Rovio values self "north of PopCap"

By Robert Purchese Published 13 July, 2011

Have Zuma that.

Angry Birds creator Rovio has told Eurogamer it values itself "north" of the $1.3 billion figure that EA will spend acquiring PopCap Games.

Interested companies have come sniffing, Rovio VP franchise development Ville Heijari revealed, but a "pretty high" bar has meant no "really relevant discussions" have yet taken place.

"I wouldn't say [EA] has approached us with any offer - obviously we've discussed with many different companies," Heijari informed Eurogamer.

"About a year ago, in the summer of 2010, Angry Birds was already quite successful. At that point it started to look like a really, really feasible and desirable IP. So we had a lot of enquiries from many, many different parties. But we've had an overall strategic goal of growing this company and moving into different areas of business beyond games. I don't think there's ever been a really relevant discussion of whether somebody is going to buy us.

"It was never a strategy here to quickly cash in on anybody who comes waving a wad of cash our way."

Ville Heijari, VP franchise development, Rovio

"Of course like any business if the price is right, ha!" he exclaimed. "But we've set the bar pretty high from early on, because we really think we have a lot of opportunities with our Angry Birds IP and there's a lot of creativity at the studio beyond Angry Birds. It was never a strategy here to quickly cash in on anybody who comes waving a wad of cash our way.

"But the valuation from our point of view is somewhere, I dunno, maybe north of PopCap."

Heijari said such self-worth has ruffled feathers in the past. "A lot of people look at our game and say, 'Who do these guys think they are with their one title?'"

But there are subtle variations on offer like Angry Birds Seasons and Angry Birds Rio. "There's a lot of different stuff going on," enthused Heijari, "we have a lot of different stuff in the pipepine."

"We already have quite a big reach with this one title. We want to now leverage that reach and bring more social experiences, more delightful games to an already established audience," he said.

"Not to say milk the Angry Birds titles as long as they can go, but really create sustainable characters and sustainable property and build a really massive brand out of Angry Birds."

"These kind of price tags just go to show that the value is also perceived."

Ville Heijari

EA and PopCap announced their deal this morning. EA now owns mobile publisher Chillingo, social gaming company PlayFish and PopCap. It's a sharp, three-pronged trident of intent.

"It is an awful lot of money!" said Heijari of the $1.3 billion deal. "But then if you consider where the growth is at the moment, obviously consoles are not dying, PC gaming isn't going to disappear overnight - the growth right now, the dynamic, is in the social and mobile gaming.

"[EA] have definitely taken, I wouldn't say aggressive, but quite bold steps towards gaining more foothold in new domains to them. I don't see this as either negative or positive, it's obviously a really, really strategic move from EA.

"If you look at the valuation - Zynga is aiming for $1 billion IPO. PopCap already has a lot of really successful titles that are still going strong, a massive catalogue of titles [and is] probably not going to slow down in creating new games either. I dunno, if the price is right for EA, ha ha, then it must be right!"

"These kind of price tags just go to show that the value is also perceived," he added.

Angry Birds recently passed the 250 million downloads mark.

Heijari said that Angry Birds had 50 million monthly active users as of May 2011.

"That was two months ago," Haijari added, "so now we have more."

Rovio is based in Finland. Angry Birds can be found on a host of platforms: PC, Mac, PlayStation Minis, iOS devices, Android devices and more.

You can play Angry Birds using a Kinect hack. If you must.

Picture of Robert.

About Robert Purchese

Bertie is Eurogamer's Senior Staff Writer. When he's not hunting down news stories he's often found playing with his kids or gabbling about fantasy games and strange online worlds. @Clert on Twitter.

Read more articles from Robert by visiting the Robert Purchese archive page.

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Comments (57) Latest comment 11 months ago

Comments for this article are now closed, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • psychokitten #1 11 months ago

    I was just thinking that Eurogamer news articles needed more input from the Angry Birds people.

  • jaywalker3010 Verified Mastering Manager, Square Enix #2 11 months ago

    hmm deluded much? Rovio have 1 big hit, angry birds.. popcap has entire range of products which means has more `life` in it..

  • GamesProgrammer Verified Games Team Programmer, Eutechnyx Ltd. #3 11 months ago

    What do they make besides angry birds?

  • RedSparrows #4 11 months ago

    I don't want to be a total cynic, but at least PopCap have made some decent games.

  • NeonStorm #5 11 months ago

    Get over yourselves Rovio, you can't keep dining off Angry Birds forever.

  • TomDent93 #6 11 months ago

    So yeah, they are incredibly up themselves

  • el_pollo_diablo #7 11 months ago

    Bit unfairly written this article. You intentionally suggest that they're vile, arrogant bastards in your headline, but reading the entire thing reveals that they're rather normal and nice and down to earth.

    It's just a bit cheap.

    Sorry.

    edit: Read the article people!
    Edited by el_pollo_diablo at 13/07/11 @ 16:38

  • DreadedWalrus #8 11 months ago

    Rovio values self "north of PopCap"; is wrong.

  • LetsGo #9 11 months ago

    Why would anyone buy Rovio who got lucky by coping a flash game? At least Popcap have multiple hits under their belt which proves they are no fluke.

  • gribb #10 11 months ago

    Is it wrong that I only read Eurogamer for Purchase's puns?

  • thedaveeyres #11 11 months ago

    Dot Com Bubble 2.0

  • fabiosooner #12 11 months ago

    Take note of what I'll say now and get back to me in a few years:

    Rovio will be closed in 5 years tops, while PopCap will be rolling in money.

    And no, I'm not a PopCap fan or anything. Never bought any of their games, not even Plants vs. Zombies. It's not my thing. It's just a matter of noticing how each company approaches their IPs, and what they're doing next. Or, in the case of Rovio, their *one* IP. That's simply not healthy at all. This is the time to push new IPs while they're still on everyone's radar. Angry Birds won't be this cash cow forever. In fact, it probably has less traction than, say, Guitar Hero.

  • kinky_mong #13 11 months ago

    Oh do fuck off and take your sub-par flash game with you.

  • anthonypappa #14 11 months ago

    must be on a high from his runaway hit... let's see your next game.

    will be surprised if he's not a one hit wonder, and that if angry birds doesn't get flogged to death.

    up next: even angrier birds... or something to that effect.

  • Bertie Verified Senior Staff Writer, Eurogamer.net #15 11 months ago

    I love you gribb!

  • WJF #16 11 months ago

    "What do they make besides angry birds?"

    One of the most-played mobile series on the planet - Bounce - shipped with all Nokia phones for a good few years.

    EDIT: IIRC they were behind the original game (published under Nokia) as well as the sequels. Oh, and quite a few bestselling Java titles too. I do think they're milking AB a bit too much, but they didn't just appear out of nowhere.
    Edited by WJF at 13/07/11 @ 16:48

  • HyperTails #17 11 months ago

    "obviously consoles are not dying"

    Changed their tune on that one pretty quick I see.

    Honestly, i've never seen a company as far up their own arse as Rovio are in a long time.

  • geeza2020 #18 11 months ago

    I dont think Angry Birds as a game is fit to lick the boots of any one of Plants vs Zombies, Zuma or Peggle, let alone Bejeweled.

    Deluded.

  • Ranger101 #19 11 months ago

    @el pollo

    Valuating yourself, even with some caution, over a one-hit-wonder is still a bit full on.

    If they were really nice, they would've given a bit more of a realistic, conservative valuation... or done the really smart thing and not valuated themselves at all.

  • FogHeart #20 11 months ago

    "...there's a lot of creativity at the studio beyond Angry Birds...."

    Well, it's not like you set the bar very high!

  • UncleLou #21 11 months ago

    Funny thing is, a few years ago, the comments in any article about PoPCap were as condescending as the ones here are. History repeats itself.

  • nuanimal #22 11 months ago


    I know this will make me sound miserable - but this (expanding "social/casual/psuedo gaming";) strikes me as being bubble waiting to burst.

    Well, that's what typically happens in new industries/markets when they first start up. Remeber the change of financial regulation in the early 00s that led to the credit bubble (and current state of the world), or the dot.com bubble in the 90s, or those fucking Furby's?

    I'm sure there will be a few big survivors out there (Amazon and eBay come to mind), but there will be a point that this will all hit satuartion point.

  • molekiller #23 11 months ago

    Rovio, your boring angry shit is not worth a few MB in my android phone, even for free...

  • Peregrin #24 11 months ago

    To paraphrase Flight of the Conchords;

    Angry Birds: No.1 on the iTunes chart!
    Angry Birds Seasons: No.5 on iTunes!
    Angry Birds Rio: No.74 on iTunes!
    It will never end! The Angry Birds rollercoaster will go on forever!

  • Gearskin #25 11 months ago

    Seriously... How did this happen? Why is Angry Birds so popular? Why!? Couldn't sell Okami.

  • infernox1 #26 11 months ago

    @WJF bounce? never heard of it. snake on the other hand.

  • el_pollo_diablo #27 11 months ago

    @Ranger101

    Well, from the looks of it he was responding to a specific question asked of him. My problem was that I read his response and thought he came across as being fairly reasonable, and yet the article headline and summary put a completely different sensationalist spin on it.

    I'm not even an Angry Birds fan. But never mind eh? :)

  • bobolee69 #28 11 months ago

    I look forward to the day that deluded "one hit wonder" studio Rovio crashes and burns. Then I will go "ha ha" like Nelson Muntz in the Simpsons.

    The whole social gaming valuation thing, like facebook and twitter, is called: bubble bubble bubble.

  • Dizzy #29 11 months ago

    >and there's a lot of creativity at the studio beyond Angry Birds

    Lol

  • dr_lha #30 11 months ago

    So let me get this elitism thing down straight: We're supposed to hate Angry Birds because its popular right?

    Also we hate Rovio for being so arrogant as to think they're worth billions despite only making one game! Oh wait, they actually make a point about that in the article:

    Quote: Heijari said such self-worth has ruffled feathers in the past. "A lot of people look at our game and say, 'Who do these guys think they are with their one title?'"

    Read the article, and tone down the anti-Angry Birds rhetoric people. Its a fun, cheap and popular game. Not everything needs to be Demon's Souls.

  • delboy83uk #31 11 months ago

    God I hate this guy. You make one extremely mediocre game that's for some reason a massive hit and you think your worth more than pop cap? When you make a whole bunch of GOOD games then you can say whatever you want. Untill then keep your fucking mouth shut.

  • paulf #32 11 months ago

    if I were them I'd cash in now before the bubble bursts, they are in for a big shock when their next game sells 1254 copies

  • KDR_11k #33 11 months ago

    Even if Angry Birds can be branched out, Pop Cap has shown itself to be able to repeatedly produce hits that can be sold at much more than the 1$ price Rovio can charge.

    These guys are probably the epitome of the bubble Rob Fahey spoke of.

  • Malek86 #34 11 months ago

    Has Rovio even done anything since Angry Birds two years ago?

    I wouldn't value so high a company unless they prove that they can do more than one successful game. Popcap has already proven that multiple times, Rovio not quite yet.
    Edited by Malek86 at 13/07/11 @ 17:19

  • Collymilad #35 11 months ago

    Consoles won't die.

    Even if they only sold say 20 million units in future gens, it doesn't really make a difference. Who is going to abandon a market that has 20 million people in it?

    @dr_lha: People don't hate angry birds because it's popular, they hate it because it's simplified gaming to the point of being boring. Just like movies, if crap becomes popular, everyone goes "Hey, look how popular that crap is, we should just make that" - then 90% of whatl you have at the end of it is: you guessed it, crap.

    I don't care how many people like angry birds, it's shite. If I want that kind of "gaming" I'll go and throw a ball against a wall. It has about the same amount of value and longevity as a form of entertainment.
    Edited by Collymilad at 13/07/11 @ 17:23

  • el_pollo_diablo #36 11 months ago

    @dr_lha

    May I congratulate you on being the third person, after myself and Ranger101, to have actually read the article.

    To the rest of you, :p

  • Xboxfanuk #37 11 months ago

    I think Activision should buy them and then they would have two massive egos working for them.

  • TruSmiles #38 11 months ago

    I dislike Angry Birds for various reasons but the biggest one would be the complete saturation of the brand. Rovio are milking it worse than Activision treat the CoD franchise.

    I even saw some Angry Birds posters at WHSmiths the other day, what madness!

  • Sharzam #39 11 months ago

    HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAA this is brillant, how the hell can they compare themselves to popcap.

    Ok regardless of whether the Popcap price was right or not atleast they have proved themselves, they can make consistatently high quality games and most if not all of them sell well and make a profit. Where as Rovio have 1 IP of note of which only 1 (perhaps 2) of the titles on this IP have been successful.

    To all companys if your want a realistic or high evaultion you need to proove why you deserve it. The more high quality and high selling product you have the more valuable you are. I am not saying Rovio cannot be valued highly but they simply have not proved this yet.
    Edited by Sharzam at 13/07/11 @ 17:40

  • frazzl #40 11 months ago

    Pride comes before a fall :).

  • Acrid #41 11 months ago

    and I thought Bobby Kotick was a delusional cunt

  • optimusprym8 #42 11 months ago

    Both companies do the same to a certain extent, as does Blizzard - take a game mechanic that already exists and polish it until it's a very shiny polished thing. Many PopCap games aren't original, Angry Birds isn't original, WoW certainly isn't original but they all amount to one thing: gaming crack.

    Shame on EG for yet again taking a quote out of context and making the headline as troll-bait-y as possible

  • BuddyChrist #43 11 months ago

    I look forward to Angry Birds 10th Anniversary edition, more circular birds and more shit to topple over... Woot.

  • Quixz #44 11 months ago

    No one wants to buy you, Go away!

  • Quak #45 11 months ago

    A 1-trick pony... and the trick isn't even all that.

  • Watkins #46 11 months ago

    Wow. If I was Popcap, I'd be pretty insulted.

  • jablonski #47 11 months ago

    @gribb
    "Is it wrong that I only read Eurogamer for Purchase's puns?"

    Shouldn't this be in the 'Metro' texts section?

  • RumpyStumpy #48 11 months ago

    On the subject of birds Rovio should heed the saying "one swallow doesn't make a summer"

    Much the same as one hit doesn't make a billion dollar company...

  • wobbly_Bob #49 11 months ago

    I can't wait to see this guy epic fail in the most spectacular way possible! This talk of Angry Birds bieng like Disney and being a brand that will go on and on and just keep growing. NO. Disney is a huge company built on decades of ground breaking ( maybe not these days tho ) products across many mediums. You made a game. People liked it. You got lucky... Give it 10 years and your game and you will be nowhere. People will be, hey you remember that angry birds thing was really big back in the day? Yeah, I remember that. IF I would you I would shut my big mouth because if you do crash and burn, and I suspect you will, then you are going to look very silly, indeed!!!

  • patootik #50 11 months ago

    Finally got Angry Birds for free via the Chrome Browser deal to see what all the fuss is about, played it for about 10 minutes, haven't touched it since.

    I...don't...get...it

    Then again I don't get Justine Beiber or Lady Gaga either and they seem to be pretty popular.

    EDIT: Oh and btw I played through and finished Peggle on DS, it's not like I don't enjoy simple games but AB, I dunno it just seems a bit soulless to me somehow.
    Edited by patootik at 13/07/11 @ 20:18

  • Lee_Morris #51 11 months ago

    They have 1 f'in game. Popcap have proven their worth mutiple quality games. I even read somewhere that they released 42 games before AB came out and obviously not one of them was a hit.

    The arrogance of this company really does piss me off.

  • Lee_Morris #52 11 months ago

    They have 1 f'in game. Popcap have proven their worth mutiple quality games. I even read somewhere that they released 42 games before AB came out and obviously not one of them was a hit.

    The arrogance of this company really does piss me off.

  • butler` #53 11 months ago

    "and there's a lot of creativity at the studio beyond Angry Birds"

    prove it

  • shadow1979 #54 11 months ago

    Someone got their "north" and "south" mixed up..

  • dagas #55 11 months ago

    If every download is $1 then that is $250m not even close to $1.3 billion. Not to mention that a lot of those downloads are the free versions and that Apple and others take a cut. So that means that they have made maybe $150m at most. I also don't see Angry Birds growing much more since the market is pretty much saturated. So far they have not shown that they have anything else going on than Angry Birds. I'd say the value is way south of PopCap.

  • Ikaros_O #56 11 months ago

    No, Popcap have a library of great games. You've got one mediocre game that has wide appeal that's not even worthy to be a popcap game.

  • kangbambang #57 11 months ago

    nice post