Sega Will Release More Mobile Games Following Angry Birds Acquisition
It was rumoured last week that Sega was in the process of buying Angry Birds maker Rovio for a cool one billion dollars. While ultimately it didn't quite reach that figure, it is now official that the Japanese giant has acquired the mobile game specialist.
Sega announced it acquired Rovio Entertainment this morning, with the final purchase price totalling €706 million (around $775 million). Founded in Helsinki, Finland, Rovio is best known for Angry Birds, which was one of the first hugely popular mobile games, having reached one billion downloads by May 2012, less than three years after the title launched. With this purchase, Sega will look to expand into mobile, an arena where the company doesn't have great strengths while it also mentioned other media opportunities.
Related: Canning Angry Birds For Being Too Successful Is Pathetic
"I grew up playing Sonic the Hedgehog, captivated by its state-of-the-art design", Rovio CEO Alexandre Pelletier-Normand said about the deal. "Later, when I played Angry Birds for the first time, I knew that gaming had evolved into a true mainstream phenomenon, with the power to shape modern culture".
Sega's purchase of Rovio is strategic, as outlined in its acquisition letter. It wants to use Rovio's know-how in the live-service mobile game market and bring that expertise to the company's IPs, especially as mobile games continues to grow at a faster rate than console and PC. The multimedia potential was another aspect that was highlighted.
"Rovio and SEGA have both succeeded in extending its IPs, 'Angry Birds' and 'Sonic the Hedgehog', to various media outside of video games, such as movies, anime, and merchandising, and accordingly hold a strong fanbase around the world as well as
Read more on thegamer.com
