Rovio Entertainment, Alibaba Group and the Shanghai Media Group recently announced a partnership to introduce Angry Birds Stella to Chinese Android gamers. The group is planning on introducing this popular video game to players during television broadcasts of the season finals of Chinese Idols. They’re also planning on selling Angry Birds Stella consumer products using Alibaba’s market share and contacts out east.
“Rovio is delighted to partner with Alibaba Group and Shanghai Media Group. China is a key strategic market for Rovio and Alibaba is the largest online and mobile e-commerce company in China. Angry Birds has been downloaded over 2 billion times. Working with Alibaba and Chinese Idols allows us to reach millions of new fans in China. We have a strong fan base in China. Combining our strengths will allow us to get even closer to our fans”, said Pekka Rantala, Chief Commercial Officer of Rovio Entertainment.
Angry Birds Stella is the first Rovio Entertainment video game published in China, but certainly not the last. Selling an Android, or any, video game in China is difficult for a western video game developer and this takes time to change. The company has a small presence in the country, but this news means red skies on the horizon for Rovio Entertainment in the Chinese video game market. It also means western developers reading this news are thinking about making headway in the lucrative Chinese video game market.
