach into a broader market. Companies such as Nintendo and Sega offered handheld game systems, while some mobile phone companies had simple games that people could play on their screens.

Mobile games gradually became popular with cell phone users. As the technology behind the phones advanced, so did the level of sophistication behind the games. Established video game developers, small startup companies, and individual programmers raced to publish games that could capture the publics attention. Many of these attempts either failed to attract an audience or quickly faded from the publics attention. Others were successful beyond even their designers wildest expectations.

Since it was first released for the iPhone in 2009, Angry Birds has been made available to millions of players worldwide on a variety of platforms.

Since its release for Apples iPhone in 2009, Angry Birds has been one of the most successful video games in history. Millions of people around the world play it every day, and more than two billion copies have been downloaded. Within just a few short months of its release, the game had become a major hit.

Although the game seemed to be an overnight success, Angry Birds was actually the result of years of struggle by Rovio Entertainment, the company that created it. The companys founder, Niklas Hed, stuck with the company through many difficulties since it was first established in Finland in 2003. Two of the firms cofounders left, while his cousin Mikael Hed came aboard to help run the business and his uncle Kaj Hed came through with a timely investment to keep the firm afloat. Through the creativity and energy of chief marketing officer Peter Vesterbacka, they were able to make Angry Birds not just a successful video game but also a cultural phenomenon.

Within just a few years, Rovio Entertainment has grown from employing about twelve workers to having a staff of more than six hundred people. The simplicity of the game and the spirit of fun behind it have attracted an audience that includes celebrities and politicians. Rovios dedication to keeping the cost of its games low and to offering updates for free has helped keep Angry Birds players loyal. The company has since taken this loyalty in new directions through a marketing empire that includes a variety of Angry Birds products, while working hard to develop new games and characters.

Founding a Mobile Game Giant

A s mobile games grew popular, a generation of programmers became interested in developing them. Mobile devices became more sophisticated and their users more savvy. Programmers rose to the occasion by creating games that got to be more complex. Companies sought to attract adventurous and skilled developers through large cash bonuses. Hardware and software companies held competitions intended to attract game designers. These contests gave designers a place to show off their talents and a way to make connections with companies.

In 2003, a trio of students at the Helsinki University of Technology (since 2010, called Aalto University School of Science) in Finland pooled their talents to enter a game development competition sponsored by the hardware manufacturer Hewlett-Packard. Niklas Hed joined with his friends Jarno Vkevinen and Kim Dikert and managed to win the contest with a multiplayer game called King of the Cabbage World. The contest victory marked the beginning of a small software company that eventually flourished into a global powerhouse.

NIKLAS HED

Niklas Hed was born in 1980 and grew up a short distance from Helsinki, the capital of Finland. Niklas was an intense boy who began coding at an early age. He started working with the Pascal programming language by the time he was eleven years old and developed a reputation among his friends for never letting go of a problem until it was solved. Curious by nature and fascinated by programming, he loved to design computer games. His older cousin Mikael Hed would later remember Niklas spending hours on solving a particular programming problem.

Rovio founder Niklas Hed poses with a plush green pig from Angry Birds. Hed was fascinated by computer science and programming at a young age.

Niklas remained interested in programming through high school. After graduating, he enrolled at the Helsinki University of Technology in 2000 to study computer science. There, he became friends with fellow students Vkevinen and Dikert, both of whom have remained largely out of the public spotlight. In 2003, the trio decided to enter the competitive Assembly demo party design contest sponsored by Nokia, a global telecommunications company, and Hewlett-Packard. Their game, which was titled King of the Cabbage World, won the competition. It drew the attention of Hewlett-Packard game designer Peter Vesterbacka, who had organized the competition.

The Assembly Demo Party

The event that helped launch Niklas Heds game design career was a contest at the Assembly Demo Party, which is an annual gaming summit held in Helsinki. About 4,500 people attend Assembly every year, but it is just one of many events held across Europe in which gamers and people interested in showing off or trying out demonstration versions of new games get together. These events are often sponsored by gaming companies and technology firms, and game contests are frequently a high point of the gatherings. In addition to giving game designers a chance to prove their skills in a competitive environment, the game contests give sponsors a chance to scout out and recruit talented young programmers.