What’s Cooking At Rovio? Angry Birds Cookbooks, Movies And – Gasp – Games (TCTV)

Robin Wauters currently works as a staff writer for TechCrunch and lead editor of Virtualization.com. Aside from his professional blogging activities, he’s an entrepreneur, event organizer, occasional board adviser and angel investor but most importantly an all-round startup champion. Wauters lives and works in Belgium, a tiny country in Europe. He can often be found working from his home or... ? Learn More

I caught up with Peter Vesterbacka, Mighty Eagle at Rovio, the creators of the successful Angry Birds franchise, yesterday at the Planet Of The Apps conference in London.

It wasn’t a huge secret, but I certainly didn’t know this: Vesterbacka tells me you will soon be able to buy Angry Birds-themed cookbooks; actual physical books and ebooks for Kindle, Nook and iPad.

Full disclosure: I got one of these limited-edition Angry Birds cookbooks for free (hence the pictures above and below). Also, I’m not much of a cook (hence why I accepted the book in the first place).

In all seriousness, Vesterbacka tells me there have been 400 million downloads of the Angry Birds apps to date, and that its merchandising business is chugging along nicely as well, with about 10 million plush toys having gone over the counter already. I also bought two for our baby boy recently.

Rovio is on a mission to turn Angry Birds into a brand as iconic as Nintendo’s Mario and Mickey Mouse, Vesterbacka adds. Gotta love ambitious (European) startups.

Enjoy the interview:

Rovio is one of Europe’s leading independent developers of wireless games with an ever-growing portfolio of award-winning titles spanning many genres from casual to core next-gen console IP. Their studio has developed games for some of the biggest names in the mobile space, including Electronic Arts, Nokia, Vivendi, Namco Bandai and Mr. Goodliving/Real Networks. The seeds of Rovio were sown in 2003 when Helsinki University of Technology students Niklas Hed, Jarno Väkeväinen, and Kim Dikert participated in a mobile game...

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Angry Birds is a puzzle video game developed by Rovio, a developer based in Finland. Since its release for Apple’s iPhone and iPod Touch devices, over 6.5 million copies of the game have been purchased, and versions have appeared for other touchscreen-based smartphones. In Angry Birds, players take control of a flock of birds that are attempting to retrieve eggs that have been stolen by a group of evil pigs. The pigs have taken refuge on or within structures made...

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Idle Games Wants To Be The Pixar Of Social Gaming; In Their First Game, You Play God

MG Siegler has been writing for TechCrunch since 2009. He covers the web, mobile, social, big companies, small companies, essentially everything. And Apple. A lot. Prior to TechCrunch, he covered various technology beats for VentureBeat. Originally from Ohio, MG attended the University of Michigan. He’s previously lived in Los Angeles where he worked in Hollywood and in San Diego where... ? Learn More

If you were into PC gaming in the early 2000s, you know what Black & White is. Peter Molyneux’s 2001 classic published by EA gave every gamer the role they wanted: God. A new startup is aiming to bring that style of game into the social space. And more broadly, they aim to be the “Pixar of casual games”.

Idle Games is launching today at TechCrunch Disrupt. Their first title is Idle Worship, a Black & White-esque game for Facebook. You play the role of a god, controlling villagers on an island to do certain tasks for you. While that may sound ominous, you can choose to be either good or bad in your actions. And overall, the game is light-hearted and fun. We’ve been playing with a beta version of the game for a few weeks; it’s solid.

This first title by Idle Games, a startup founded by Rick Thompson (a co-founder of Playdom) and Jeffrey Hyman, aims to disrupt the casual gaming market by being an “anti-Zynga” of sorts. They believe social gaming is more about entertainment, interaction, and quality — not just button-mashing or mindless clicking. In many ways, they’re also going after the MMO market too. While the games will start on Facebook, you can imagine that they could quickly spread to other platforms as well.

Like other casual games and MMOs, the emphasis for the business will be on virtual goods. But again, the Idle Games team is determined to create goods of the utmost quality so that users feel compelled to buy them and happy when they do. In this regard, Idle Games’ mission sounds a bit similar to that of Tiny Speck, makers of the soon-to-be-released game MMO Glitch.

The Idle Games team also has a number of pending patents surrounding their particular style of social gameplay, they note. One key is their use of synchronous gameplay (as opposed to other games which typically are asynchronous). You can play alongside other “Gods” in the game, visit their islands, etc. Inside Social Games did a new preview of the game back in April.

“The game must be your wingman and break the ice for you,” Hyman said on stage today, explaining why Idle Worship creates better gaming connections than other endeavors out there.

All told, Idle Worship took the team of about 50 around two years to build. Again, the focus is on quality. They’ve raised roughly $9 million in funding so far.

Expert Judges Q&A Session:

Josh Felser, Freestyle Capital; April Underwood, Twitter; Jim Lanzone, CBS Interactive; Michael Marquez, CODE Advisors

JL: Why this game? There are a ton out there.

A: We think it’s like the entertainment industry. It is a hits-driven business, we’re putting the emphasis on quality. It’s a bit like capturing lightning in a bottle, but we’re leveraging the social graph in unique ways. We think this is the first true social game on Facbeook.

MM: Is this launched?

A: In a few countries so far.

MM: What about use engagement?

A: The initial metrics are blowing away the norms. Over 50 percent are returning after week one.

JF: Can you compare this to Zynga?

A: Absolutely. I don’t know if you read last Friday’s WSJ, but it says on the front page, Zynga is an analytics company masking as a game company. We’re an entertainment and games company. Zynga is a black and white television. Everyone wants it until the color television comes out. That’s us. We care about the entertainment experience.

AU: Your game looks engaging I want to play it. Tell me about the patents.

A: We’ve invest two solid years of engineering to do the tech here. We have five patents filed for this stuff. Rendering engine, etc.

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From Mobile Games to Connected Cars: Sneak Peek at Gazelle Lab’s First 6 Startups

Earlier today, new TechStars Network member, the Tampa Bay-based Gazelle Lab, announced its first full round of program participants. This 3-month, mentor-driven program based on the TechStars model is one of the first of its kind to emerge in the Tampa Bay region –  a region that’s been pushing to become a new home to technological and entrepreneurial innovation.

This first group includes some unique companies, like a location-based mobile platform for sharing digital media, an app that connects to your car to diagnose those baffling “check engine” messages and an online ordering system for restaurants that puts big company technology into the hands of SMBs, just to name a few. We got a sneak peak at all 6 of the new companies today, and are now eagerly awaiting their launches later this fall.

While a group of 6 is small compared with other accelerator programs’ outputs, for Tampa Bay, it’s a notable number. This under-the-radar geographic region, which was previously home to Wikipedia before its 2007 relocation to California as well as the recently acquired website builder Wufoo, isn’t really on the map of notable “tech hotspots.” But Gazelle Lab is hoping to change that with its new program for early stage startups.

Below are today’s Gazelle Labs’ first participants, all of which are in various stages of development. The startups will launch this fall, when they present to potential investors at Gazelle Labs’ Demo Day event.

AutoIQ

AutoIQ is a combination gadget and HTML5-based mobile application that listens to your car in order to save you money. The company sells an off-the-shelf diagnostic gadget that connects to the onboard diagnostic (OBD) port of your vehicle. There are several different payment options for the service’s users. For $50, you receive the gadget and a year of service. You can also choose to buy your own gadget from a third-party and pay just $3/month for the service, or you can choose to pay $5/month for both the gadget and the service on a subscription basis. The OBD port is a standard port, accessible on all modern vehicles without having to get your hands dirty poking around under the hood. The gadget, which the company calls the “translator,” listens to the car’s computer and then “translates” those mysterious error messages into understandable language. Messages can come to you through push notifications, text messages, emails or via the AutoIQ online service. How bad is that “check engine” message, for example? Do you really need an air filter, as your mechanic says?

In addition, AutoIQ not only makes it easier to understand what your car is trying to tell you, it will also help you find the best prices for servicing your vehicle in town. Repair shops will eventually be able to tap into the data AutoIQ generates and target offers to groups of customers. Pricing for that aspect of the service is still being worked out, however. The service will launch first in Tampa Bay and will then roll out to Southern California, followed by the rest of the U.S.

CityQuest

CityQuest is a new (in-development) mobile application that transforms normal metropolitan landscapes into adventure-filled mini-games that “promote local commerce and vanquish boredom.” While operating in the same general space as Foursquare and Gowalla, the app doesn’t see itself as competing directly with those “check in” based networks. Its goals are slightly different – promote local discovery, encourage users to “get out of the house” and explore their city, visit popular landmarks, discover new businesses and patronize those which are their favorites.

Instead of checkins, the game will utilize “quests” – simple and fun tasks that enable users to earn badges and points and acquire gold. But unlike other apps that employ gamification techniques, CityQuest doesn’t want the rewards users earn to be meaningless. That’s why players can choose to donate gold they earn to local charities, community groups or schools in the form of actual cash. And regular users who acquire “experience points” will actually be able to help shape the game’s future development, suggesting businesses that should be included in future quests, for example. Of course, there may be a “deals” angle, too, where gold could lead to discounts at local stores, but that’s further down the road. The app will initially launch on one mobile platform this fall, and will then be ported to more platforms in the future. CityQuest also tied for first place at Tampa Bay’s Startup Weekend last month.

Dropost.it

Dropost.it, another mobile app that emerged from Tampa Bay’s first Startup Weekend, allows you to “drop” text messages and media in a geographical area for others to receive when they get there. That media can be music, video, photos, games, or any other digital file. The best way to understand Dropost.it is to think of it as sort of “location-based graffiti.” It’s not designed to be a niche experience, but rather a location-based platform for sharing media. There are several possible uses for this sort of technology, ranging from geo-fenced location-based reminders to in-store promotions where the app’s users receive discounts at local businesses. But the most intriguing thing about this app is how it attaches a real-world location to the online, virtual world.

Using Dropost.it, you could see a video of an interesting event that happened at particular spot. Or maybe you discover a simple game to play while waiting in the long line at the bank. Or you arrive at the grocery store, and get a message from your roommate to pick up some milk. Messages posted to Dropost.it can be set to public or private, as desired. It will also integrate with social networks, like Twitter, Facebook and Google+, to enable friend discovery. Dropost.it will be available on iOS, Android and Windows Phone when it launches later this fall.

Leads Direct, Inc.

Leads Direct, LLC is an online lead aggregator and cost-per-lead provider for multiple service-based verticals. That description is being kept fairly high-level because the company’s founders are still at their day jobs. This company is taking a different approach from the other startups in Gazelle Lab in that it isn’t disruptive in terms of the core service being offered, but in the way that the service works. Lead generation is a business that’s been around for some time, and has a sound business model, the founders explain, but the company plans on making some changes to address specific needs in each vertical they target. The company will initially target property management and real estate, where it will provide advertisers with more control over budgets, a better understaning of where ad dollars are being spent and itemized billing – all things its competitors currently lack. In short, Leads Directo will offer a Google AdWords-like toolset for acquiring leads.

Red Hawk Interactive, Inc.

Red Hawk Interactive plans to integrate restaurant listings and menu ordering systems into streaming video services. While it can’t discuss specifics, the company says it’s in talks with a well-known streaming video brand. And it’s currently reaching out to others in the same market. To give you an idea of the clients RedHawk has in mind, streaming video services like Netflix, Hulu, or Boxee are the types of targets the company is interested in talking with. RedHawk would provide a way for these service to display links to restaurants via the screen that loads before you start the movie. For example, under the movie’s description, would be a simple option that read something like “Order Food.” Clicking the link would take you to a list of participating restaurants with online ordering systems. The way this interface would look and operate is up to the streaming video provider, as this would be a white label product only.

However, RedHawk’s goal is not to function as an ad platform. That means local restaurants are not buying the links, or paying for a higher position. Instead RedHawk pulls from menu providers’ lists, and filters those by zip code in order to suggest the available restaurants to end users, along with delivery times and delivery areas. The customer would then be walked through a simplified online ordering system. RedHawk isn’t the final product name for the service, which has been in development since April.

Teburu

Teburu (Japanese for “table”) provides a web-based and mobile platform for restaurants to easily manage their online and mobile ordering services. For small to medium-sized restaurants, it’s still a challenge to get the information from the ordering system to the kitchen, says Teburu. Typical third-party systems often forgo expensive point-of-sale (POS) integration and instead phone the restaurant, fax in orders or send orders via email. Teburu makes POS integration a more affordable option, or restaurants can opt for the company’s specially designed HTML5 tablet application which runs on locked-down mobile hardware and software, like a customized version of Android, for example. The app will alert order takers to incoming orders via flashes or beeps. Then staff simply inputs the order in their own system.

The overall goal is to provide SMBs with the same level of control over their menus and online ordering presence as larger companies have. The product will be white-labeled so restaurants can control own branding. A mobile app framework is also in development which would allow restaurants to take orders via a branded mobile application. Teburu already has a large chain testing the service right now, but will open up to others later this year.

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