Tetris Company Manager: Angry Birds Is A Fad

Rovio Mobile's Angry Bird has been downloaded millions of times for mobile phones, making it one of the surprise hits of the last couple years. However, Tetris Company manager Henk Rogers believes that this success won't last.

"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," Rogers told IndustryGamers. "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. 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."

"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."

In Angry Birds, player shoot birds with a slingshot and try to destroy pigs located in or around buildings on the map. There are several different types of birds to use, each with unique special abilities. For example, the blue birds split into three when pressed. Like Tetris, it's a fairly simple premise but also extremely addictive.

Will Angry Birds still be around in 20 years? That seems like an unfair standard to hold a game to. Even if Angry Birds suddenly dropped out of existence tomorrow, the fact is that the game was a mega hit. A game can be less successful than Tetris and still be a classic.