
iPad title removed from App Store for re-development
Angry Birds developer Rovio has confirmed reports that is has acquired the rights to Snappy Touch’s physics puzzler Casey’s Contraptions.
The studio teased the purchase yesterday, the first in its history, in an animation thanking customers for downloading its flagship franchise more than one billion times.
The video showed a balloon and scissors as part of a ‘domino effect’ mechanism in the background, which led to speculation, backed up by Snappy Touch founder Noel Llopis, the Rovio had acquired the IP.
Rovio has since confirmed to Gamasutra the purchase of the title, and the company’s VP of franchise development Ville Heijari said it had removed the game from the App Store whilst it re-developed the title for a relaunch in the summer on iOS and Android.
"Working with Noel and Miguel (founder of Mystery Coconut) has been fantastic, and this is a game that we all fell in love with from the first play," said Heijari.
"The gameplay is a perfect fit in our arsenal with its approachable, fun and highly addictive take on the physics puzzler genre.
"We are currently reworking the title to enhance it, and getting ready to re-introduce it in a true 'expect the unexpected' Rovio style launch to an even larger audience."
All that money in the bank and they couldn't risk creating a game on their own??? Imagine if Pixar had played it safe and re-released another studio's film after Toy Story's success. It might have done well commercially, but it would have failed to establish them as the powerhouse that they later became.