Mobile gaming is booming in China. The market is expected to grow an astonishing 93 percent in 2014 to reach $2.9 billion in revenue and is slated to have similar growth through to 2018, where it’s projected to hit $7.7 billion. Mobile gaming is a fast-growing sector set to outpace console gaming and this is a marketing push of Disneyland-like proportions.
Rovio knows what it stands to gain by taking their popular franchise (both online and offline), Angry Birds, and creating 9 family entertainment parks in the next 4 years.
‘‘China is an extremely important market for us and we’re constantly looking for ways to provide innovative fan experiences by bridging the digital with the physical. Through this partnership, we not only achieve that, but we set a strong foot in one of the worlds fastest growing theme park markets with a key player in the industry,” said Pekka Rantala, chief commercial officer at Rovio Entertainment. “We are delighted at the prospect of bringing Angry Birds closer to our fans in China, in spaces where all members of the family can engage.’’
An interesting move considering just one month ago, Rovio had planned to cut almost 130 jobs at its Finland headquarters.
The parks will be created in partnership with Guogoi business group and will be quite large, covering a total area of “tens of thousands” of square meters to take the mobile game brand to the next level.
