Finnish mobile gaming and entertainment company Rovio Entertainment has decided to make a splash into the Indian education space.
The company, known for its popular mobile game Angry Birds, is scouting for partners in India for the new venture aimed at pre-school children.
“Having seen the enthusiasm when children and parents spend time with Angry Birds, we wanted to create fun new learning activities for them. We are doing this in cooperation with the University of Helsinki.” Henri Holm, Senior Vice-President, Rovio Entertainment, told
Rovio has already taken this project to China where it has entered into a preliminary agreement with local firm 123 Education Development Ltd. Called Angry Birds Playground Club, children will have access to Angry Birds learning materials such as activity books, toys, physical games, mobile math and an interactive whiteboard.
ACTIVITY PARK
Rovio is also looking to open activity parks in partnerships with Indian city developers, real estate players. The company has already launched a park in Malaysia spread over 26,000 sq ft. The play park is likely to include Angry Birds-themed rides, swings and educational games.
“We are open to discussing the business model with the potential partner but we want to partner players who are innovative and want to build an experience that can be enjoyed by everyone,” said Holm.
Holm said the offline ventures are a way to build the Angry Birds brand and there could be multiple ways to cross bundle Rovio’s offerings in the online entertainment space. The company is also looking at ways to engage with Bollywood and cricket. “We know that Bollywood and cricket are huge in India and, therefore, we want to see how best we can innovate around these,” said Antti Öhrling, Country Director of India, Rovio Entertainment.
Rovio’s Angry Birds game is among the fastest growing consumer franchise around the world, which is approaching two billion downloads worldwide. In India alone, the number of downloads for the game has already crossed the 30 million mark. “We want to capitalise on the huge fan base we have here in India,” said Öhrling.