There's no denying the popularity of Angry Birds, which hit half a billion downloads last month, but according to Tetris manager Henk Rogers, Rovio's game won't be in the limelight for long.
"Angry Birds is cute and everybody plays it for a while but they get burned out and move on and they will play another game," he said.
"Any time you have a character like an Angry Birds character, the games that have those as their central theme, they become popular and then they go away. Tetris has outlasted so many of those games, we've been around for 25 years. Again I like to compare it to a sport, in the beginning it's an activity, like golf was an activity, then it became a sport. I think once people have played it more than 20 or 25 years you can say it's here to stay, it's a sport, it's no longer a fad.
"But Tetris is like Happy Birthday, it keeps on going. Everybody else has games that come and go, they make the hit parade, but these are all temporary. You have to work really hard to get your unknown game to be #1, but when we re-released Tetris it became #1 even though we didn't do any marketing. We have an unfair advantage, I gotta say. I'd rather have the goose that lays the golden egg."
Angry Birds celebrated its second birthday last week with a free content update that included new birthday cake levels, an expandable orange bird and more.
Comments
37 comments so far...
NEO_SUPERMAN on 23 Dec '11 said:
500 million x 69p = £345,000,000.
Nice little fad there.
Better than space hoppers anyway.
a_adji on 23 Dec '11 said:
I am glad everyone realises this now and whats more angry birds was not the first game to do what it does but yet add a character to it and it's the greatest thing since slice bread and hailing mobile game like it matches the experience of Mario or Sonic or Jack and Daxter etc.
a_adji on 23 Dec '11 said:
I am glad everyone realises this now and whats more angry birds was not the first game to do what it does but yet add a character to it and it's the greatest thing since slice bread and hailing mobile game like it matches the experience of Mario or Sonic or Jack and Daxter etc.
nologo on 23 Dec '11 said:
pot.. kettle...black
goldbricks on 23 Dec '11 said:
I think they count every download of the game, even the free ones on Android, Chrome, Windows Phone, Facebook etc.
Though I could be mistaken.
G_R7 on 23 Dec '11 said:
Whats Tetris?
Denther on 23 Dec '11 said:
I never really understood that, I mean, what if the pot was white, or beige, or flowery?
unforgetable on 23 Dec '11 said:
free on windows phone? how i had to pay £2.25 on my nokia lumia 800, not mofo happy
ensabahnur on 23 Dec '11 said:
The pot and kettle are essentially the same thing so the pot calling the kettle black is useless as they are the same.
MattyR95 on 23 Dec '11 said:
I can't stand Tetris, I would rather play angry birds to be honest.
svd_grasshopper on 23 Dec '11 said:
that pottle kettle phrase is truly the worst. you hear it on here all the time.
all who use that wanky phrase deserve shot in the neck.
TheCrimsonFenix on 23 Dec '11 said:
It was always merely a simple game that everyone started playing due to hype and trend, so this whole fad talk pretty much occurred to everybody a long, long time ago. I wouldn't quite say he's wrong in calling it out as a fad game because most the success of Angry Birds is due to today's increased focus on what's ""cool" and of course the internet carried it. Tetris on the other hand was something new for gamers at the time. If it wasn't for everyone harking on about it like it was the Christ of puzzle games, it would have just been pushed nicely to the side as a nice little simple mini game. It just had far too much attention in my opinion. As long as both Tetris and AB do what they were designed to do, I'm not fussed which is better in whatever way. Important thing is they're fun.
rivariad on 23 Dec '11 said:
it lasted 25 years cuz they all got us tricked with that 3000000 in 1 s.hit
HarryJack on 23 Dec '11 said:
Angry Birds is a dumbed down version of Crush the Castle, it's just non-gamer's and hipster's who think this game is actually any good.
And nobody here is a non-gamer, are they? ARE THEY?!
Plus Hipster's shop at Hollister and that shop is so god damn dark and smells of willy.
Btw no one click on the link or I'll rip you a new one!
spaceman_DOUG on 23 Dec '11 said:
Sudo hipsters, not real hipsters, Harry.
MD1500 on 23 Dec '11 said:
The thing is, Angry Birds is so famous, everyone with a smartphone downloads it to see what the fuss is about.
I downloaded it. I thought it was rubbish. Never played it again, but still my download counts as a "sale".
spaceman_DOUG on 23 Dec '11 said:
They'll keep selling it as long as they keep marketing it.
gideonseer on 23 Dec '11 said:
Sounds exactly like my experience with Tetris, which I haven't played for years.
dwhlufc on 23 Dec '11 said:
I wouldn't class either as unmissable games,obviously the Tetris boss feels threatened to come out and make a statement like this for no apparent reason.
I like both and I play both on the odd occasion,neither have me hooked like infinity blade or jet pack joyride but I don't feel the need to slag either off as they do what they set out to do and very well.
jm3811 on 23 Dec '11 said:
WHAT???
Listen, I'm surely not the best of the nest but as of today I have earned three stars at each and every level that was ever released by Rovio. That includes today's Xmas advent calendar. I even did some levels twice when I switched from iPhone to HTC.
Fact is that AB's levels or themes make it a different game/challenge each time. May be Tetris does the same. I can't tell since I don't play Tetris. But for sure I have my daily dose of birdies.
The Bossman on 23 Dec '11 said:
It keeps you coming back if only for 5 minutes, and the potential for fun with the series is neverending. He's just jealous I presume, a simple idea that has generates hundreds of millions. Of blithering idiots. No I joke I like the game a lot.
KK-Headcharge78 on 23 Dec '11 said:
Angry Birds does a job, ideal on the bog gaming this guy just sounds a little sad and bitter to me.
beemoh on 24 Dec '11 said:
Dear Mr. Rogers;
Ooooh, handbags.
Yours,
beemoh.
rbt2 on 24 Dec '11 said:
Wasn't Henk Rogers a bit of a big cheese at Nintendo in the mid to late 80's?
If he's the one I'm thinking of then he's more than entitled to his opinion in my view.
And he's right too!
I'll have money with anyone that Angry Birds isn't being played after 25 years like Tetris still is.
KillerKing on 26 Dec '11 said:
angry birds is £2.29 on windows phone...
badmonk on 26 Dec '11 said:
i agree!! sounds like a little bit of jealousy over the threat this game is causing!!
why do people have to post stuff like this!!! if another game is successful then let it be!!! i wouldn't mind making a game thats a fad and earning a few million from it
Imaduck on 26 Dec '11 said:
Life's a fad, it's all the rage for a good while then it burns out and ends abruptly. What matters is what you do with it. Same applies here.
liveswired on 27 Dec '11 said:
Agreed WITH THE HEADLINE.
I wwouldn't mind owning a fad like it tho $$
Picnic12 on 29 Dec '11 said:
If you're going to attack another game for being a fad, at least don't have a game that could easily have been a fad itself.
A game that involves shifting shapes against each other is not exactly that complex to create. It owes less to videogames than it does to just games in general. Its popularity seems to have been forged mainly by being associated with the massively popular Gameboy. But some people play videogames for more than just spacial reflexes of this kind. Atmosphere, level design, story, characterisation - Tetris has the barest bones of these. It's not wise for it to be used in a way of comparison that can easily result in the 'McDonalds sells more than a gourmet restaurant does too' comeback. I do not play videogames to play something that will be regarded as of a similarity popularity or ease of play as a sport- that is what sports are for.
Whether something is still being played by many people 25 years later is not necessarily any indication of its intrinsic worth.
It's sometimes just testament to persistent marketing of the product as well as creating a product that is so removed from having a particular personality that it appeals to just about anyone on a certain level. Even Mario, like Mickey Mouse, is a bit personality-less.
liveswired on 29 Dec '11 said:
Rovio will be dead within a few years when the Angry Birds gravy trains runsaway. Tetris is a classic, a portable game changer, something Angry Birds will never be.
Designs like Mario and Mickey can't be compared to a mish mash of free vector art
jm3811 on 29 Dec '11 said:
Angry Birds is not a concept. Its main creator said that it was the result of a mix of different games. If you think of Crush The Castle and several similar games you can as well compare playing Angry Birds in 2011 to moving toy soldiers around when this was a popular leisure in the past.
It's probable that Angry Bird will evolve and therefore disappear. In the meantime its characters are strong enough to make a movie or a theme park so the whole thing is quite solid. In comparison Tetris is still around but it certainly does not create a similar enthusiasm.
Lady Gagagged on 30 Dec '11 said:
I'm quite dismayed at the lack of love for Tetris here. It was a revolutionary idea at the time that has paid its dues over the years and still holds up in todays market. Angry Birds shares a lot of similar qualities that the appeal of Tetris holds. It is far too early to call time on it. But when someone who has been in the industry says it will fade into obscurity you can say that is a qualified call to make.
Imaduck on 30 Dec '11 said:
There's a time and a place for everything. For guidelines, basically watch Mag - and do the opposite
There is however, NEVER room for spam kids!
almanac2015 on 31 Dec '11 said:
I don't get Angry Birds. It's a nice game. I've played similar countless times before on the internet though. Seriously, what is so special about it? I do however love Tetris. Fantastic game.
But if it was released today for the first time it would also be a fad. A very enjoyable fad but not something we'd be speaking about in 25 years. There's more games coming out, always more to compete with.
TheLastDodo on 31 Dec '11 said:
That's probably what it boils down to.
Tetris WAS new and exciting in it's day, now it's still fantastic now but everyone has played it before on Gameboy, iPhone, PC, PSN/XBLA etc.
Angry Birds is just the iGenerations answer to Tetris, it's something new and exciting to the people that, with no disrespect intended, know no better, just like Tetris was it's in heyday.
horngreen on 31 Dec '11 said:
I would say everything is a fad short of food, water and air. So Tetris would also be a fad. Excuse me WAS a fad! BURN!
sonic_uk on 2 Jan '12 said:
I never understood the fascination with Angry Birds. When I tried it it just came across as a very poor Worms rip off with all the advanced options removed and crap controls. Tetris on the other hand to me is a timeless classic. Very original, very addictive and different every time you play. I would much rather play that than Angry Birds, but then again I'd sooner watch paint dry than play Angry Birds too.