Angry Birds Space Released, App Disses Windows
Angry Birds has readily become the most talked about mobile device game. The newest version of the game will feature the Angry Birds in space, but Windows users won't be seeing that sight for some time to come.
Angry Birds is the top-selling application on Windows' phones, but that that isn't reason enough for the game's maker to offer a new version that is accessible to Windows users, citing expenses as an excuse. The action has prompted some users to accuse the game company as cheap and untalented. Others suggest that Windows just isn't worth the trouble.
Peter Vesterbacka, chief marketing officer of the game's maker, Rovio Entertainment, explained that offering the game to Windows users was just too much work.
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"We're the No. 1 app in the Windows Phone app store, but it's a big undertaking to support it, and you have to completely rewrite the application," he commented on Bloomberg Television.
Angry Birds Space went up for sale Thursday, exclusively for Apple product users. What is surprising however, is how dependent some feel that Windows might be on a game.
"The lack of 'Angry Birds' may make it more difficult for the company, based in the same Espoo, Finland-based office park as Rovio, to attract gaming-oriented users and persuade developers that its platform is growing," Bloomburg's Businessweek commented.
The lack of initiative by the Angry Birds developers could hint at an overall lack of interest in developing Windows products, according to Nomura analyst Richard Windsor.
"This is a worrying development for Windows Phone because it suggests that Rovio does not have much confidence in its future," Windsor said in a report. "As the standard version is already number one on the Windows Phone app store, it gives a strong indication that no one else will expect to be making money writing for this platform either."
"Rovio needs to grow up. It would probably take 1 person a week to port it to Windows Phone 7, or less. If they really think it's going to cost them too much they really do not have talented programmers at all," Aron Mayo commented on the Businessweek blog. "There are so many industry examples and articles relating to how easy it is to port an iOS app to Windows Phone- many users report being able to do it with full functionality in a matter of hours."
Skipping on such a simple process could spell out a serious diss for Windows products.
"Simple supply-demand case. Microsoft needs Angry Birds for windows phone desperately, but Angry Birds doesn't really need Windows' phone," Keitai added.
