Sega’s acquisition of Rovio will bring ‘Angry Birds’ to console and PC

Sega has shared more information on its proposed acquisition of Angry Birds developer Rovio, which will see the publisher bring Angry Birds to more platforms.

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Last month, Sega announced that it planned to acquire Rovio for £624,937million, with the purchase designed to help Sega bring its games to mobile platforms.

Today (May 2), NME attended a press conference where leadership from Sega and Rovio explained why the acquisition was taking place.

There, Alexandre Pelletier-Normand, Rovio’s CEO, confirmed the purchase would see the Angry Birds series brought to console and PC with the help of Sega.

Meanwhile, Shuji Utsuma — the president of consumer games and transmedia at Sega —  explained the acquisition will help solve the “challenges” Sega has faced in breaking into the global market for mobile games

Utsuma pointed out that just 12 per cent of Sega’s mobile game profits come from outside its home country of Japan, compared to 80 per cent of its profits from console games.

As detailed by Utsuma and Sega CEO Haruki Satomi, Sega sees the purchase of Rovio — best known for developing the Angry Birds mobile series — as a way to break into that global market for mobile games.

Utsuma explained that “Rovio has a strength we do not have,” and confirmed the purchase will see Rovio bring Sega’s existing game franchises to mobile.

While concrete plans for Rovio-developed Sega games are yet to be finalised, Sega is best known for the likes of Sonic The Hedgehog, Persona, Total War, Football Manager, and Like A Dragon.

Alexandre Pelletier-Normand, Rovio’s CEO, shared that it was “exciting to think about” what Rovio would be able to do with Sega’s existing franchises.

He added that in the case of Angry Birds, working with a large, recognisable brand was a “big advantage” in a “very competitive” market for mobile games.

Earlier in the year, Rovio delisted the original Angry Birds from app stores because it was “negatively impacting” its other games due to its popularity.

In other gaming news, Sega Of America has shared that it is “investigating and considering” its options, following efforts to unionise at the company.

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