We’ve all been wondering what the next update to Angry Birds Seasons will be. Today, we’ve got answer — and it confirms that China is taking over the world. After the ChinaJoy conference in Shanghai, Rovio announced via Twitter that the next Seasons update will be Chinese themed and include merchandising tie-ins such as the Angry Birds mooncakes.
The Angry Birds Seasons Moon Festival update is now available. Check out the announcement here for more info and to leave comments.
The Angry Birds Seasons “Moon Festival” (it’s unclear if this is the official name) update coincides with the Chinese Mid-Autumn festival which celebrates the largest moon of the year. Traditionally, this event is accompanied by the eating of mooncakes, hence the product tie-in. Rovio says the update will come in early September, with China getting the world exclusive early release (we don’t know long this exclusivity will last). This year the lunar festival falls on September 12th, so we should see it before then.
China is Rovio’s second largest market, so this is a push by Rovio to increase that market share and likely head off pirating. Rovio expects to surpass 100 million downloads in China this year. This will obviously help them achieve that number while simultaneously increase their exposure in China. Per the press release Rovio stated that it is also beefing up its operations staffing in China and is adding strategic partners to its Angry Birds China team. PPW will be handling the licensing while Madhouse — China’s leading mobile advertising network — will help, “expand virtual and real world connections and reach via prime time mobile advertising concepts.”
A big thanks to @ladycrumb in the forum for tipping us off to this.
…and without further adiou, Angry Birds Mooncakes…
